The state government had denied responsibility for a public road in the Mount Alexander Regional Park and for years failed its statutory duty to inspect, repair and maintain its condition.
Joseph Young Drive is an 8.5km stretch of winding road that cuts through the regional park from one end to the other. It amassed 54 potholes, overgrown vegetation and remained disregarded for 16 years. After the Express made enquiries about the legality of its condition, all potholes were fixed last week.
Each level of government – council, state and federal – must keep a register of public roads to specify if they are the responsible authority. Joseph Young Drive does not exist on any register and has caused safety concerns for the road’s users.
A CFA member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said fire trucks struggled to navigate the road surface due to the excess potholes, and overgrown roadside vegetation made it difficult to pull over.
“It’s not just the potholes – it’s the overgrown verges and roadside weeds that compound this dangerous situation,” the firefighter said.
“In a fire, we need to move fast, and right now, we can’t.”
CFA crews were called to the regional park last year when an unattended campfire became out of control.
A Mexican stand-off
The Express can reveal the road was incorrectly managed since the Road Management Act was released in 2004. The Act required each body of government to create a public register of roads they were responsible for, and Joseph Young Drive was incorrectly added to Mount Alexander Shire Council’s register.
It should have been added to Parks Victoria or the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action’s register as its located on Crown land and they manage the surrounding regional park.
A source within the Mount Alexander Shire Council said they couldn’t repair the road and likened the situation to repairing a driveway on private property. They confirmed council had “numerous discussions” with Parks Victoria and DEECA since 2008 to have them assume responsibility of the road, but both bodies of government “have been unwilling to acknowledge this”.
“Council has offered to assist Parks Victoria/DECCA with maintenance of the disputed section on their behalf, provided a suitable funding arrangement could be established. Council is still yet to receive a response to this offer or even an acknowledgement as to the ownership of the road,” the source said.
Council removed the road from its register in 2024 to force action from Parks Victoria and DEECA but neither body has assumed official responsibility.
DEECA declined to respond to requests for comment and Parks Victoria told the Express, “We don’t normally manage public roads. In this case we are managing it pending it being assigned to someone else”.
Despite this, both Parks Victoria and DEECA have a publicly available Road Management Plan that identifies the public roads they are responsible for. Parks Victoria also conducted the repairs.
A hole in the system
The Road Management Act outlines the government’s statutory responsibility to “inspect, repair and maintain roads”. The previous time these obligations were carried out on Joseph Young Drive was before 2008.
Parks Victoria’s RMP states they conduct inspections of roads within three months of being notified of issues and have a timeframe of three to six months to repair them. Mount Alexander Shire Council directed all official complaints regarding Joseph Young Drive to Parks Victoria and DEECA for years. They most recently advised them of the excessive potholes in April and July 2024, and again in January and February 2025.
Parks Victoria’s RMP states, “If it is not possible to rectify the defect within the relevant RMP response time, appropriate warning of the hazard or temporary repair is to be provided until the permanent repair can be completed”. This didn’t happen and a citizen took initiative and illegally spray painted circles around the potholes as well as the words, ‘potholes ahead’, ‘54 potholes to the top’, and ‘danger riding down’ across different sections of the road.
Chris Faraday, a nearby resident and regular traveller of the road, complained about its condition for a year to council, Parks Victoria, DEECA, his state MP, and the Minister for Roads.
“Nothing. Crickets. I have not received a written reply or formal response yet,” Faraday said.
“They’re more concerned with how much it’ll cost them than the safety aspect of the road. Someone could die.”
The Express viewed an email another resident received from Parks Victoria where they admitted a “lack of maintenance” led to the road’s poor condition.
