Bunkers Hill accident fears increase

DUMP trucks that roar down Finchs Road at Bunkers Hill are an accident waiting to happen, resident Sandy Beach fears.

Ms Beach, who one day counted 192 trucks passing by her Finchs Road house, believes they are being used to transfer dirt from construction sites at nearby housing estates.

She said instead of using Sago Hill Road, the trucks were taking a short cut down the single-lane Finches Road.

Unfortunately, Finchs Road was too narrow and poorly conditioned to deal with such large volumes of heavy traffic, she said.

“The roads are a mess and, when you’re trying to pull out of your driveway, you’ve got trucks left, right and centre. You’ve got nowhere to go,” Ms Beach said.

“They go straight down here until someone complains about it.”

Ms Beach said she had spoken to her neighbours, who were also concerned about the trucks, while her teenage daughter, Mahalia Sweeny, recently had a close-call with trucks.

“I was walking the dogs and two trucks almost hit me. They didn’t slow down and they must have been doing 120km/h,” Ms Sweeny said.

A City of Ballarat spokesperson said Finchs Road did not have a load limit and was a public roadway for general traffic. 

“As the road is unsealed, the City of Ballarat recommends that trucks and work vehicles use the sealed and arterial road network where possible,” the spokesperson said.

“Concerns about speeding or dangerous driving should be reported to the police.”

VicRoads Regional Director Ewen Nevett said there was no load limit restriction on Finchs Road and all vehicles, excluding B-doubles, could legally use it.

“VicRoads responded to a complaint in 2011 that too many dump trucks were travelling on Finchs Road and using air brakes,” he said.

“VicRoads TSS officers monitored the road and found no compliance issues.”

He said people could report road hazards or safety issues to VicRoads on 13 11 70 or call Victoria Police regarding law enforcement issues.