Roadside slashing
Council’s roadside slashing program usually begins in the first week of November and continues through to the end of December. The program involves slashing on approximately 450kms of sealed roads.
As the grass generally dries out earlier in the north and western areas of the Shire (e.g. Clunes and Drummond), those towns are generally slashed first compared to towns in the southern parts of the Shire (e.g. Daylesford and Trentham).
Gravel re-sheet and grading
Council’s annual gravel road re-sheet program involves the laying of new gravel, and the re-establishment of drainage and culvert cleaning of gravel roads around the municipality.
Council’s grading program is a rolling program across the municipality generally commencing in September and working through to April. The program is weather dependent with a focus on high trafficked roads and roads in poor condition.
Road Management Plan
The Road Management Plan(PDF, 2MB) (RMP) outlines how Council manages its road and footpath network and provides a means for scheduling proactive inspections and prioritisation of maintenance to ensure that it is kept in the safest condition practicable within budgetary constraints.
Local roads are categorised in the RMP depending on their use (link, collector and local access). The categorisation helps scheduling of inspections and maintenance response times. Some roads, although Council’s responsibility to manage, are categorised as ‘maintained track’ or ‘non-maintained’. These roads received limited maintenance or no maintenance respectively.
The details of Council’s road hierarchy and service levels are included in the RMP. The RMP is renewed and updated every four years in accordance the Local Government Act and within the provisions of the Road Management Act 2004.