By Fatima Halloum
Adam D’Silva says he knew something was wrong when he heard a bang, like the sound of something blowing up.
It had happened quickly.
He was driving along Boundary Road towards Melbourne Airport, slowing as he neared the temporary traffic lights at the Derrimut Road intersection.
The next thing he knew, he was standing outside in the wet cold, phoning a tow truck, his awaiting interstate flight forgotten.
“You didn’t even see the pothole, it was covered with water,” he said.
“We’ve gone through [it] and obviously it was pretty dramatic.
“As soon as we hit it, we knew we had a flat tyre.”
Mr D’Silva said the front wheel of his rental car was completely off the rim, and the back tyre flat.
“We walked to the hole and it was probably about a foot [30 centimetres] deep,” he said.
“It was massive.”
On holiday from Tasmania, Mr D’Silva had been visiting his sister who lives in Wyndham.
He said people who live outside the municipality need to know the roads are “dangerous”.
“It’s shocking, I wouldn’t recommend anyone drive there that’s not from that area,” Mr D’Silva said.
“That road over there should be closed.”
Wyndham city operations director Stephen Thorpe said the municipality’s road network had been “heavily impacted” by recent flooding.
“As many of these roads were built many years ago, the flooding has resulted in the premature failure of a number of areas, in particular where narrow sealed roads exist,” he said.
“As the damage is extensive, we recommend that all drivers take extreme care and look out for any potential road hazards that may have arisen due to the prolonged rain activity.
“In terms of vehicle damage, council manages all road-related claims in accordance with the Road Management Act and recommends that people work with their insurance company in the event of any vehicle damage.”
Mr D’Silva doesn’t know yet whether the rental company will charge him for the damage, but said he isn’t prepared to foot the bill.
“I think council should definitely be paying for it,” he said.
“It was completely out of our control.”
