By Callum Ludwig
Heavy rain has left Yarra Ranges roads constantly bouncing between being littered with potholes and patched up before the process is repeated.
Potholes on Woods Point Road in East Warburton have now been targeted by vandals with residents outraged after spotting spray-painted penises marking multiple potholes.
A Department of Transport spokesperson said no one should be graffiting roads.
“It’s incredibly dangerous for the person doing it, a distraction for drivers and illegal,” they said.
“We have crews working hard every day inspecting and repairing roads damaged by the huge amount of rain with more than 71,000 potholes filled across the state in the last month alone – graffiti wastes vital time when our teams have to clean the road on top of fixing it.”
The act is somewhat of an international trend, with previous cases reported in multiple towns in England and in New Zealand.
The Millwarra Primary School East Warburton campus is located on Woods Point Road, meaning young children may have been exposed to the explicit imagery.
The road also leads to popular visitors destinations like the Redwood Forest, the recently-reopened Upper Yarra Reservoir Park and the Yarra Ranges National Park.
The Department of Transport is working quickly to repair the road network across the state following extreme rainfall over recent months.
As part of the storm response and flood recovery works, the Department is repairing potholes, cleaning drainage systems and repairing deteriorating sections of pavement right across the Yarra Ranges.
Members of the community who come across potholes or any other damage on roads are encouraged to report them by calling the dedicated Department of Transport customer service hotline on 13 11 70.
