Not many motorists would believe one could be “bogged” on bitumen. Neither would they believe a road servicing an industrial estate would not be able to hold the weight of the trucks that traverse it.

However, on Wednesday, August 21, a trailer from Mildura was parked up on Racecourse Road in Donald (locally known as the “Mad Mile”) awaiting a connecting truck to pick it up and continue its progress towards Melbourne.

When the driver of the connecting truck arrived at 1 a.m. to pick up the loaded trailer, he discovered its supports had sunk into the bitumen, requiring the assistance of Harbergers staff to unload before being lifted out of its bog.

This is just another example of how the rural road network is letting regional Australians down. These sorts of rescue missions would not be required if the roads simply did as they were supposed to, supporting the vehicles that use them.

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 27 August 2024.