DRIVERS have been left facing costly repairs after a large pothole on Mornington-Tyabb Road caused significant damage to vehicles earlier this week.
The pothole, located roughly 500 metres from the Coolart Rd roundabout near Brideoake Racing, has opened along a busy detour route. With freeway closures causing an inflow of traffic to the area, drivers say the road’s condition has become increasingly unsafe.
One driver, Phil Robertson, hit the pothole around 4:15pm on 22 October. “I saw a crater. It wasn’t a puddle, it was a hole, which was about a metre and a half long, and it must have been 15 inches deep,” Robertson said. “The front wheel went straight down the hole. I got out of the car and walked back to the hole and when I got there, there was another car with a young girl with a flat tyre.”
His Mercedes sustained extensive damage, with repair costs estimated at $3,500. “I drove my car straight down to Mercedes, and he said, ‘We’ll have a look at it in the morning. This morning, he rang my wife and said he’s never seen anything like it before,’” Robertson said.
Robertson attempted to file a report with VicRoads when he got home and ended up speaking to a representative over the phone. “They said they haven’t got my report, and we’ve got to do it again. So I’m just wondering how many people have had vehicles damaged,” he said.
He is now attempting to pursue compensation from VicRoads. To claim compensation from VicRoads, drivers are required to lodge a Notice of Incident and Claim and cover the first $1680 worth of damage.
Robertson said at least four other cars were affected by the pothole at the same time as him.
Sam White, another affected driver, hit the same pothole around the same time. “I saw the cars in front of me swerve and tried but didn’t manage to swerve enough and went over it,” White said. “About a kilometre down the road, I realised my tyre pressure light had come on, so I had to pull over and call AAMI.”
White reported the incident to VicRoads immediately after it happened, not only because of the damage to her car but out of concern for other drivers. The hole was repaired early the next morning.
“I don’t know how many people would have done damage to their cars,” White said. “I thought they would have got there straight away.”
A spokesperson from the Department of Transport and Planning confirmed crews attended the site and repaired the road the following morning. They added that extreme weather events, including the heavy rain on 22 October, may have contributed to the damage.
For Robertson, the experience highlighted the lack of accountability and transparency in the damaged road reporting process. “My main concern is that there isn’t a direct route, an easy way to get through to these people – there is something seriously wrong,” he said. “The first hurdle you’ve got is to figure out who’s responsible.”
First published in the Mornington News – 28 October 2025
