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Highway closure 'ridiculous'

The closure of the Murray Valley Highway between Lake Charm and Kerang is "ridiculous”, according to member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh.

Mr Walsh said he made a personal inspection of the Wandella bridge at Reedy Lake on Friday.

"It is forcing people to drive as many as 150km just to get to work in either Kerang or Swan Hill, and that’s got to stop," he said.

"VicRoads needs to actually have the will to get decision makers out of their comfortable offices, get into gear and get some roads open.

"The fact VicRoads is refusing to build a small levee on the upstream side of the Murray Valley Hwy and divert water back through the bridge and put some lights in place to control traffic – so it could reopen – is a disgrace.

"To have this vital highway, never mind all the other roads and bridges, closed for a small flow of water, that could be stopped, is an indictment on VicRoads, which should be helping communities crying out for it to be active to help speed up the recovery instead of ducking and weaving – and leaving regional Victorians paying the price again."

In a statement on social media, Regional Roads Victoria said the highway remained closed “until we can safely inspect and reopen the road”.

“We understand road closures are frustrating, however parts of the road are still under water and have not been deemed safe for travel.

“A reminder that it takes just 15cm of water for a car to float, so never drive through floodwaters.”

Meanwhile, all Swan Hill train services resumed on Saturday for the entire journey.

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