Bitumen spray sealing works to prevent deterioration of local roads will continue this summer.

Councillors unanimously awarded a one-year contract to Fulton Hogan for the works, estimated to cost $1.2 million, at a recent Baw Baw Shire Council meeting.
Cr Michael Leaney explained the resealing municipal roads contract wasn't for major reconstruction works. Instead, he said it was for preventative spray sealing to "make sure roads remain in tiptop shape."
An officer report said the contract would fund 12 items of bituminous spray sealing and 121 items relating to line marking.
The process involves spraying a thin layer of melted bitumen on the road surface and a layer of aggregate on top. The bitumen provides a waterproof seal to prevent failure and high-cost repairs. Any existing road markings are also replaced.
Works usually take one to two days, with reduced speed limits in place for two to three weeks to account for loose aggregate on the surface. However, at its completion, the road surface offers greater skid resistance, new road markings and reduced likelihood of hazards to improve overall safety.
The report stated council had made "significant strides in improving road maintenance and responsiveness to community needs" on its 1957km road network. It noted just under $13.6 million had been spent on road maintenance and road related capital works in 2023/24, which included an additional $1 million allocation.
The previous three-year resealing municipal roads contract was awarded in 2022. Due to run out next year, officers sought new tenders before the caretaker period to allow programmed works to begin in or around November and be completed over summer months, the report said.
A review of the current contract had been undertaken as part of a look into procurement.
"It was found to be satisfactory in its current form, with only minor updates to the work specifications," it said. These updates were how and what contractors undertake resealing works.
The report said a request for tender was advertised for three weeks, with two submissions made. Both were deemed to be conforming but Fulton Hogan received a higher evaluation score. The average price of Fulton Hogan was "slightly higher" but had "a significant higher score in local and social benefit".
"The higher overall evaluation score gives confidence that council will receive value for money with the works under the contract," it said.
Baw Baw Shire chief executive officer Mark Dupe was given authority by councillors to extend the contract, with two one-year terms on the table.
Cr Darren Wallace said community members repeatedly signalled roads as their number one issue.
As a result, he said council invested 20 per cent of its capital budget into the nearly 2000km road network.
Cr Wallace praised bitumen works carried out in Trafalgar in the past year and wished Fulton Hogan a sustained period of warm weather "to do the best job possible."
"Money spent on improving the quality and safety of our roads is always money well spent on behalf of our community," he said.
For many people, Cr Leaney said roads were one of the few ways they interacted with council. "This is a basic for council to actually look after the roads," Cr Leaney said.
He said road maintenance had increased dramatically in recent years and council needed to hunt for for value for money, noting "this contract certainly does that."
Cr Tricia Jones said the costs of maintaining roads was "astounding", accounting for $1 in every $5 in council's budget.
"It's a huge chunk of our budget that's spent on our roads," Cr Jones said. "How much is too much is a question I've often been asked by some people."
She also flagged a need to seal 11 gravel roads within Longwarry.