A woman from Pakenham is facing financial difficulties after her vehicle was damaged by a deep pothole on the Princes Highway in Nar Nar Goon. The pothole, described as being half a meter deep, caused over 20 vehicles to pull over on Saturday amid heavy rain. Many drivers were forced to stop in the emergency lane to change tires or wait for assistance, creating a hazardous situation due to low visibility.

Bronwyn Drummond, a Pakenham resident, was driving with her three children when she hit the pothole. "It was the biggest bang and we knew straight away we had to pull over," Drummond said. She reported that at least 30 cars had already stopped, leading to a chaotic scene. Drummond's vehicle suffered two blown tires, and the car in front of her also experienced issues, causing the driver to slam on the brakes.

Drummond waited on the roadside for her husband to arrive, which took two hours. "The poor thing was in the rain the whole time trying to change these tires, he was drenched," she said. She estimates that the repairs will cost her family thousands of dollars. "This is our main family car, it's going to cost us thousands and thousands. We're already behind on bills, we don't know how we're going to fix it," Drummond added.

The incident has raised concerns about road maintenance. Danny O'Brien, leader of the Victorian National Party and Shadow Roads Minister, criticized the government for neglecting road repairs. He stated that resurfacing and resealing work had not been conducted during the summer months, which could have prevented the formation of potholes. "It's not the fact it opened up quickly … but it's how it got to this stage," O'Brien said. He noted that there had been several summer seasons without any resealing programs, which are essential for maintaining road integrity.

Another driver, Michelle Snape, encountered the same pothole while returning home to Warragul shortly after 4 p.m. She reported waiting hours for roadside assistance, only being able to continue her journey at 10 p.m. Snape described the pothole as being at least a meter long and half a meter deep, filled with water and difficult to see against the road surface. "If motorbikes went through, they would have flipped over, they would have been gone," she said.

The Victorian Department of Transport has been contacted for comment regarding the situation and the state of the roads in Gippsland, which residents feel are not adequately maintained.