ROADS within the South East are not built for the trucking industry with many roads reaching between 50 to 60 years old, according to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport.

The department's road maintenance director Mick Lorenz said the roads within the region were not built for trucks and heavy vehicles, with the vehicles used on roads when they were first built being completely different to the vehicles used now.

Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell made a call to the state government last week, requesting contracted response times to reported potholes in the Limestone Coast.

Mr Bell told The Border Watch the current state of the region's roads were the worst he had ever seen.

Currently, the state government has a contract with Fulton Hogan to repair state-owned roads across South Australia.

Mr Bell said he had received up to four reports of damaged cars as a result of the state of regional roads yet expected there would be more within the wider community.

"There would be a whole other number that have not reported to their local member and the reality is there is very little I can do because of how the contract is written up," Mr Bell said.

"Our roads are the worst I have ever seen and I have a state government saying they are spending record amounts on road maintenance.

"Something is not going right here because if they are spending record money why aren't the roads in the best condition they could possibly be in." Mr Bell said the ideal response time would be within 24-hours and he had also noticed "patch jobs" were not lasting.

"The same defects are popping up time and time again, even after they have been repaired," he said.

"We have to question the quality of the repair as well." He said the current state of the region's roads was also a safety concern for inexperienced drivers.

"It is not only the damage being done to their cars but also safety issues around hitting a pothole and rearing to the other side of the road or swerving around the pothole to avoid it," Mr Bell said.

"It could have very serious and tragic consequences." Speaking with The Border Watch, Mr Lorenz confirmed the contracted response time was within 24 hours of safety concerns reported to the department.

"Pothole and state of the road procedure under the contract is that the contractor needs to inspect all roads in their part of the state every two weeks," Mr Lorenz said.

"There is a vehicle that goes around and does basic repairs as they inspect it, which includes potholes and if they come across one the requirement is they fix it while they are there which happens every two weeks." He said there were two different types of repairs available for potholes with the most common one during winter months to fill it with a pre-mix.

"That is like an asphalt material and it is quite soft and can push out," he said.

"There are times where this can last for years and there are times where this can last for weeks." Mr Lorenz said once a complaint is made to the department, the contractors have 24-hours to fill the pothole with the completion of the project tracked from as soon as the complaint was made.

"The challenge the contractors have is if we have excessive wet seasons we have the road breaking up in multiple areas at the same time," He said.

"The resources do get stretched over time and they do try to get it done in time." He said statewide about 95 per cent of defects would be responded to within the timeframe.

"The network in the South East is a particularly old network which needs a lot of attention and we would like it to be in a much better condition," he said.

"We are doing our best to get around the network and we have some challenges to work through in the way the current contracts are set up to get better value for those contracts so we are currently working on restructuring them." Mount Gambier/Berrin resident Kim McCallum said she travelled the roads regularly at 100km per hour which concerned her and her family as they "navigated the horrendous road conditions".

Ms McCallum said she now not only kept an eye out for wildlife on the roads but also potholes.

"Night time is the scariest with oncoming traffic and nowhere to go and sometimes you have no choice but to hit the potholes, potentially puncturing tyres and damaging rims," Ms McCallum said.

"I would not recommend anyone to travel on a motorcycle as it is just far too dangerous and not worth the risk." She said her main concern was someone having a tragic accident which would affect all surrounding communities.

"Another concern is the rising living costs with everyone feeling the pinch at the moment," Ms McCallum said.

"The last thing people need are more bills replacing damages to their vehicles that are no fault of their own." Ultimately, she said she would love to have the "extreme holes" filled, especially those which form right in line with where people drive.

"In wet conditions the holes fill with water, making it harder to see and navigate the roads safely," Ms McCallum said.

"I would also like to see regular patrols of the roads so that at least signs could be placed, warning motorists of the dangers." Mount Gambier City Council Mayor Lynette Martin said the roads across the region were deteriorating to the point it was a "community safety risk".

Ms Martin said elected members recently moved a motion to invite Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Tom Koutsantonis to personally inspect the roads himself.

"Community safety is at risk but also as a tourist destination we need an improved road network and our roads carry a lot of heavy transport as freight is in and out of our region," Ms Martin said.

"We are required to drive roadworthy vehicles but our roads are not road worthy." She said council would support working closely with the state government in assisting fixing state roads should it be allowed.

"All councils in the Limestone Coast are affected by the deterioration of our roads and we have all been advocating to the department for improvement," she said.

Mr Bell said his ultimate goal was to reestablish a highways department in Mount Gambier/Berrin to have "state government looking after state roads" but if a highways department in Mount Gambier/Berrin was not possible, the state government should ensure the contract supplier was based in the region.

"This would bring faster response times and where we really want to get to is we want locals looking after local roads and the state government looking after state roads," Mr Bell said.

Member for MacKillop Nick McBride also expressed concerns regarding regional roads and its conditions with a number of deteriorating roads in his electorate.

Mr McBride said there were constant issues within the MacKillop electorate of potholes, broken edges and roads deteriorating into 'crocodile skin' condition.

"This means the roads break up and the water goes in between these cracks and underneath," Mr McBride said.

"I want a plan with which MacKillop can participate in which says these are the roads which will be fixed in the coming years which is more important than anything else."

FIX THE ROADS: Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell and Member for MacKillop Nick McBride call on the State Government for better road networks.