#FixVicRoads: Roads will still deteriorate despite record funding, experts warn

A shockingly low amount of road repairs will be carried out in Victoria this year, despite a record funding boost by the Allan government. Here’s why.

Victoria’s roads will continue to deteriorate despite record funding with experts warning not enough work is being done by the Allan government to rehabilitate roads.

Data released in performance reports linked to the May budget have revealed that despite a record $976 million in funding, a shockingly low amount of road repairs will be carried out compared to previous years across regional Victoria and outer Melbourne in the year ahead.

Analysis of Victoria’s road maintenance targets show that in 2025-26, works in regional areas will dramatically reduce to 2.7 million sqm.

This is down 13 per cent from the target of 3.1 million sqm in 2024-25 and down from nine million sqm of roads that was being treated to fix and protect against rain and potholes in regional Victoria in 2022-23.

Work on regional roads will decrease. Picture: Supplied

Government funding is being spent on new roads and patchings. Picture: Supplied

In inner Melbourne road area targets to be fixed were 330,000 sqm down 35 per cent from 448,000 sqm.

In outer Melbourne target works will drop 8 per cent from 542,000 sqm to 496,000 sqm.

When it came to patching issues, regional areas works would also drop in terms of targets when compared to 2024-25.

Industry experts said much of the Victorian Government’s latest funding was being spent on new roads, signs, patchings and warned that the one thing the government should not cut back on is long-lasting treatments.

“If the amount of road being rehabilitated drops then that compounds the deterioration and you have to spend more and more to keep the status quo,“ the Herald Sun was told by one engineer.

“That’s what we are now seeing after years of underfunding on the road network.”

On Saturday, the Herald Sun launched the #FixVicRoads campaign where RACV policy head James Williams warned maintenance of roads has been falling short “for the last three years”.

Mr Williams said in reality the funding was not enough and warned more road maintenance needs to be done.

“There’s been underfunding for the last three years … in the longer term they need to get back on top of their road maintenance or you’ve just got more work and more cost coming,” he told the Herald Sun.

On Sunday Premier Jacinta Allan again spruiked the stat’s big road blitz but acknowledged more needs to be done to fix parts of the state’s road network.

“We do recognise that we need to continue to do more to not just build the new road infrastructure, but where it’s needed, to continue to invest in the maintenance program,” she said.

Wallan is notorious for potholes. Picture: Mark Stewart

“I recognise that this is an area that we need to continue to invest in and that’s exactly what we have done with additional investment in this year’s budget.”

Ms Allan spruiked her government’s investment in road maintenance of “almost $1 billion over the past two years”.

“This is in recognition that big significant events like drought and like floods have had a big impact on our road network,” she said.

Ms Allan said as a regional MP she drove the state’s highways regularly but stated things like speeding and inattention were the leading cause of crashes.

“In terms of the tragedy that is road trauma and road death the major contributing factors to road trauma are speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, driver distraction, being on your mobile phone,” she said.

Nationals leader Danny O’Brien told the Herald Sun that road funding has been and continues to be a major concern.

“When it comes to roads, the budget figures show it is always prudent to look at what Labor does, not what it says,” he says.

“Despite claiming it is spending record amounts on roads, Labor’s own budget papers show a shocking 93 per cent reduction next year in patching works and a 13 per cent reduction on road resealing and rehabilitation.

“Where is the money going? Or is it just a fiction? Because whatever Labor claims to be spending, its own figures show it is not improving our roads – indeed it’s doing less!

“All Victorian motorists, regional and metro, are suffering from roads that are more like goat tracks because of Labor’s neglect.”

A Victorian government spokesman defended the Allan Government’s rehabilitation plans.

“We delivered record roads funding last year and this year’s Budget delivered even more – rebuilding, repairing and resurfacing roads across Victoria.

“We’re on track to exceed our targets for road rehabilitation and resurfacing across most of Victoria this year.”

Concerns regarding road safety intensified following the report by the Herald Sun, which highlighted that Victorian drivers were facing significant risks due to deteriorating road conditions.

Last year alone, there were approximately 15,000 reports of potholes, averaging over 120 defects daily.

The data exclusively acquired by the Herald Sun underscored the dire condition of Victoria’s roads, with the Mornington Peninsula, Gippsland, and southeast Melbourne identified as some of the most affected regions in terms of pothole issues.

Join the Herald Sun’s Fix Victorian Roads movement by using the hashtag #FixVicRoads on social media.

Originally published as #FixVicRoads: Roads will still deteriorate despite record funding, experts warn