Glenelg, East Gippsland mayors say Princes Highway problems worse at far ends of Victoria
It’s supposed to be Australia’s number one thoroughfare. But this Victorian road is becoming a right royal pain for drivers.
Victoria’s easternmost and westernmost stretches of the Princes Highway highlight how NSW and South Australia are spending more on the national thoroughfare than Spring Street, local leaders say.
Glenelg Shire mayor Karen Stephens and East Gippsland mayor John White say the sections of highway farthest from Melbourne have been slapped with slower speed limits rather than thorough repair work.
Stretching from near Portland to the South Australian border in the west, Cr Stephens said the 90km section of the Princes Highway was in a dire state.
“Considering it is Highway One, it is disappointing that the Princes Highway seemingly receives less attention the further you travel from Melbourne — whether that’s west or east,” the Glenelg Shire mayor said.
“Once you cross the border into South Australia, you do notice the difference with investment in road maintenance — there is clearly more being spent there compared to Victoria.
“It is worth considering that 47 per cent of Australia’s structural timbers come from the Mount Gambier region and heads across the border to Victoria.
“It’s only 20km from Mount Gambier to the state border, so the majority of the time, hundreds of kilometres, those trucks are on Victorian roads - heading to Melbourne or Sydney.
“The pressures on the Mount Gambier to Adelaide section are nothing compared to the frequency into Victoria, particularly between Mount Gambier and Heywood.”
Cr White said the Orbost to the NSW border in the east had a number of 80kmh speed signs and road markings to slow motorists down rather than address the road risk of rough surfaces.
“It’s a bad advertisement for Victoria. You cross the border from NSW and you see these 80kmh signs, potholes and roadwork signs,” the East Gippsland mayor said.
“The funny thing is, go back 30 to 40 years and it was NSW that had worse roads and Victoria was known for investing in the Princes Highway. Now the reverse is true.”
East Gippsland livestock transporter Wes Russel, Tambo Upper, said roads were “rough as buggery” from Stratford through to the border in the far east.
“It is hard on the gear and hard on the drivers too,” he said.
“You have to watch out all the time, you don’t want to hit some of those holes - you’ve really got to hold on, it does some damage.”
On a recent return job to Western Australia, Wes said he didn’t need a sign to welcome him back to Victoria.
“You felt it, it was horrific - the change in the road from Bordertown was really noticeable,” he said.
Using freedom of information material, Victorian National Party leader Danny O’Brien said
data showed from 2014–15 to 2023–24, Victoria spent just $25,098 per kilometre in road maintenance spending —$1578 less than the national state average of $26,676 per kilometre.
Mr O’Brien said NSW spent $30,608 per kilometre each year while Queensland allocated $27,282 per kilometre annually.
A spokesman for Victorian Roads Minister Melissa Horne said the figures were deliberately misleading, saying the data did not provide for accurate comparisons.
“The Parliamentary Budget Office answered a deliberately misleading question crafted by the reckless Brad Battin and his Liberal Party - it’s a dodgy tactic from a dodgy operator and doesn’t reflect the facts,” the spokesman said.
