Regional roads crisis: VFF boss slams condition of country roads

The amount of potholes on Victorian roads has increased by 272 per cent in a year, with farmers being forced to drive on “completely unsafe and deteriorating roads”.

Farmer frustration at the state of country roads is resurfacing on the 12-month anniversary of devastating flooding in regional Victoria.

The Victorian Farmers Federation believes the state’s roads are “worse than ever” and the Victorian Transport Association says the floods last year “exacerbated the whole issue” of maintenance shortfalls.

A total spend on roads in this year’s budget of $521 million is below the $770 million the Victorian Labor government said it spent in 2022-23.

Reports of potholes on Victorian roads in the last 12 months have increased by 272 per cent.

A 272 per cent spike in pothole reports in Victoria over the past 12 months via a self-report app, ‘Snap, Send, Solve’, is also contributing to the angst.

Elizabeth Fisher and her husband Neil, who farm near Rutherglen, believe the lack of roadside maintenance works, including proper culvert clearing, had “long been an issue prior to and following the floods”.

Mrs Fisher said they lost $100,000 on a canola crop last year as a result of water backing up when the big rains hit.

“We’re hugely sceptical of any appropriate amount of money being spent on road maintenance in our area and more broadly in regional Victoria,” she said.

“Regional Road Victoria’s budget under Labor for road maintenance was significantly reduced and it was only due to the floods that they put more money in.”

VFF president Emma Germano has blasted the condition of the state’s roads. Picture: Aaron Francis

VFF president Emma Germano acknowledged some roads had been fixed.

But she said farmers and other regional motorists were “driving on completely unsafe and deteriorating roads”.

“Road maintenance funding just keeps going backwards, so it’s no wonder why our roads keep going from bad to worse,” she said.

“These half-baked patch-up jobs on our major regional arterials and highways are just putting a band aid over the problem.”

Victoria Transport Association chief executive Peter Anderson.

VTA chief executive Peter Anderson said issues with fixing roads were complex and he had faith the transport department now had a better understanding of work required.

“The floods have exacerbated the whole issue and really highlighted the level of work that needs to be done,” he said.

“What we’re talking about is not just fixing a couple of potholes.

“It’s about having a remediation plan for the long-term management of the roads.”