The dire condition of Victoria’s road network is set to decline even further, with the Allan Labor Government cutting its road resurfacing and rehabilitation spending to a third of what was just three years ago.
State budget papers indicate the area of roads subject to resurfacing or rehabilitation has fallen from nine million square metres two years ago to just three million this financial year.
That comes after Labor undertook just 343,000 square metres of works in 2023/24.
Alarmingly, the roads maintenance budget is 16 per cent less now than it was in 2020 despite the significant number of concerns raised about the condition of roads across the state.
The Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, said her office was regularly contacted by locals concerned about the state of the roads.
“Every week I am contacted by people in our community who have grave concerns about roads in our region,” Ms Cleeland said.
“It’s getting to the point where it would be easier to list which roads haven’t been mentioned.
“Despite these concerns, Labor has consistently decreased their road maintenance budget while being happy to blame the potholes and crumbling roadsides on bad weather.”
Ms Cleeland said the impact of weather events on roads in the region could be mitigated by properly funding road resurfacing and rehabilitation projects.
“Re-sealing protects the road network against water penetration that causes potholes and damaged roads,” Ms Cleeland said.
“By not doing this essential preventive maintenance, this government is creating a ticking time bomb that will rear its head sooner rather than later.”
