As Victoria’s road network continues to crumble, new data has revealed funding for road resurfacing work has dropped to a five-year low.
Figures provided to State Parliament show that the money spent on resurfacing and resealing contracts in the 2023/24 financial year was just 18 per cent of the previous year, dropping from $201.4 million to just $37.6 million across the state.
The Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, said while road surfaces across the state are already in a dire state, this dramatic drop in basic maintenance will condemn Victorians to worse roads in future.
“These figures highlight the drastic budget cuts that have seen our roads deteriorate dramatically over the past few years,” Ms Cleeland said.
“We’ve gotten to a point where the government’s own survey last year revealed 91 per cent of roads were in poor or very poor condition.
“Instead of working to resolve this issue, Labor’s dramatic reduction in road resurfacing and re-sealing work will lead to even worse roads in the coming years.
Concerns about road surface issues have been longstanding and last financial year contributed to nearly 1200 claims received by the Department of Transport and Planning for property damage.
Additionally, in March of this year it was revealed that at least 480 regional roads were subject to speed limit reductions or driver warnings due to their poor state.
“Concerned motorists continue to inform me of troublesome roads nearly every day,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Potholes, crumbling roadsides, and destroyed wire barriers can be found on most of our major roadways, understandably leaving people in my community feeling let down by this government.
“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage projects, and can’t manage our roads.”
