Talk to any interstate visitor to Victoria and the first thing they tell you is that as soon as they cross the border into Victoria they think they have entered a third world country because of the poor road system.
Andrews, Pallas and allan have stripped Victoria of badly need road maintenance funds to pay for infrastructure budget overruns. Labor cannot manage money in fact Labor cannot manage anything.
What these peanut pollies don't understand is productivity is the key to a better economy. Vale Victoria.
See depressing report below published today.
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Victoria’s road network ‘crumbling’ as maintenance budget cuts put new strain on exports
Successive cuts to road maintenance programs are taking a toll on the state’s crucial export services, as drivers fall behind on time-sensitive jobs due to restrictions on hundreds of unsafe roads.
Shannon Deery Herald Sun March 17, 2024 - 5:00AM
Speed limits have been slashed along hundreds of kilometres of Victorian roads amid new warnings about the state’s crumbling road network.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal 480 regional roads are currently subjected to speed limit reductions or driver warnings due to their poor state.
They include large stretches of road at Bullangarook, in central Victoria, and in Longford, in eastern Victoria, which have been reduced from 100km to 60kmh.
A further 61 metropolitan sites are also under restricted use, totalling almost 840km of the total road network.
They form part of the state’s growing “roads in poor condition register” which has ballooned following successive cuts to road maintenance budgets.
Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano warned the worsening state of the roads was now threatening Victorian productivity.
“Key road corridors feeding into the Port of Melbourne such as the crumbling Hamilton Highway are putting a handbrake on our economic productivity,” she said.
“The government cut the Fixing Country Roads Program, which was a critical tool to help local government plan and get on top of road rehabilitation.
“Victoria’s mantle as Australia’s largest food and fibre exporter by value is at risk as our regional roads crumble.
A staggering 480 regional roads across Victoria are currently subject to speed limit reductions or driver warnings due to their poor state. Picture: RACV
“Our ability to efficiently get produce from the paddock to key export markets is being hampered by our second-rate country road infrastructure.”
Ms Germano said lowering the speed limit on regional roads was like “putting a Band-Aid over a bullet hole”.
“The Victorian Government has neglected and ripped funding out of country roads that has left them not being maintained to a basic standard.”
Victorian Transport Association chief, Peter Anderson, called on the government to overhaul its road maintenance program.
“We should have permanent repairs crews based in regional areas that are a part of VicRoads and are not contractors,” he said.
“The current system does not cater for the volume of work or the depth of issues.
“We should have a structure of permanent not emergency maintenance then we would not have the volume of unrepaired roads we are currently experiencing.”
Mr Anderson said the state of Victorian roads posed an ongoing safety risk.
“Most of these roads are not residential but are the main corridors and connectors for towns, workplaces and supplies,” he said.
“Additionally, they are roads used by visitors and tourists, the main source of income for many of the businesses throughout regional Victoria.”
Shadow minister for Roads and Road Safety, Danny O'Brien is slamming ongoing inaction by the state government over its road conditions. Picture: Supplied
Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Danny O’Brien, slammed ongoing inaction by the state government for the state of the roads.
“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage projects and can’t manage our roads,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Successive cuts to the roads maintenance budget totalling 45 per cent since 2020 have led to serious deterioration of the Victorian road network.
“We now see that manifested not only in unsafe roads, but in speed reductions on roads that inconvenience and frustrate Victorians in the city and country.”
“Labor has wasted over $38 billion in cost blowouts on major projects and $600 million in cancelling the Commonwealth Games but can’t find the money to do basic pavement repairs on our road network.”
A government spokesman said flood and storm events had affected nearly 100 arterial roads across Victoria since December.
She said the government had committed to a $6.6bn, 10-year strategy, to “future-proof regional roads”.
“What were previously considered once in a generation flood events are now commonplace, bringing record rainfall and inflicting unprecedented damage on our roads,” she said.
“Since September last year, our crews have filled more than 150,000 potholes across the state – this includes short-term emergency flood repairs to reopen flood affected roads sooner.”
