As of May 30, 130 fatalities have occurred on Victorian roads, 78 of which took place in rural Victoria.
State Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland has urged the government to invest more into fixing roads across the state.
“We need true investment in fixing our roads and an increase in preventative maintenance,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Every week, I am contacted by people in our community who have grave concerns about roads in our region.
“Despite these concerns, Labor has decreased their road maintenance budget once again while being happy to blame potholes and crumbling roadsides on bad weather.”
According to the government, the total road area resurfaced across inner metropolitan Melbourne, outer suburban Melbourne and regional Victoria in 2024-25 is projected to be 4,356,000 square metres, which exceeds the combined target of 4,153,000 sq m by 203,000 sq m.
“Crews are now out on the ground right now delivering our record investment in our roads worth close to $1 billion — nearly double the average spend of $493 million of the previous Liberal National Government,” a government spokesperson said.
“Almost 70 per cent of this is being directed towards work in regional Victoria.
“We’re delivering transport and road projects across regional Victoria — the Liberal Nationals will cut them.”
The RACV My Country Road Survey had the Goulburn Valley Hwy (A39) from Nagambie to Shepparton in the top 12 most mentioned roads in the entire state when it came to safety concerns such as potholes, road condition and intersection safety.
Ms Cleeland said vital road maintenance works were failing to take place.
“Re-sealing protects the road network against water penetration that causes potholes and damaged roads,” Ms Cleeland said.
“By not doing this essential preventative maintenance, this government is creating a ticking time bomb that will rear its head sooner rather than later.
“The ineffective patch-up work they are doing now fails to withstand the slightest resistance and is contributing to the poor state of our roads.”
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