Shadow roads minister, Steph Ryan slammed the government’s dangerous neglect of roads, which included axing of crucial funds for councils to maintain local roads.
The report released on Wednesday said a section of the Glenelg Highway at Muntham was labelled by a south-west Victorian bus driver in 2016 as “revolting” and “the worst section of road I’ve ever seen in my life” – the road remains in disrepair some six years later.
Ms Ryan said the government’s band-aid fixes like lowering speed limits and cheap patch jobs were to blame for the continuing poor conditions of country roads.
“One of the first things Daniel Andrews did when he was elected in 2014 was axe the Country Roads and Bridges Program, removing a crucial support for rural councils to maintain an extensive local roads network,” she said.
“The problems are worse after Labor carved 25 per cent out of road asset maintenance in last year’s budget, a cut of $191 million.
“Fixing country roads by restoring funding cuts and bringing back the Country Roads and Bridges Program is crucial for saving Victorian lives.”
The Victorian Government was asked to comment but did not respond prior to publication.
