JUST 180 kilometres of rebuilding and repair works have been undertaken this season across Geelong and south-west Victoria under the Victorian Government’s annual regional road maintenance program.

However, the government said its investment of more than $464 million had gone over and above its original target for road maintenance that included 170 individual projects since September last year.

Crews worked to rehabilitate, repair, and resurface some of the area’s busiest and more important transport and travel routes, including the Hamilton Highway in Caramut, Lismore-Scarsdale Road in Lismore, and Bellarine Highway in Newcomb.

Across the whole state, more than 1100 individual road maintenance projects were delivered, which replaced more than 30,000 signs, inspected thousands of bridges and culverts, mowed more than 30,000 kilometres of roadside grass and responded to hundreds of out-of-hours calls from the public.

The maintenance works also helped to support the south-west economy, placing 65 jobs on the ground and a further 140 throughout the supply chain.

The government said there was more work to come on Victoria’s roads later this year, with $780m invested in the 2022/23 Victorian Budget for maintaining road assets.

Roads and Road Safety minister, Ben Carroll, said regional roads were vitally important.

“That’s why our annual road maintenance blitz is providing better journeys for all Victorians,” he said.

The south-west road network supports Australia’s largest dairy production region.

Western Victoria MP, Gayle Tierney, said the road network was critical to the agricultural industry in the region.

“The south-west dairy industry is a huge economic driver for the state, and we know how important the road network is in transporting this precious cargo,” she said.

However, the government’s claims of its “blitz” on road maintenance have not washed with some of the south-west’s transport businesses who have said the lack of road repair is costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars in unnecessary vehicle maintenance.

Last month, minister Carroll raised the ire of local trucking companies when he said that accidents on the Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road were not caused by poor road conditions.

The Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road is a 75-kilometre carriageway gazetted for B-double heavy vehicles and road train use and is a vital link to the Port of Portland, used daily by grain, livestock and dairy tankers, as well as school buses and local traffic.

However, it is notoriously riddled with potholes, low hanging limbs, and dangerously narrow sections.

Adam Fry of the Broadwater family transport company, Fry Cartage and Contracting, has long campaigned for road funding for the road, however was disappointed in minister Carroll’s statement.

“That’s a bit of a joke really,” he said.

“He (the minister) really does need to get out of the city and go for a drive and see what it’s really like.”

Coincidentally, Opposition leader Matthew Guy toured the south-west this week and travelled along the Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road with South West Coast MP, Roma Britnell, to experience the appalling condition of the road firsthand.

“The condition of the road isn’t just bad, it is unsafe, and locals deserve so much better,” Mr Guy said.

“When the road condition gets bad in regional Victoria, the government puts up a sign and lowers the speed limit.”

Mr Guy took the opportunity to pledge to fix country roads properly if the Liberals and Nationals were elected in November.

“Instead of expensive patch repairs, we’ll actually fix the crumbling roads in country Victoria,” he said.

Ms Britnell said the condition of roads was the biggest issue constituents raised with her, which is why she took Mr Guy along the Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road.

“I felt it was really important to take Matthew along Woolsthorpe-Heywood Road while he was in the South West Coast electorate on Tuesday, to give him a better understanding of just how bad it is,” she said.

“I have been constantly advocating for the Andrews Labor Government to fix this road, and fix it properly, for many years.

“Unfortunately, neither the minister for Roads and Road Safety, nor the government seem to care.

“They like to spruik the wonderful job they’re doing in upgrading and maintaining rural and regional roads, but we know the truth.”

Meanwhile, the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has recorded a spike in deaths on country roads, with the road toll up by 40 per cent to 63 - from 45 for the same period last year - while metropolitan road deaths have decreased.

Deaths on country roads are contributing to the overall increase in the road toll for the state - up 16.1 per cent to 101 - compared with 87 for the same time last year.

The Opposition condemned the government’s record on road funding this week, as a $50m cut to road safety was exposed in the State Government’s 2022-23 Victorian Budget, with more cuts on the way.

The Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) heard in a committee hearing earlier this week that road safety spending for 2021-22 plunged to $86.6m - a 37 per cent cut on projections.

The Opposition said the government had reduced its Road Asset Management spending on the state’s crumbling roads to $592.7m, compared with $807.4m two years ago.

Shadow Roads minister, Steph Ryan, expressed alarm around the drastic cuts and said the government’s claims this week that it had gone ‘over and above its original target’ in regional Victoria was little more than a PR offensive.

“Labor is working overtime to cover its tracks on dangerous road safety cuts.

“With the road toll rising, now is not the time to cut road safety spending.

“Every road death is a tragedy and preventable. We need strong investment to drive down the road toll and keep Victorians safe.”

Ms Ryan urged road users to continue to contribute to the Liberals and Nationals’ road safety campaign website to add to the growing list of the state’s most dangerous roads to be presented to the Roads minister.

“We’ve heard from countless Victorians who fear the life-threatening consequences of poor roads that are littered with potholes or dangerously narrow after years of neglect,” she said.

“We can’t afford to wait until November for action.”

To submit a road, visit the online portal at VicsWorstRoad.vote