POTHOLES and deteriorated roads are set to get worse, with the debt-ridden State Government slashing resurfacing and rehabilitation works to a third of what was being fixed three years ago.
Data released in performance reports linked to the May budget reveal the shockingly low amount of rehabilitation work that will be carried out across regional Victoria. The damning figures show resurfacing works for the next 12 months have plummeted by more than 65 per cent on regional roads.
State Member for Shepparton District, Kim O’Keeffe, said this figure shouldn’t be surprising considering the current disgraceful condition of our roads.
“Our roads are crumbling, and dangerous potholes and uneven, broken road surfaces are putting lives at risk,” she said.
Justin Bartlet, managing director of VSA Roads, regional Victoria’s largest bitumen provider, said the underspend was resulting in the state’s roads deteriorating at an alarming rate.
“There’s a life cycle of bitumen, and after 10 years it becomes aged and brittle and starts to crack, and if you’re not resurfacing, water gets in,” he said.
Ironically, the government is fully blaming the floods, not the lack of funding.
“These savage reductions in resurfacing programs will see our roads continue to deteriorate. When will this government realise it is putting lives at risk?” Ms O’Keeffe said.
“These cutbacks will eventually catch up and result in an exponential spend in the future.
“The Government has their priorities all wrong by investing in billion-dollar cost blowouts on city-centric projects, such as the Suburban Rail Loop, at the expense of fixing our regional roads.
“I urge the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Melissa Horne, to come out to regional Victoria and have a look at our unsafe roads.
“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage our roads, and regional Victorians are paying the price.”
