Victorian Nationals: Better roads in Gippsland South under The Nationals’ $10 billion roads plan

Roads in Gippsland will be better and safer for all motorists with The Nationals and Liberals committing $10 billion in funding over 10 years to fix Victoria’s crumbling road system.

The funding increase will be delivered through the annual road asset management budget, increasing spending from around $600 million to $1 billion annually.

Announcing the commitment on Wednesday, Shadow Minister for Roads and The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien, said after almost a decade of Andrews Labor Government neglect, our roads have gone from bad to worse.

“Gippslanders are sick of patch jobs on our roads that leave us with potholes, cracked and broken road surfaces and unsealed shoulders,” Mr O’Brien said.

“We are seeing speed limits reduced and road hazard signs erected while the underlying issues are ignored.  The condition of our roads would be the issue most raised with me by my constituents.

“Labor cut the road maintenance budget by 10 per cent when it came to government and, on top of recent wet years, our roads have never recovered.

“This $10 billion investment will deliver longer-term contracts to promote innovation, give contractors certainty to invest in better equipment and allow for strategic maintenance planning.

“Our commitment will tackle the state of roads such as the South Gippsland Highway, Meeniyan-Promontory Road and the Hyland Highway, but all state roads will benefit.

“Under our plan, Gippslanders won’t have to put up with band-aid solutions that only last weeks or months until the next heavy rain.”

Mr O’Brien said more money was not the only solution and The Nationals will also initiate a review of construction standards, increasing accountability of VicRoads and contractors.

“We’re all sick of seeing road works or repairs undertaken only to see the pavement fail within weeks or months.  We’ll put some accountability back into our spending of taxpayer dollars.”

The Nationals will also undertake a quality audit of all state-managed roads.