The state government has announced $700 million for roads in regional Victoria - is it enough?

For many years, the roads in West Victoria have been the ire of locals. Floods, heavy rainfall and a lack of action have led to several stretches of regional road becoming treacherous.

🗣️ “Sometimes it feels like a gamble just to head down to the shops," Riley House, a Ballarat local living in Miners Rest, told the Brolga.

Reputational damage: A portion of the Western Highway, between Ballarat and Stawell, has been labelled “the death stretch” with more than 170 crashes between 2015 and 2024. It’s just one of many lengths of road in the region in desperate need of repair.

Now, the Victorian Government has assigned $1.04 billion to fix road infrastructure throughout the state, with 70% of this allocated to regional and rural areas. 

Andrew Robinson, another Ballarat local, said he found the announcement lacklustre.

🗣️: “Basic maintenance that has been postponed is not an election or even budget platform,” he told the Brolga. “If I do not spend $10 on maintenance over four years and after four years I suddenly say ‘look, I’ve got $40!’, it’s nothing special. It’s not additional money.” 

❓What happened: Earlier this week, the Allan Government unveiled their budget plans for 2026 - 2027. Among many promises, a significant amount of funds were designated to the improvement of road infrastructure. 

Minister for Roads Ros Spence declared it a “record investment” that would see approximately 200,000 potholes fixed, as well as updates to bridges, road signs and arterial roads. 

🌏The bigger picture: In the last few years, roads throughout West Vic have taken a beating. 

• Record floods and stormweather during 2022 and 2023 saw more than 150 roads closed, with several remaining saturated for months. 

• This saturation debilitated the road, creating a sizable vulnerability to pothole formation. This has been worsened by heavy truck traffic on regional routes. 

• The potholes are a well-known danger in the region, with main roads riddled, impacting daily journeys for locals. 

🗣️: “Going anywhere at night is pretty much a write-off if you don’t have the roads, like, memorised.” House said. 

⛈️Calm before the storm: The extreme weather conditions driving this damage are expected to increase. 

As the world warms, the atmosphere holds more moisture. In Australia, this has meant rainfall events that are high in intensity as well as increased floods. In January, flash floods along the Great Ocean Road in Wye River, Lorne, Kennett River, and Separation Creek caused hundreds of locals and tourists to be displaced. Several vehicles and caravans were swept away by floodwaters. Damage to some sites totalled in the hundreds of thousands. Roads were closed in both directions for hours, and sustained long-term damage. 

These weather patterns are a trend that is forecast to continue, according to Victoria’s Climate Science Report.

• Specific to West Vic, the report found daily rainfall extremes could increase by 8 percent per degree of global warming. 

• By the end of the century, flood risk is likely to double if emissions continue to rise. 

⌚What next? 

Shadow Roads Minister Danny O’Brien said the announcement was not enough, and against inflation would make little difference. 

“Frankly, it’s not enough because the government has neglected our roads for over a decade.” 

Escape plans: For locals looking for a quick solution to the shoddy road network, there’s only one easy solution: move.

“The best thing about going on holiday outside of Ballarat is being able to drive on something smooth,” House told the Brolga. “It’s truly terrible.”

Header Image: Conor O’Neill