“A disgrace”: West Vic roads rated among the state’s worst
The region’s roads have been given ratings out of 5 stars. And it’s not good.
Zara Cuthbertson
October 10, 2025
The state of south-west Victoria’s roads is again under fire, with a new government safety assessment painting a grim picture of the region’s crumbling network.
What happened: The Department of Transport and Planning has used the Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP) to review the safety of Victoria’s state-owned roads, rating them from one to five stars based on how well they protect drivers from serious crashes.
On the AusRAP map, black marks the lowest safety rating, while green indicates the best. But you’ll be hard pressed to find much green in the west.
What it looks like: Five-star roads typically feature wide shoulders, clear barriers and rumble strips, while one-star roads are often narrow, potholed and lined with trees close to the edge.
Much of western Victoria falls into the latter category.
What’s being done: No new local upgrades have been confirmed under the state government’s upcoming $976 million Better Roads Blitz, announced in the 2025–26 Victorian Budget.
That omission has frustrated many residents – and even sparked protest.
The local response: In July, a frustrated local spray-painted crude graffiti over potholes along the Princes Highway between Portland and Heywood to get attention. It worked: the section was soon repaired.
But other parts of the region remain neglected.
Between November and July, seven people were killed along the Western Highway near Ararat.
Community pressure continues to mount over the state of the Cobden-Warrnambool Road.
What officials are saying: Mayors from Corangamite, Moyne and Warrnambool united in September in a strong rebuke of the government’s inaction.
“This road is a disgrace,” said Corangamite Shire Mayor Kate Makin. “It’s crumbling, unsafe, and ignored. Our communities are fed up with being treated as second-class when it comes to infrastructure.”
Moyne Shire Mayor Karen Foster said the route was crucial for freight and local travel, yet “the surface of the road is increasingly causing significant concerns for all types of vehicles”.
Warrnambool Mayor Ben Blain added the road’s condition was “symptomatic of many arterial roads across our region” and that “they’re not the roads you would expect to drive on within a state that has a developed economy.”
Ongoing concern: According to the RACV’s 2024 My Country Road survey, 64 percent of Victorian motorists identified potholes and poor road conditions as their top safety concern, up from 46 percent in 2021.
Header image: The inside of a pothole on the Cobden-Warrnambool Road. Image credit: Corangamite Shire Council