Local Highway voted eastern Victoria’s worst road

Two South Gippsland roads have made it onto a list of the most dangerous in eastern Victoria.

In RACV’s 2026 My Country Road survey, the Strzelecki Highway between Leongatha and Mirboo North received more safety nominations than any other road in eastern Victoria.

The South Gippsland Highway between Loch and Leongatha placed third, behind the Princes Highway East between Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance.

Over 6000 people did the survey, and results were released on Wednesday, September 16.

Rather unsurprisingly, potholes dominated the feedback.

About 71 per cent of the respondents said potholes and poor road conditions were a safety concern, up from 64 per cent when the survey was last done in 2024.

Drivers also lodged more than 10,000 requests for road improvements, and 73 per cent called for resurfacing.

RACV Head of Public Policy James Williams said the response was clear.

“Seven in 10 of the concerns raised through this campaign came back to potholes and deteriorating surfaces, and almost three-quarters of the fixes people asked for were as simple as resurfacing the road,” he said.

The results were released three days after a 71-year-old Ballarat man died in a motorcycle crash on the Western Highway near Trawalla.

Police said the motorcycle had reportedly struck a pothole and lost control, although the exact circumstances are still being investigated.

The results also came one week after the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office released its report into the maintenance of the state’s roads.

Based on remaining useful life, around 48 per cent of Victoria’s state roads were rated poor or very poor in 2024. That was up from 39 per cent in 2021.

Bass Coast was worse.

Data released with the report showed 65.43 per cent of its state roads were rated poor or very poor, the highest proportion across Gippsland’s six municipalities.

The figure for South Gippsland was 38.59 per cent.

Speaking after the Auditor-General’s report was released last week, Gippsland South MP and Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety Danny O’Brien said it only confirmed what motorists were already aware of.

“Victorians already know our roads are an appalling mess, but the Auditor-General has now revealed why,” he said.

The Sentinel-Times reported on Tuesday, September 15, that damaged tyres and rims had become a constant problem for local road users, with Wonthaggi Tyrepower dealing with at least half a dozen cases each week.

When RACV opened its survey in June, six of the shortlisted road sections passed through Bass Coast or South Gippsland.

All 52 sections shortlisted across Victoria had been identified as high-risk using Australian Road Assessment Program data on traffic volumes and crash history.

RACV said it would use the survey results to call on the state government to invest more in improving the safety of roads.