Why our roads are failing, according to Danny O’Brien MP

AS VICTORIAN Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety, it’s not an exaggeration to say that part of every waking hour for Gippsland South MP Danny O’Brien is devoted to the poor condition of the state’s roads.

And he’s not on his own.

Anyone on the road as much as Mr O’Brien, whether it’s up and down the length and breadth of his 8232km2 electorate or heading to Spring Street for parliament and meetings, would experience the same frustration with unavoidable potholes and, frankly, unsafe sections of road.

And this week, Mr O’Brien has been able to point one reason why they’re going from bad to worse.

New figures, he said in a statement this week, reveal the ongoing extent of the State Government’s neglect of Victorian roads, with less than 0.1 per cent of roadsides graded last year.

Why is this a problem?

Because grading of unsealed roadsides and cleaning out of drains is a crucial part of road maintenance, ensuring water can get away from the road surface, preventing pavement failure and pothole formation because continual impact by tyres on standing water is punishment no road surface can sustain.

“Yet grading is almost non-existent, adding to the woeful state of our roads,” Mr O’Brien said.

“In response to a Question on Notice in State Parliament, even the Government acknowledges that the ‘importance of drain cleaning in conjunction with road formation cannot be overstated’. It is stated that it is ‘a fundamental aspect of infrastructure maintenance that directly impacts safety, durability, environmental sustainability, and the overall wellbeing of the community’.

“Yet in 2023 the Government completed just 25 kilometres of roadside grading across the 23,000 kilometres of state-controlled roads. Only 900 drainage defects were addressed across the whole state.”

Mr O’Brien said the farcically low amount of work was the result of successive government road maintenance funding cuts.

“We have seen a 45 per cent cut to the roads maintenance budget since 2020, including a 25 per cent cut in this year’s budget, when we actually needed a serious cash injection.

“The failure to grade roadsides and clean drains is a big part of the disastrous state of our roads, especially in country Victoria where many state roads have unsealed shoulders.

“Lack of drainage maintenance is what has led to so much of the damage we see on our roads throughout the state at the moment. Even the Government acknowledges it is also a safety risk, something you’d think they might be focused on given the road toll was up 24 per cent last year.”

Mr O’Brien said the lack of roadside maintenance was exacerbated by the wet seasons.

“We’ve got grass and weeds thriving on our roadsides and in many instances causing a visibility and safety hazard, yet the Labor Government is doing less and less,” Mr O’Brien said.