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Insurer RACV has welcomed the recent announcement by the Victorian government about a $941m regional roads package.
“RACV’s own market research found that drivers were constantly frustrated with the condition of road surfaces,” said Dave Jones, manager of mobility advocacy. “Victoria-wide, dissatisfaction was over 40%, reaching nearly 50% in southwest and western Victoria. Moreover, over 50% of respondents believed that the maintenance and repair of regional roads would be better if Vicroads was separated into metropolitan and regional authorities.”
RACV said it was pleased that its continuous and strong lobbying has led to the establishment of Regional Roads Victoria, a new division tasked to oversee regional road maintenance and construction.
“This is an important step towards greater transparency about Victoria’s roads, along with being more open with their road condition data and adopting star ratings for road safety,” Jones said.
As good as the news of the additional funding is, RACV said what it would like to see its full details and scope of Regional Roads Victoria to ensure it has the potential to achieve its objectives.
“What will be important now is what roads will be fixed and when,” Jones said. “Every winter, the state’s cracked roads get worse. In late 2016, we estimated that nearly 1,500km were distressed and urgently needing attention. Regional Roads Victoria will need to demonstrate transparency and a commitment to consult with local communities to better prioritise projects.”
