General News
2 October, 2025
Road funding reveals little for south west
THE Victorian Government’s $976 million major road maintenance announcement has left more questions than answers as to what south west Victorians can expect.
Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne last Tuesday launched the Labor Government’s ‘Better Roads Blitz’, touting the state’s plans to rebuild, repair and resurface roads as the largest single-year investment in road maintenance in the state’s history.
Crews will begin fixing potholes and upgrading road surfaces across the state.
With the announcement of this year’s Better Roads Blitz, crews will begin delivering hundreds of major maintenance projects between now and mid-2026 on roads – with 70 per cent of all the funding going towards our regional roads.
Crews will be tasked with completing thousands of projects over the next nine months ranging from road rehabilitation and resurfacing, patching potholes and maintaining bridges, installing traffic lights and signage.
But eyebrows were raised after members of the opposition and media noted quotes included in the media release announcing the blitz, attributable to Ms Horne, were verbatim copies of the quotes included for attribution in the media release from October 14, 2024.
“We’re investing nearly a billion dollars to rebuild and repair the roads that Victorians depend on every single day – from the highways connecting our major centres to the local roads that keep our communities moving,” both statements read.
“The last Liberal National Government cut roads maintenance funding and jobs – we’re getting on and delivering the biggest single-year investment in road maintenance in Victoria’s history.”
Western District Newspapers submitted questions to both the Department of Transport and Ms Horne’s office seeking further details on how much of the funding would flow to projects in the south west and if projects were being carried over from previous years.
A response from the Department of Transport and Planning included a link to the maintenance program 2025-2026 which only includes around 9.2 kilometres of works.
Roads included for rehabilitation works include Darlington-Camperdown Road and Darlington-Terang Road at Darlington (3.6km), Ellerslie-Panmure Road and Harris Street at Panmure (980m), New Brucknell Road and Ayresford Road at Ecklin South (650m), Curdies-Leichfield Road and Glenfyne-Brucknell Road at Ecklin South (310m) and between Foxhow Road and Berrybank-Wallinduc Road at Berrybank (3km).
Department of Transport and Planning executive director Barwon South West and Grampians Michael Bailey said
“We’re investing a record investment of $976 million to deliver maintenance on roads right across the state – including in south west Victoria,” he said.
“This Better Roads Blitz will see crews out rebuilding, repairing and resurfacing roads across the south west of the state, as well as undertaking crucial maintenance on our roadsides, bridges, traffic lights and other vital road infrastructure.”
Ms Horne’s office did not respond to questions prior to publication.