Coalition promises to focus on repairing Victorian roads if elected

The Victorian Coalition will invest $5 billion to repair and rebuild the state's roads, if elected in November.

On Monday, the Liberal and Nationals announced a plan to eliminate one million potholes and "re-establish a proper, planned system of preventative road maintenance".

It includes a $5 billion investment in road maintenance over four years and establishing Better Roads Victoria as a standalone division within the Department of Transport and Planning.

The funds would also go towards boosting roadside maintenance such as grass slashing, graffiti removal and drain clearance and see a review of construction standards and maintenance contracts.

"While $15 billion has been lost to corruption on the Big Build, our roads are littered with dangerous potholes that are causing untold damage to vehicles — leaving motorists thousands of dollars out of pocket," Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said.

"Drivers shouldn't be the ones footing the bill for blown tyres, cracked rims and worse because Jacinta Allan and Labor cannot get the basics right."

Nationals Leader and Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Danny O'Brien, said the plan forms a broader commitment to regional Victoria through the Fair Share Guarantee.

"Roads have been falling apart all across Victoria and Victorians are fed-up with half-hearted patch up jobs that quickly fall apart," he said.

"Under Labor, our regions receive less than 12 per cent of infrastructure spending despite making up 25 per cent of the state’s population."

He said as part of the commitment, 25 per cent of the state's infrastructure spending will be directed to the regions.

Budget funding criticised

This year's Victorian budget included $1 billion to fix the state's roads, with 70 per cent of that funding earmarked for the regions.

While the government labelled the investment a record for the state, it received criticism from peak bodies representing regional Victoria who feared it was not enough funding to fix crumbling rural roads.

According to budget papers, 74,000 square metres of Victoria's regional road network would be repaired in the 2026-27 financial year compared with 95,000 square metres the previous year.

In response to the budget, Rural Councils Victoria (RCV) called for an extra $500,000 per year for four years for road upgrades and resealing.

Earlier this year, the Liberal Party's candidate for Nepean by-election, Anthony Marsh, performed unauthorised roadworks as part of a campaign stunt with Ms Wilson.

In a video posted to social media, Ms Wilson and Mr Marsh filled potholes in the suburb of Dromana.

The video was the subject of a complaint to the state's Department of Transport and Planning, questioning the safety and integrity of the works.