15 hours ago
7
As motorists across the country grapple with driving on pothole-filled roads, one state government has announced it will commence a road repair blitz from next year.
As part of its 2026/2027 budget, the Victorian Government announced it will allocate $1.04 billion in funding to repair roads across the state.
It said the investment “is enough to get rid of 200,000 potholes and 200,000 graffiti tags”, with the government stating 70 per cent of the $1 billion investment will go towards regional Victoria.
Drive understands that the exact roads that will be part of the maintenance investment have yet to be determined, with authorities relying on real-time data, in-person inspections, and community feedback to identify the locations. An official announcement is expected sometime in mid-2027.
Despite the state government claiming the maintenance project is a “record investment”, Regional Cities Victoria (RCV) – which represents the 10 biggest regional cities – said the funding was a temporary fix and does not address the deeper issue.
RCV chair councillor Ben Blain said the $1 billion investment is “just a band-aid on a bullet hole”.
“Most of our regional arterial roads are nearing the end of their design life. They don’t just need patching, they need rebuilding,” Blain said in an April 2026 media statement.
“This is what happens when you keep putting band-aids on roads that are structurally failing. It’s more expensive in the long run, and it’s putting safety and productivity at risk right now,” he added.
As reported by Drive in November 2025, Victoria had the highest proportion of one-star safety-rated roads in the country, with an overwhelming majority located in regional areas.
In 2025, Victorian road maintenance workers repaired 187,000 potholes in the state, which the state government said is “equivalent to one in every five metres between Sydney and Melbourne”.
Additionally, the state government said the $1 billion investment will go towards bridge and traffic light maintenance, landscaping, delivering emergency roadside works and fixing/repairing signs.
The government also announced $36.9 million will be allocated to removing rubbish and graffiti across the state's major arterials, including the Monash, Princes and Westgate freeways.
“We’re delivering better, safer roads – and with 20 per cent off rego, it’s cheaper to get around,” Premier Jacinta Allan said in an April 2026 media statement.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
