Pothole poll pledge to secure state's roads

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has pledged $352 million to fix 500,000 potholes on the state's roads, while the opposition claims the amount is insufficient and too late. The Premier announced delays to three level crossing removals to make the funding possible. Labour argues that the current state of roads is inadequate and that they have made cost-saving decisions to allocate funds appropriately.

By deferring the removal of level crossings in Highett and Mentone by a year, the state will save $112 million, which will be added to the $1.4 billion allocated for roads in the budget. Doubling the number of potholes addressed, from 250,000 to 500,000, will cost $352 million. Most of the repairs will occur during the drier months, between the latter half of the year and January.

Key arterial roads, such as the Geelong Ring Road, Western Highway, Calder Highway, and Princes Highway, along with regional roads, will be prioritized for repair. Shadow Minister for Police Brad Battin criticized the timing of the announcement, as it comes just before the election scheduled for November 28 and argued that Labour has neglected the roads for the past 12 years.