Hundreds of freeways, arterial and regional roads across Victoria are set to be upgraded as the Victorian Government invests over $870 million to fix the roads that locals rely on each day.
This significant investment includes $653.5 million to rebuild and resurface Victorian roads over a two-year period together with an annual investment for road maintenance, which is valued at $216 million for this financial year.
“From fixing pot holes to the biggest projects in Victoria has ever seen, we’re building a better transport network for all Victorians.
“This massive investment will fix the roads Victorians rely on every day and get people home safer and sooner, wherever they are,” Premier Daniel Andrews said.
With this funding, approximately 1,800 kilometres of road will be upgraded as well as 150,000 potholes repaired and more than 30,000 kilometres of roadside vegetation trimmed across the State within the next year.
Projects will include asphalt resurfacing key arterial roads - including the Monash Freeway, Princes Freeway, Maroondah Highway and Cranbourne-Frankston Road - to provide safer and more reliable journeys for all road users.
Roads such as the Melba Highway at Dixons Creek, Mornington-Tyabb Road at Moorooduc and Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road on Pakenham, and other roads that need extensive work will also be included in the road maintenance blitz.
About 1,500 kilometres of regional roads will also be repaired, resurfaced and rebuilt this year. These regional roads will include the Princes Highway in Gippsland, the Hume Highway near Winton, the Glenelg Highway near Skipton, the Echuca-Kyabram Road near Echuca, and the Robinvale-Sea Lake Road in Manangatang.
Through the second round of the Fixing Country Roads program, regional councils will be able to deliver 133 projects that will fix municipal roads. Works will include rebuilding sections of local roads as well as sealing gravel roads and strengthening bridges.
Other works covered by the road maintenance blitz will include repairing and replacing damaged signs, safety barriers and fences.
“We know how important suburban and country roads are for families getting to work or taking their kids to school. That’s why over the coming months you’ll see crews fixing and repairing the roads that need it the most,” Minister for Roads Jaala Pulford said.
This road maintenance program is expected to support up to 1,100 construction jobs across Victoria, with about 100 workers working to fix roads in Melbourne at night.
In addition, vital maintenance works on the West Gate Bridge will also go underway over the summer festive period. The maintenance team will work around the clock to asphalt and waterproof the steel sections of the bridge, boosting the bridge’s reliability for the hundreds of thousands of motorists using the bridge daily.
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Source: Premier of Victoria; 7News.com.au; Infrastructure Magazine; Trailer Magazine