Four in five kilometres of Ballarat-Maryborough Road rated poor or very poor
An audit found Ballarat-Maryborough Road is in poor condition and an expert says early maintenance would save lives.
A stretch of Ballarat-Maryborough Road in Victoria is falling apart. The state's Auditor-General found that most of it was rated poor or very poor in 2024.
Across the wider Grampians region, about one in every two kilometres of surveyed roads sits in the same poor condition. One man died in September after his motorcycle reportedly hit a pothole on the Western Highway.
A Swinburne University expert says the problem is Australia's reactive approach: we wait until roads crack, then fix them. This costs more than preventing damage early.
Victoria spent more than $1.5 billion on road maintenance between 2022 and 2025 but still cannot keep pace with deterioration.
- 81.1 per cent of 27.986 kilometres
- Poor or very poor rating
- Peter Mason, 71, September 13
- Death on Western Highway
- Australia spends 30.25 billion dollars
- Annual road spending
- About 15 centimetres
- Pothole depth
Why it mattersPoor roads kill people, damage cars, and waste money on emergency repairs. Early maintenance would cost far less and save lives.
AustraliaVictorians face dangerous driving conditions and rising vehicle damage across the state. The problem reflects a nationwide maintenance shortfall affecting rural and regional communities most.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 4 d ago
