VicRoads response to VAGO report - Maintaining State Controlled Roadways

Today the Victorian Auditor General has tabled his report, Maintaining State Controlled Roadways, examining how VicRoads maintains the arterial road network.

The report looks at VicRoads’ historical approach to maintaining roads, concluding that there were shortcomings in planning and prioritising investment, managing data and measuring performance under the approach that is now being phased out.

VicRoads Chief Executive John Merritt responded to the report, acknowledging the findings and recommendations which VicRoads is already putting in place.

“We thank the Auditor General for his report into our past maintenance practices and we're pleased that the Auditor General's recommendations support the reform program and actions VicRoads already has underway,” Mr Merritt said.

“This audit reflects a past approach and we are well advanced in a reform program that is transforming the way we plan and deliver road maintenance across Victoria,” Mr Merritt said. 

“We have a statewide system in place to drive the best investment decisions based on a strategic view of the network.

“Much of the 23,000 kilometres of Victoria’s arterial road network was built in the years immediately following World War Two. In the 1940s and 50s a 40 tonne truck was one of the largest vehicles on the road, but today those same roads could be carrying vehicles over 80 tonne.

“The Victorian economy has changed significantly since many of our roads were built. With Melbourne’s rapid growth and the changing transport needs in regional Victoria to support new and emerging industries, there is much more demand on road infrastructure.

“Our goal is to provide a road network that supports communities now and is able to evolve easily to support the needs of future generations.

“The 2017-18 State Budget funding, which doubles expenditure for road pavement maintenance, was based on recommendations developed by us, using our new pavement management approach,” Mr Merritt said.

The new pavement management approach includes initiatives such as:

• Internal organisation changes to form a more cohesive Regional Services Division and centralised Asset Services business to better plan, prioritise and deliver the maintenance program across Victoria;
• A community engagement program throughout regional Victoria to ensure that we understand what is important to regional Victorians so we can use the intelligence to inform our decisions;
• Different maintenance delivery models, with an intent to deliver the best outcomes to community and deliver on clear performance criteria. Many of these new approaches include data collection, building relationships and working in partnership to both develop and deliver future asset management programs more transparently.

Mr Merritt said community input will be regularly sought to influence maintenance priorities.

“Involving communities and industries in the decisions that affect their livelihoods demands a new approach. Since February, we’ve connected with more than 13,000 Victorians via the engageVicRoads website to seek their views on road maintenance issues.

“It’s become very clear that we need to engage communities regularly on the issues that matter most to them and this will not be a one-off conversation,” Mr Merritt said.

Help us shape the way we manage and maintain the regional road network by sharing your views on engageVicRoads.

The VicRoads Pavement Management Strategic Plan can be downloaded here.