The Andrews Labor Government isn’t wasting a day, embarking on the biggest road maintenance blitz Melbourne has ever seen.
Minister for Roads and Road Safety Jaala Pulford joined Member for Burwood Will Fowles at a worksite on the Burwood Highway today to launch a record $183 million program to repair and resurface suburban roads and major highways right across the city.
More than 200 roads will benefit including key sections of the Princes Highway, Nepean Highway and Hume Freeway and arterial roads right across suburban Melbourne.
Key south eastern arterials like Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road, Centre Dandenong Road and the South Gippsland Highway are set for repairs, while in the northern suburbs Heidelberg Road, St Georges Road and the Greensborough Highway are among the roads to be targeted.
Thousands of potholes and cracks will be filled, and more than 224 kilometres of roads will be repaired over the next 12 months.
The three contracts for the program have been awarded to Downer EDI Works, Fulton Hogan Industries and Sprayline Road Services creating around 100 new jobs over three years.
A massive roadside clearing program across metropolitan and regional Victoria will take place to minimise the risk of grassfires and bushfires and include grass cutting and the removal of fallen trees and undergrowth.
As part of our maintenance program, we will be improving roadside infrastructure including repairing and replacing damaged assets such as signs, safety barriers and fences which all play an important role in road safety.
This record investment in road maintenance will give drivers safer, faster and more reliable journeys and boost freight productivity.
This unprecedented investment follows a record commitment to country road maintenance, with Regional Roads Victoria currently targeting more than 1,500 kilometres of country roads for repair this year, part of a $333 million maintenance program.
Works on the metropolitan maintenance program will get underway this month, the majority of works will take place during the warmer months throughout summer.
Quote attributable to Minister for Roads and Road Safety Jaala Pulford
“This is the biggest road maintenance blitz Melbourne has ever seen, filling thousands of potholes, fixing hundreds of kilometres of roads and creating around 100 jobs.”
Quote attributable to Member for Burwood Will Fowles
“These are the suburban roads that we rely on every day to get to work, take the kids to school and visit friends and family – it’s vital that we make sure that our local roads remain safe and reliable.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020