“Members and others consistently raise concerns about the poor road conditions; and they have been saying that for a number of years,” Mr Clark told Country News.
“Investment continues to favour the metropolitan roads and rail projects.
“They just don’t want to seem to fund the regional and rural roads.”
One thing that irritates the transport industry is the level of taxation transport operators pay through fuel excise and other levies.
“They are already taxed to the hilt through road user charges, and fuel excise goes up every year, but roads are getting worse and worse,” Mr Clark said.
Mr Clark said poor quality roads increased the likelihood of accidents and trauma.
“Actual national crash statistics show that road conditions are a big cost in accidents,” he said.
“The industry has a very small profit margin, so you have lots of maintenance, increased insurance premiums and unsafe roads.
“It’s a recipe for disaster.
“The roads are the workplace for drivers. It reduces safety and productivity and reliability of freight movements.”
He said the Goulburn Valley was a major agricultural area, with many products transported to Melbourne.
“It increases the cost of transport and people wonder why they’re paying more.”
Mr Clark said Victoria was one of the worst states in terms of road maintenance.
He said governments acknowledged the funding mechanisms are in place, but the money extracted from transport never seems to materialise.
“The money goes into a big pot and never makes it to the road,” he said.
Mr Clark suggested worried drivers lobby their local politician.
“The Victorian Government needs to get serious about maintaining the roads.”
Asked about the poor state of the roads, a Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson responded:
“We’re building stronger and smoother roads right across regional Victoria thanks to our $976 million road maintenance blitz — the largest single-year investment in road maintenance in the state’s history.
“Our crews regularly inspect every kilometre of our arterial road network, undertaking routine maintenance to ensure Victorians can reach their destinations safely.”
The department said it was planning to restore wire rope barriers along the Midland Hwy.
The department said crews had undertaken patching works along the Goulburn Valley Hwy in the past week and will be conducting routine inspections along Midland Hwy next week.
Drivers and the community can report any concerns about the road network by phoning 131 170.
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