Victoria's Pothole Problem: Government Data Reveals Extent of Road Deterioration

Criticism of the government over road maintenance failures, including on major highways, has ramped up ahead of the state election. Previously confidential government data has comprehensively revealed the extent of deterioration and dangerous potholes across the state.

The data, obtained from a recent report on the maintenance of state roads, found that the proportion of state-managed roads in poor or very poor condition had increased from 39 to 48 per cent between 2021 and 2024.

Locals have complained about the state of the Western Highway west of Ballarat. The human toll of crumbling roads was brought into sharp focus after the death of a 71-year-old motorcyclist who crashed after reportedly hitting a pothole on the Western Highway near Ballarat last weekend.

The Coalition has seized on the issue, with Nationals leader Danny O'Brien declaring potholes "need to be fixed and fixed properly as a matter of urgency". "It is time for action and this needs to be the highest priority now so that no more lives are lost on Victorian roads because of government neglect," he said.

Audit data shows that in 2024 there were 30 Victorian councils where at least half of state-managed roads were in a poor or very poor condition. The worst performing areas were concentrated in the state's north.

The data reveals not only are potholes a major problem across regional Victoria but also in greater Melbourne — and that the government is aware because it is tracking the problem.

Even pothole figures shown in the data are likely an under-count, because each number represents a 'defect report' of a pothole which may in fact include multiple potholes.

Defect reports are sourced from contractors and members of the public plus surveys — typically conducted every two years — which track around 29,000 kilometres of state-managed roads.

These include major highways and arterial roads and represent about 15 per cent of the road network in Victoria by length.

The roads carry most of the traffic and freight in Victoria and are overwhelmingly (82 per cent) in regional areas.

The most unresolved pothole reports were recorded in councils such as Towong in the state's north-east and Moyne, which takes in Port Fairy in the state's south-west.

In Melbourne, the highest number of unresolved pothole reports were recorded in outer-suburban council areas such as Melton and Hume.

Mornington Peninsula recorded the most unresolved pothole reports of all metro areas by far — and a large increase over the last 18 months.

Audit data does, however, show that the vast majority of reported pothole defects had been fixed, even though it is clear maintenance crews are struggling to keep up with growing demand.

They will continue to have a big task ahead of them now that the government has promised to fix half a million potholes this financial year: double the number last year.

The government hopes to have most of the 500,000 potholes fixed by the end of January, with the majority of works to take place in the drier summer months.

That would mean fixing more than 3,000 potholes a day between now and then.

Experts say potholes are a symptom of a road needing maintenance and road conditions typically worsen after periods of heavy rain.

Victoria's road network was impacted by widespread flooding in 2022 — particularly in the state's north in towns including Rochester and Shepparton.

Large areas of the state were again affected by floods in December 2023 and then in January 2024.

Victoria has committed an additional $352 million to fix potholes, on top of more than $1 billion already budgeted for road maintenance.

Swinburne University associate professor of vehicle engineering Ambarish Kulkarni said roads in poor condition were more likely to crack, fill with water and form potholes.

"If you can fix those small cracks in the beginning … the potholes can be prevented," he said.

Dr Kulkarni said Victoria needed to improve its use of data and to prevent problems from happening before they occur, which was also a recommendation from the auditor general.

"We can use technologies like drones and which can scan and identify the cracks and AI can send a message or email people who are responsible to go and fix it as soon as they can," he said.

The Coalition has demanded potholes "need to be fixed and fixed properly as a matter of urgency".