Victoria's Crumbling Roads: Former VicRoads Staff Blame Privatisation

The upcoming Victorian election is shaping up to be a poll on potholes, with political parties setting out their plans and promises to fix the state's roads. A recent report by the Victorian Auditor-General's Office found that around 48 per cent of state roads were in poor or very poor condition as of 2024.

But why are Victoria's roads so bad? Former VicRoads workers say the answers lie in how the roads are made and maintained, and who makes them.

Flexible vs rigid

Former VicRoads road construction engineer Jeff Moran said there were two basic types of pavements for roads — flexible and rigid. Flexible pavement is made from crushed-up rocks that are compacted to a high density and then sealed. Rigid pavement is bound together, like concrete, forming one solid slab below the surface.

In general, flexible pavement is cheaper but does not last as long as rigid pavement. "Overseas, rigid pavements are very much the go," Mr Moran said. "But in Victoria … they basically went for the crushed-rock type [flexible pavement]."

Mr Moran said that at first, the state government's roads department maintained the flexible pavement by resealing it every 10 years to keep out water and running regular patrols. But he said that since the Liberal Kennett government privatised road construction and maintenance in the mid-to-late 1990s, the necessary ongoing maintenance was often neglected.

"Over 20 years I've seen the roads go from well-maintained and the best roads in Australia to basically the worst," Mr Moran said. Mr Moran said the state's western highways should be replaced with full-depth rigid pavement rather than flexible crushed-rock pavement.

'The dollar wasn't going as far'

Gary Rusmand worked for VicRoads before moving to Western Australia to work on regional roads over there. Mr Rusmand said that when Victoria shifted to privatised roads, skilled workers moved from government work to private companies, where they were in high demand and could earn more.

"Working for a private enterprise, you have got to make money, and you have got to make a profit," Mr Rusmand said. He said this raised maintenance costs. "The dollar wasn't going as far, so there was a reduction in repairs, and often because of the increase in price," he said. "The [government] funding did not increase so the repairs did not increase."

Four years ago, Western Australia brought its road maintenance back in-house after many years of privatisation. "I can see the improvement in the road network [in WA] over the last 10 years and significantly over the last four to five," Mr Rusmand said.

Changes to efficiency

Retired VicRoads engineer John Lambert said increasing safety standards had also raised costs "dramatically". "Instead of having a two-man crew, you might have six, or you might have 12 to cover all of the safety aspects," Mr Lambert said.

Mr Lambert said the state government would need to decide whether to bring traffic management in-house along with road maintenance and construction. "In order for [private traffic management] to be efficient, they will put the signs out hours before the work commences," Mr Lambert said. "Quite a lot of drivers ignore signage relating to roadworks because nothing is going on, and of course that doesn't make it safe at all." Going back in-house may make things slightly more efficient.

Election promises

Premier Ben Carroll's office did not respond to questions about cost comparison between in-house and private road maintenance, what would happen to ongoing road maintenance contracts, or whether private road maintenance contractors may be transferred into public sector roles.

The premier has staked several election promises on fixing Victorian roads. He has pledged to double pothole and road repairs this year and re-announced the use of minimum-security prisoners to help with basic roadside maintenance. Mr Carroll also said a re-elected Labor government would bring road maintenance back in-house, ending decades of privatisation.

The Liberal-National coalition has pledged $5 billion over four years to repair and rebuild the state's roads, review construction standards and maintenance contracts, and reinstate the Country Roads and Bridges Program.