Victoria is planning for what the state government is calling its biggest-ever road maintenance blitz, with a record $1.04 billion earmarked in the 2026/27 budget to tackle everything from potholes to graffiti across the network.
The funding injection comes as drivers continue to feel the wear and tear of ageing roads, particularly after years of heavy rainfall and increased freight movement.
Melbourne, often seen as a graffiti-covered city, is set to undergo a change with cleaner streets on the way. According to the government, the investment is large enough to eliminate around 200,000 potholes and scrub away 200,000 graffiti tags statewide.
Regional Roads In Focus
In a move likely to resonate beyond Melbourne, around 70 per cent of the funding will be directed to regional Victoria, where long stretches of arterial roads often carry heavy vehicles and are more prone to deterioration.
Beyond patching potholes, the program targets a wide range of road maintenance issues, including:
- Rebuilding, repairing and resurfacing arterial roads
- Maintaining bridges and traffic lights
- Delivering emergency roadworks
- Mowing, slashing and spraying roadside vegetation
- Repairing or replacing road signs
Freeways set for clean-up
A separate $36.9 million blitz will focus on tidying up some of the state’s busiest commuter routes, where rubbish and graffiti have become increasingly visible.
The clean-up will target:
- Monash Freeway
- Princes Freeway West
- Western Freeway
- West Gate Freeway
- Hume Freeway
- Calder Freeway
- Western Ring Road
- South Gippsland Freeway
- Mornington Peninsula Freeway
- Tullamarine Freeway
The latest investment builds on last year’s maintenance push, with crews already delivering large-scale repairs across the state. Over the past 12 months, they have:
- Repaired 187,000 potholes — roughly one every five metres between Melbourne and Sydney
- Removed 127,000 square metres of graffiti — about 3,500 billboard-sized surfaces
- Mowed nearly 1.9 million metres of roadside vegetation — comparable to the distance from Melbourne to Brisbane
- Repaired or replaced 31,000 signs and inspected 13,600 barriers
A Multi-Billion-Dollar Pipeline
The announcement continues a larger trend of increased road maintenance spending, with nearly $3 billion invested over the past three years—the largest sustained commitment of its kind in Victoria’s history.
Premier Jacinta Allan framed the funding as both a safety measure and a cost-of-living play.
“This is the biggest roads blitz in the state’s history, and most of that money is going to regional Victoria, and with 20% off rego, it’s cheaper to get around.”
Minister for Roads and Road Safety Ros Spence said the results are already visible. “Victorians are already seeing the results with 187,000 potholes removed this year—now we’re doubling down.”
The works come as part of a broader push to ease transport costs, alongside discounted registration and cheaper public transport fares. For commuters, though, the most immediate impact may be fewer dodgy patches of road and a noticeably cleaner drive.