Story perspectives

Ben Carroll pledges extra $352M to fix 500,000 potholes

By Drooid · Sep 16, 2026, 6:06 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Ben Carroll Announces Funding

Premier Ben Carroll announced an extra $352 million to double pothole repairs to 500,000 this year.
The auditor-general found 48% of Victoria’s 23,000 km road network rated poor or very poor in 2024.
Seventy-one-year-old motorcyclist Peter Mason died after hitting a pothole on the Western Highway near Ballarat.
Opposition parties propose $5 billion over four years to fix one million potholes, a 25% increase.

Summary

Dept of Transport Repairs

A pothole was reported at 467 Keilor Road, 86 m from Premier Ben Carroll’s Niddrie office.
Another pothole at 376-378 Keilor Road was reported three times within ten days in late August, in the premier’s electorate.
The Department of Transport and Planning is tasked with repairing the Keilor Road potholes near the premier’s electorate.

History

Historical Context

Victoria’s 1999 CityLink, approved in 1994 and delivered by a Transfield-Obayashi joint venture for Transurban for an estimated $1.8 billion, linked the Southern, Western and West Gate freeways and introduced electronic tolling. Premier Jeff Kennett’s funding demonstrated how state investment could reshape the road network. In 2024 Premier Ben Carroll pledged $352 million to double pothole repairs, echoing that large-scale approach.

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Ben Carroll Announces Funding

Premier Ben Carroll announced an extra $352 million to double pothole repairs to 500,000 this year.
The auditor-general found 48% of Victoria’s 23,000 km road network rated poor or very poor in 2024.
Seventy-one-year-old motorcyclist Peter Mason died after hitting a pothole on the Western Highway near Ballarat.
Opposition parties propose $5 billion over four years to fix one million potholes, a 25% increase.

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