The Victorian government has broken its promise to fix 500,000 potholes on the state’s roads by next January, shifting the completion date for the work back by six months to June 2027. News of the backflip was revealed in a media release this week, after the death of a motorcyclist last month put the crisis back into the headlines.

On August 20, Victorian Premier Ben Carroll said “most of the potholes will be removed from the second half of this year, right through to January, when it’s driest”. That gave roadworkers just over 200 days to repair most of the 500,000 potholes.

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In media releases this week, the state government boasted that 100,000 potholes had been repaired since July 1, but there was a sting in the tail. The announcement also revealed that “crews are on track to fix more than 500,000 by the end of June 2027”.

The broken promise comes after a warning from contractors that the target of 500,000 repairs could not be met. They claimed bosses at the Department of Transport were ignoring the premier’s objective and instead telling them to direct their efforts at other road repairs.

A motorcyclist died on the Western Highway on September 13 after reportedly losing control due to a pothole near Trawalla. Peter Mason, 71, died at the scene, and thousands of angry motorcycle riders staged a protest outside Victoria’s Parliament House on October 4, with rain in the lead-up to the rally resulting in more potholes in the state.

The Victorian Auditor-General’s office released a report on September 17 revealing that the proportion of the state’s roads in poor or very poor condition had increased from 39 to 48 per cent from 2021 to 2024. In the Gannawarra council area, which covers much of the state’s north-west, 90 per cent of the roads fit that description.

Premier Carroll’s announcement said crews were concentrating on repairs to high-traffic areas in the regions including the Western, Glenelg and Princes highways, and the Hume freeway. In Melbourne, the main priorities are the West Gate Freeway, Princes Highway and Ballarto Road.