State government statements raise fresh questions over Princes Highway works

Member for South West Coast Roma Britnell raised the condition of the highway and other south-west roads during parliamentary debate in March, asking Ms Horne to visit the region to see the roads herself.

In a written response, Ms Horne said more than $11 million had been spent on the western stretch of the highway in the past financial year.

"We've invested over $11 million to repair and resurface almost 20 kilometres of the Princes Highway between Panmure and the South Australian border in 2022/2023," she said.

"This work is well progressed and will make our national highway safer and smoother to drive for thousands of road users across the south-west coast."

It is the first time the state government has mentioned any spending on the highway since a $40 million project concluded in April 2021.

The Standard sent the government detailed questions about current and future highway spending in February, but didn't receive any mention of spending relating to the current or previous financial year.

The Commonwealth and state governments signed a funding agreement in November 2020 to repair sections of the highway between Colac and the South Australian border, with the Victorian Government contributing $38 million and the Commonwealth Government $140 million.

The work was to include 11 bridge strengthening projects, overtaking lanes in Tyrendarra, Yambuk and Terang, and resurfacing works in Terang and Camperdown. In July 2021 a state government spokesperson said planning works were under way and were scheduled to be finished within 12 to 18 months.

The Standard asked the government in February 2023 whether the projects had been completed or were still in the pipeline, but a spokesperson said the most recent work was the $40 million project completed in April 2021 and no major projects were planned in the near future.

This conflicts with both Ms Horne's $11 million spending claim and the clear evidence of major road works occurring over the past two years.

It also conflicts with Regional Roads Victoria's own website, which lists a range of completed, ongoing and future projects along the Princes Highway.

"Throughout early 2022, upgrades have taken place on bridges along the Princes Highway across the Merri River Bridge in Dennington and the Fitzroy River Bridge in Tyrendarra," it said.

"Upcoming bridge works along the Princes Highway include: Rail bridges in Dennington, Weerite and Allansford; Shaw River Yambuk; Surrey River Narrawong; Glenelg River Dartmoor; Mount Emu Creek Panmure; and Moyne River Rosebrook."

The website also said overtaking lanes would be built in Tyrendarra and Yambuk, westbound and Terang in both directions.

It is unclear how much the above works are costing, or whether they form part of the $11 million Ms Horne said had been spent this financial year.

The Standard again approached the government with detailed questions clarifying what projects had been done, whether more were planned, and how much had been spent, but did not receive a response by deadline.

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