road safety

Major roads are a vital component of national infrastructure. Road-based transport accounts for more than 70% of the transport sector’s contribution to the economy.

Melbourne is the transport hub of south eastern Australia, the interface for a quarter of the nation’s imports and exports. Up to 70% of freight passing through Victorian ports is transported by road.

The importance of a continuous, connected and safe strategic highway network in Victoria should not be underestimated. However, this network remains incomplete, with key strategic links in need of significant upgrading.

Road investment in Victoria produces higher economic returns than in most other States. In fact, 74% of Victorian road projects have a benefit cost ratio of 3 or more, compared with only 34% in New South Wales, and 62% in Queensland.

what RACV wants

In 2000, RACV’s released, Roads to the Future: A Vision for Victoria’s Strategic Highway Network. This report is about building a continuous, connected, motorway network that provides a safe and quality link between Victoria’s major centres, and to interstate destinations. We believe this network will reduce death and injury, and foster economic growth by supporting trade, encouraging regional development, and relieving traffic congestion.

RACV argued for the provision of a completed, connected Victorian highway network, with Federal and State Government funding. This report identified 14 specific projects that can be responsibly funded over a 10-year period. At the time, we estimated the total cost of the 14 projects at between $3.3 and $3.6 billion, returning benefits to road users and the national economy of between $10.3 and $11.1 billion - that is more than three to one!

Investment in our infrastructure is an investment in the future and RACV believes that now is the time to act.

• Read the Roads to the Future full report (PDF 486KB) or
• Find out about the specific projects we identified