Delivering safe local roads

Published on 29 August 2025

Local roads are a major priority for Loddon Shire ratepayers and the overarching document to guide their safe, efficient and sustainable operation has been updated.

Council has adopted the Road Management Plan 2025, which covers roads and related infrastructure under Council’s management – in other words, local roads as opposed to highways, arterial and main roads managed by the Department of Transport and Planning.

That includes 4,759km of sealed and unsealed roads and streets, 219 bridges, major culverts and structures, 37km of footpaths and 62km of kerb and channelling.

The Road Management Plan lays out how Council will manage this infrastructure, including community and maintenance levels of service and the maintenance management system.

Loddon Shire Mayor Dan Straub said the Road Management Plan gives ratepayers confidence as to the upkeep of important infrastructure.

“Time and time again community surveys show that roads are the top concern for our ratepayers,” Cr Straub said.

“The Road Management Plan should reassure the community that we take those concerns seriously and we maintain our roads to the highest possible standard.”

And that is confirmed by the latest report on the previous Road Management Plan.

The quarterly Road Management Plan Defect Rectification Compliance Report, covering April-June 2025, shows all 45 scheduled inspections for the quarter were carried out, while 98.9 per cent of all defects (1,269 out of 1,283) were fixed.

A further 209 out of 210 lots of grading work were completed.

The Local Road Maintenance Program cost $8.74 million in the 2024-25 financial year, about 80 per cent of what Council collects in rates.

Roads and related infrastructure also make up a large part of the $9.4 million Annual Infrastructure Program, and the quarterly report for that for the April-June 2025 period shows 90 per cent of work (65 out of 72 projects) was completed for the year.

Six of the remaining seven projects were in progress at 30 June and have since been completed or are substantially completed.