Coalition vow to invest $1billion per year to fix crumbling roads in regional Victoria

If elected in November, the Victorian Liberal and Nationals have vowed to increase the state's annual road asset management budget from about $600 million a year to $1 billion over the next decade.

They've also committed to audit all state-managed roads and review construction standards to increase accountability of VicRoads and contractors.

"A billion dollars a year is a lot of money for road maintenance but we need it," Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy told reporters at Broadwater in the state's southwest.

"Country roads, outer suburban roads, they need it because they're falling apart."

The Victorian coalition accused Labor of cutting the road maintenance budget by 10 per cent when it came to government, and lowering speed limits on rural and regional roads to compensate for deteriorating conditions.

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But Labor claims it has invested $813 million on road maintenance annually on average over the past four years, compared to $493 million on average each year when the coalition were last in office.

"We have rebuilt or resurfaced more than 10,000 kilometres of regional roads and nearly 2000km of metropolitan roads to ensure quality and safety - the largest road maintenance program in Victoria's history," Roads Minister Ben Carroll said.

Nonetheless, the Victorian Farmers Federation has described the condition of the regional road network as "ruinous" and called on both sides of politics to commit to funding certainty.

"More than 50 per cent of all road fatalities occur in regional Victoria, despite it being home to 24 per cent of the state's population. We won't accept that," VFF President Emma Germano said.

The minister for roads Ben Carroll said the the announcement was another political stunt.

"You can't trust Matthew Guy's Liberals when it comes to our roads," he said.

"The last time they had the chance, they cut $100 million from road maintenance, and sacked 500 VicRoads workers.

"Matthew Guy's Liberals want to 'audit' the Big Build - Liberal code for cutting projects and sacking workers."

Deputy Leader of the Nationals and Member for Lowan Emma Kealy said her party was committed to delivering better, safer roads through long-term, strategic planning across the road network.

"Good-quality roads are vital to ensure people can safely get to work, school, healthcare appointments and sporting commitments, and also so we can get our produce to market," she said.

"But Labor has consistently neglected our roads and continually cut funding, forcing country people to drive on dangerous surfaces that are crumbling at the edges and riddled with potholes.

"Roads such as the Warracknabeal-Birchip Road, the Wimmera and Glenelg highways, Murtoa-Glenorchy Road, Coleraine-Edenhope Road, Donald-Murtoa Road, Mortlake-Ararat Road, Donald-Stawell Road, Stawell-Avoca Road and the Birchip-Rainbow Road are all in desperate need of funding to ensure they can be brought up to a safe standard."

Mr Guy said the funding would come from consolidated revenue, but there could always be more work to do.

"We known $1 billion is a lot of money but it is within our means, it's sensible, it's reasonable," Mr Guy said

He said it would go a long way to fixing the backlog of road maintenance, especially in regional Victoria.

With reporting from Australian Associated Press