City of Ballarat invests more than $36 million to deliver better roads

The City of Ballarat’s annual road reseal maintenance program is underway with works to improve about 90 roads covering more than 300,000 square metres across the municipality.

The $2 million road resealing program is an important process that significantly prolongs the lifespan of roads, reduces long-term maintenance costs, and keeps our road network in optimal condition.  

Road resealing involves applying a layer of hot bitumen and stone to the road surface, providing a waterproof, durable surface for vehicles and is carried out approximately every 10 to 15 years.

The City of Ballarat’s 2023-24 budget features an increased investment in roads infrastructure, with $36.3 million for maintenance and capital road programs, which includes $3 million in Federal Government funding.

The 2023-24 budget also includes $2 million for major patching, an increase of $600,000, and it doubles the asphalt resurfacing program from $1 million to $2 million.  

The major patching and asphalt overlay works are expected to begin in January and continue through to May.

This also includes $900,000 for gravel road renewal, $380,000 for minor patch maintenance and $260,000 for sealed shoulder maintenance.

The road renewal program includes $11 million to fully reconstruct roads and to upgrade unsealed roads into sealed roads. Works to renew roads include the reconstruction of Olympic Avenue in Mount Clear, Cromwell Street, from Lowan to Rubicon Streets, and Rowlands Street, from Vickers Street to Birdwood Avenue, both in Sebastopol. A range of other road renewal projects are in the planning and design stages.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said the road improvements will deliver better and safer roads for motorists.

“We are focused on everyday priorities such as road maintenance and road renewal to ensure drivers can continue to move around as safely and efficiently as possible,” he said.

“The City of Ballarat’s investment in road infrastructure demonstrates that we are committed to delivering a better Ballarat.”

The City of Ballarat maintains 1,093 kilometres of sealed roads and 382 kilometres of unsealed roads across the municipality.  

Not all roads are the responsibility of the City of Ballarat. While the City of Ballarat is responsible for local roads, VicRoads is the responsible authority for arterial roads.  

The City of Ballarat conducts proactive road inspections leading to 75 per cent of road maintenance repairs, however the community is also encouraged to report issues with local roads. The community can download the Snap Send Solve app to quickly report problems on our roads 24/7, submit a form via ballarat.vic.gov.au or call Customer Service on 5320 5500.  

View our interactive roadworks map available at ballarat.vic.gov.au/roadworks. This map shows the roads where road maintenance jobs have been completed in the previous six months, the roads where jobs are outstanding, and roads set to receive major programmed works.