Well done Dicko! 

If people want roads & footpaths fixed. Stop whinging, get into government so you can fix what you are complaining about on your tedious endless treadmill.

Germany has heated road bridges & footpath & cycle way bridges. I have relatives there & can plainly see, the otherwise, same old winging namesakes in Australia.

https://www.lap-consult.com/en/lap-news/news/article/radwegbruecke-ueber-den-steinlach-in-tuebingen-eroeffnet

My sister in-law has heated bridges in her area, so get into government if you want roads up to your requirements. 

They are great roads & footpaths, I have been over them in Germany's winter. 

Whenarewethere wrote:

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If people want roads & footpaths fixed. Stop whinging, get into government so you can fix what you are complaining about on your tedious endless treadmill.

Germany has heated road bridges & footpath & cycle way bridges. I have relatives there & can plainly see, the otherwise, same old winging namesakes in Australia.

https://www.lap-consult.com/en/lap-news/news/article/radwegbruecke-ueber-den-steinlach-in-tuebingen-eroeffnet

My sister in-law has heated bridges in her area, so get into government if you want roads up to your requirements. 

They are great roads & footpaths, I have been over them in Germany's winter. 

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 We pay and expect local and state Governments to keep our infrastructure in the best condition possible. We also expect our elected representatives to ensure it is implemented.

Wawt your constant reference to Germany, and other places, is wearing a bit thin. We live in Australia not Germany, and our climate is such that there is no need for heated bridges and the like. If all the funds received from registrations were to be put into maintaining our roads, we would be in a much better position.

We have every right to complain about the state of our roads when they cause fatalities as has recently occurred on one of our major roads here in Vic.

Some folks sitting in their ivory tower by the seaside with time on their hands, feel compelled to voice an opinion on every post. There is nothing wrong with this when, what they write, is relevant to the topic. Often though this is not the case.

Magnarc wrote:

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We have every right to complain about the state of our roads when they cause fatalities as has recently occurred on one of our major roads here in Vic.

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 Having just come down the Bruce Highway from Cairns to NSW, the difference in road quality is significant. Most of the Bruce is constant bouncing around on single lane each way. The potholes themselves were not bad, but the constant bumps, undulations and camber changes become very frustrating. There are roadworks everywhere but mostly with no activity. Many of the freshly laid surfaces have obviously been poorly prepared as bumps are already making their presence felt. 

Compared to NSW/VIC where about 99% of the trip is four lane divided highway of smooth tarmac all the way from Gold Coast to Melbourne.

We made the mistake of planning to cross the QLD/NSW border late afternoon Friday. A big mistake. Despite several lanes each way, heavy stop/start traffic started about 200km from the border, continuing almost all the way to the border. This added more than 2 hours to the trip.

rmoor wrote:

"Australia is about 21.5 times larger than Germany by total land area."

Germany has around 84 Million people, around 3 times more population (and taxpayers) than we have.

Reckon it is prudent to "compare apples with apples".

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 A good point. Using those figures, that means about 60 times the taxpayers funding per square kilometre. The funding for infrastructure would be somewhat related. We could afford to expand all the major highways to a minimum of four lanes each way and still have plenty left over.

Ineedabiggerboat wrote:

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A lot of posts, not many pics.

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 Folks who live and drive in Vic do not need photos.  What members have posted with regards to this situation are facts. I drive the Melba "Highway???" regularly and that road is a bloody disgrace and has been for years. If you want to see photos have a look around the net, I'm sure you will find some pretty pics.

Buy your larger boat and sail off into the sunset for a couple off months. Do you the world of good and improve your perspective.

There are several reasons why roads are left to fall into disrepair. The legal issues are very clear and date back hundreds of years. If someone or somebody builds a road, footpath or track they bear absolutely no responsibility to maintain it. If it falls into disrepair, if tree roots come up underneath it or potholes appear there is no responsibility. It comes under the heading of nonfeasance and no action lies at common law. In fact, it is embedded in just about all state legislation that no action shall lie. Unless one could prove that an actual person was personally made aware of the specific pothole or problem and failed to act, and even then, you are generally out of luck. 

If the person or governing body decides to repair the road, footpath or track and they do the repair poorly or negligently then an action may lie. Such things as leaving the surface in a worse or more dangerous condition may result in success. This is known as misfeasance. If someone intentionally damages the road or footpath with a view to causing damage to the users then an action lies. It is malfeasance.

In relation to roads generally, I remember a civil engineer telling me that all roads deteriorate. Given the hot sun, the cold nights, the traffic and the fact that the soil and rock beneath all move over time, it just happens.