A new WA road funding report reveals a deepening investment shortfall.
Local governments across Western Australia face a growing challenge in funding road safety and preservation, according to the latest WALGA RoadWise report (PDF).
Between 2019 and 2023, it shows the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) on local roads remained a key metric in assessing safety performance.
The reports found that local roads in WA had a KSI rate of 42.2 per 100,000 people in 2023 – down from 50.7 in 2019, but still nearly double the rate on State-managed roads.
Run-off-road crashes in regional areas and intersection crashes in metro areas were identified as the leading contributors to serious road trauma.
The reports recommend targeted safety treatments such as intersection upgrades and shoulder sealing to address these risks.
The 2023-24 period saw total local government road spending reach $1.03 billion, with $752.5 million allocated to road preservation. However, this was $337.9 million short of the estimated $1.09 billion required to maintain current road conditions.
The shortfall has worsened by $80.8 million compared to the previous year, driven largely by rising construction costs.
Metropolitan councils recorded the highest preservation performance at 81.6 per cent, while regions such as Wheatbelt South lagged significantly, spending only 16.3 per cent of their revenue capacity on preservation works – despite needing to spend over 120 per cent to meet the need.
While Federal funding through programs like Roads to Recovery and Black Spot increased modestly, and local own-source contributions hit a record $512 million, State Government funding declined by $30 million.
WALGA notes this is partly due to lower flood damage expenditure, despite six declared flood disasters during the year.
Councils are urged to consider whole-of-life costs when sealing rural roads, with WALGA estimating sealed roads cost nearly three times more per kilometre annually than gravel alternatives.
For more information and to view Road Safety Performance Reports, visit WALGA RoadWise.
