The Federal Government says it will only fund road projects in Victoria if they are of “national significance”.

The Prime Minister unveiled a new billboard over the weekend, declaring to motorists; “East West Link scrapped and you’re stuck in traffic! Blame Labor.”

The giant sign is the latest volley in a polite war between Tony Abbott and Victoria’s premier Daniel Andrews, who is refusing to hand back $1.5 billion of funding given to the state for the now-scrapped East West Link.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that if the Andrews Government wants the money, it must come up with a decent proposal.

“We want to spend money on nationally significant road projects in Victoria,” Mr Abbott said.

“We are absolutely committed to spending money on nationally significant road projects in Victoria. We have got $3 billion that's available for East West Link.

“If the Victorians come up with a decent proposal, the $1.5 billion that we gave them for East West Link could be used for that, but it's got to be a nationally significant project.

“We want to be constructive, we want to be constructing, but the money can't just sit there idle while the Victorian Government plays politics.”

Mr Andrews recently raised a new plan - the Western Distributor scheme to link the Westgate Freeway to CityLink – but Mr Abbott does not appear to be a fan.

“The proposal as we understand it so far is that this Western Distributor will not have any Victorian Government money,” he said.

“It will have tolls from eastern Melbourne motorists, from people living in the south and east of Melbourne, so east Melbourne tolls and the Federal Government will pay for a west Melbourne road.

“They decided, instead of getting on with East West Link, to cancel the project, sack hundreds of workers, forego 7,000 jobs and pay a billion dollars.

“That's what they decided to do. They still have our $1.5 billion.

“They just can't do nothing with it.

“If they come up with something of national significance ... we are prepared to talk to them about using that money.”