Victoria’s Auditor-General has found that the state’s road agency, VicRoads, has failed to accurately predict the increase of traffic congestion and use accurate data.

 

In his analysis of seven major Victorian road infrastructure projects, Auditor-General Des Pearson found systemic failure in traffic forecasting and data collection.

 

Mr Pearson found that the rush to collect $900 in federal funding resulted in only a cursory benefits investigation for major projects, including the $1.2 billion Western Ring Road upgrade.

 

"They did not adequately assess the traffic induced by these improvements, communicate the risks or estimate the impact on the economic benefits," the report, tabled in the Victorian parliament, said.

 

"These shortcomings create a risk of overestimating the benefits and giving decision-makers false confidence about the capacity of the project and the surrounding road network, to cope with future traffic."