With the cost of repairing Australia’s flood-damaged roads estimated at around $3.8 billion, there are calls for a new approach to road construction, maintenance and funding.

Australian Local Government Association president Linda Scott said thousands of kilometres of local roads across NSW, Victoria South Australia and Queensland have been severely damaged by recent flooding — with some washed away.

The ALGA estimates the damage bill at $3.8 billion but Ms Scott said the cost of rebuilding roads to the same standard would only cost more in the long term.

“We can’t simply rebuild our local infrastructure – including roads, footpaths and cycleways – to current standards.

“We need a fundamental shift in the way we fund, deliver and maintain these assets,” she said on Thursday.

Councils want an increase in Federal Roads to Recovery funding from $500 million to $800 million a year to help invest in new technologies and build more resilient roads.

Australian Road Research Board CEO Michael Caltabiano said the extensive damage to large parts of the road system across several states was an opportunity to change the ways roads were built to make them more resilient.

“Moisture is kryptonite for roads and inevitably leads to potholes,” he said.

“This year’s floods and torrential rains have caused large scale catastrophic damage to the road systems that connect communities and deliver freight.

“Now it’s time to reassess what innovations are possible to prevent a repeat of this infrastructure emergency.”

Standards and materials used for constructing roads needed to be more water resistant and he says recyclables like tyre rubber are eco-friendly and create more durable and resilient road surfaces.

The ARRB had “some of the smartest road technology in the world” with a range of a state-of-the-art vehicles fitted with lasers and high-tech equipment to measure road conditions at traffic speed, he said.

“Pinpointing the issues on a road can ensure valuable maintenance dollars are spent in the right place at the right time,” he said.

Ms Scott welcomed the creation of the federal government’s $1 billion Disaster Ready Fund established to improve Australia’s recovery and response capability over five years from 2023, saying it would play a key role in reducing damage from natural disasters.

“But we need to continue to grow this investment if we want to effectively safeguard our local towns and communities.”

– AAP