Regional Roads Victoria, a new VicRoads division dedicated to regional roads, commences operations on September 1.

Ballarat might be home to the $941 million initiative, but almost 100 VicRoads staffers will continue to be based at the Bendigo office.

VicRoads acting chief executive Robyn Seymour was in Bendigo this week briefing employees on what Regional Roads Victoria will mean for them and what will be asked of them when it comes into effect.

“The decision that VicRoads will have a dedicated division focused on regional roads is really around ensuring that we are focused on meeting the needs of regional communities, we're advocating on behalf of regional communities back into government, that we're really transparent and accountable for the work that we do and the outcomes we're delivering in regional Victoria,” Ms Seymour said.

The state government announced the division in April, ahead of the budget.

Ms Seymour said the investment represented an acknowledgement that the needs of regional Victoria were different from those of metropolitan Melbourne.

She said VicRoads was recruiting for a new role – a chief regional roads officer, to be based in Ballarat.

“All of our regional directors will report to the chief regional roads officer, and so will our director of Safe System Road Infrastructure Program,” Ms Seymour said

“We will be publishing a website which shows a map of regional Victoria and shows exactly what work we'll do doing where.

“It will show all of our maintenance work, our road improvement work and our road safety program work across this region. People will be able to delve in and actually see in their local part of this region what is the work that will be delivered and what benefit it will provide to them.”

A telephone line will also be established for Regional Roads Victoria-related queries.

Though the call centre will be based in Ballarat, Ms Seymour said callers could be transferred to local staffers for queries ‘more specific to local conditions’.

“It's really ensuring we are listening to the community, we are hearing what their concerns are, we are being really transparent and accountable for the work we are delivering,” she said.

The Northern Region encompasses nine municipalities and about 3800 kilometres of arterial road.

A FINAL program of works to improve roads in central Victoria will shortly be shared, a VicRoads director has promised road users.

Northern Region regional director Brian Westley said VicRoads planned to reseal 370 kilometres of arterial road this year – about 10 per cent of the road surfaces under his management.

“That’s significantly more than what has been happening in previous years,” Mr Westley said.

He said the VicRoads northern region, which extends from the Mitchell shire towards Swan Hill and across to Campaspe, was ‘really lucky’.

“The $941 million package announced as part of Regional Roads Victoria resulted in some significant investments in and around Bendigo, and also the broader region,” he said.

He listed a $20 million upgrade of the Calder Highway north of Marong and towards Mildura, announced last year, as one example.

The upgrade is expected to include overtaking lanes, upgraded rest areas, and widened shoulders.

“There will also be a continuous barrier all the way from Melbourne to Bendigo, which basically means no-one will run off the road and have a head-on [collision] or hit a hazard while travelling between Melbourne and Bendigo… a highway that carries around 25,000 vehicles a day,” Mr Westley said.

Other projects include overtaking lanes for the Northern Highway between Rochester and Echuca, and $20 million worth of upgrades to the Murray Valley Highway between Echuca and Yarrawonga.

“We were lucky to get $10.5 million in planning money for significant upgrades of three major routes into Bendigo. Marong Road, Bendigo-Redesdale Road and the McIvor Highway are all growing in excess of the state average,” Mr Westley said.

He said it was important to invest in those roads to support the development occurring throughout the city and ensure they met the community’s needs for years to come.