Roads minister Melissa Horne gets a first-hand taste of region's patchy roads

Melissa Horne said she was acutely aware of the strain the region's roads were under with increased traffic taking its toll.

There was about $11 million worth of maintenance under way on the region's roads but there was always more to do.

"Your weather is inclement. It's the wettest part of the state. You've got more trucks than most parts of the state and you've got geographical conditions that make it really challenging," Ms Horne said.

"That's why I've really valued my time coming down and talking to people so I can then go back and do that really important advocacy.

"I'm acutely aware that we're between two major ports ... Port of Portland and the Port of Geelong - roads are doing so much more than they ever used to because trucks are bigger, they're heavier, they're carting more goods.

She said while that increased traffic was good for the local economy because it means we were exporting more, it also came with "subsequent wear and tear" on the road network.

"There's always more work to be done because there is a lot of challenges down here," Ms Horne said.

As part of her two-day trip on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Ports and Freight Minister met with council and port representatives in Portland about making it a renewable energy hub.

She also stopped off to get a look at Warrnambool's new boat ramp, something she was able to deliver in her former portfolio as fishing and boating minister.

Ms Horne said it was really pleasing to see the project come to fruition. She said the local community and Better Boating had put a lot of work into making the new ramp "a whole heap safer".

Ms Horne said she had no announcements to make about future works on the breakwater wall but it was good to see how the infrastructure was holding up after it was damaged in a major storm in April 2021.

The capping and railings were repaired after the state government funded the $250,000 works.

"It was really good to find that money for immediate repairs and by the looks of it, it's holding up really well and still providing an important safe harbour for the community," Ms Horne said.

A $7 million rock wall at the back of the breakwater has been at the top of the city council's priorities since 2018 when a report warned of the state of the structure beneath the waterline.

But Ms Horne said she hadn't had any advice on that project.

She said she would be "having conversations" with council and the community to work through what the vision was.

"Working in a marine environment is always so challenging," Ms Horne said.

"It's always good to come down and see what work's been done and continue the conversation about what advocacy needs to happen next."

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