The Canberra Liberals have echoed car ads by promising to deliver smoother driving, with an extra $3 million for higher quality road resurfacing if they are elected.
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Deputy Liberals leader Alistair Coe said the three-year funding boost would improve road safety through the use of smoother hot mix asphalt, the premium road-making product, as well as higher quality chip seal.
The $3 million would be in addition to the extra $6.9 million for improved road resurfacing the Labor government budgeted for in June across the four-year forward estimates.
"A core role of local government is to keep our roads in good repair, but unfortunately under ACT Labor, road resurfacing targets are rarely met and many of Canberra's roads remain substandard, with potholes and uneven surfaces," he said.
"A further problem is that the cheaper chip seal is often used which can cause damage to cars through loose stones, while it also increases traffic noise."
Mr Coe did not give details on what added proportion of surfacing would be done with hot mix asphalt, saying only they would "strive" to use it "where possible".
There was a 66 per cent increase in the total area of roads resurfaced in 2015-16, with nearly 1.03 million square metres covered at a cost of $18.7 million.
Asphalt cost between $30 and $80 per square metre last financial year, depending on applied thickness, according to answers by Minister for Transport and City Services Meegan Fitzharris to a Liberal's question on notice.
In contrast, chip seal was worth $14.50/sq m for a main road reseal and $11/sq m for a residential street reseal.There were nearly 955,000 sq m of road surface covered by chip seal in 2015-16, and about 66,000 sq m by asphalt.
Each surface product has an expected lifespan of up to 25 years, Ms Fitzharris said.
The Labor government met its target to resurface 5 per cent of the major sealed "territorial roads" last financial year, after missing its target by covering only 3.2 per cent of these roads in 2014-15.
It also hit its 4 per cent target for "municipal roads" last year, after falling behind in 2014-15 when it covered 2.3 per cent of these roads.
There were 143 inquiries from the public about resealing in the year to June 30, with most relating to loose stones on municipal streets which were addressed by additional sweeping.
