Government fields thousands of opinions on road conditions each year but you just may be whistling dixie as there is no tracking mechanism in place despite recommendations from the Auditor General four years ago to implement such a measure.

The Department of Transportation and Works was told four years ago that it should have a centralized system to track complaints about roads, document the information and track the action taken.

Newfoundland and Labrador has almost 2,500 km of paved roads, the greatest number per capita in the country. The amount of money spent to maintain the network of core, feeder and remote routes is significant.

We often hear complaints that many of the roads built in recent times have a limited shelf life because of rutting or crumbling asphalt. Auditor General Denise Hanrahan says government should have a system in place to track the lifecycle of pavement, evaluate deficiencies, and document the action taken.