Flood-damaged roads to cost $3.8b to fix

This year's floods and rains have caused large scale catastrophic damage to the road systems. (Murray McCloskey/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

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 says thousands of kilometres of local roads across NSW, Victoria South Australia and Queensland have been severely damaged by recent flooding - with some washed away.