A proposal to create hundreds of kilometres of "cycling superhighways" from Melbourne's booming suburbs to the CBD has been backed by Australia's infrastructure advisory body.

Key points: Infrastructure Australia's priorities list says the RACV plan should be built within five years

Infrastructure Australia's priorities list says the RACV plan should be built within five years Victoria's Transport Infrastructure Minister says the recommendation shows a "stark contrast" between the priorities for different states

Victoria's Transport Infrastructure Minister says the recommendation shows a "stark contrast" between the priorities for different states The annual report says a top priority for the Federal Government should be water supply in the face of drought

Infrastructure Australia's (IA) annual priority list said dedicated cycling infrastructure for key routes should be built within five years to alleviate congestion and encourage more people to ride their bikes.

The idea was first proposed by RACV last year and included 17 suggested routes to link commuters to "major activity centres" around the city.

The IA report said while most Victorians owned bikes, recent research showed they did not cycle for transport "because the bicycle network is not currently meeting community needs and expectations of a safer, lower-stress and better-connected network".

RACV wants the proposed lanes to be separate and distinct from roads. ( ABC Local: Margaret Burin )

"There are some great health advantages of cycling ways, there's also some congestion-busting examples as well, because if we can get more people who can safely cycle in our CBDs, that'll be taking cars off the road and there'll be less crowding on our public transport," IA chief executive Romilly Madew said.

"So it's really about identifying what are the possible pathways around Melbourne's CDB that could be identified for a cycling superhighway."

The RACV research identified the highest-priority corridors as Chapel Street, St Kilda Road and Napier Street to St Georges Road.

In the RACV plan, cyclists would be separated from motorists on lanes or roads which would likely connect to a loop near the CBD.

"Imagine a space on the road where you're riding and you're not likely to be hit by a car door, and you're not likely to be swerved into by a passing car," RACV senior planner Stuart Outhred told ABC Radio Melbourne.

A project's presence on the list does not guarantee it will be built, but Mr Outhred it would give "more credibility and a lot more weight" to their proposal.

Infrastructure Victoria says the state's current bicycle network falls short of expectations. ( ABC News: Stephanie Anderson )

Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said the Government was already investing in cycling, and referenced 250 kilometres of bike paths that had been built across the state.

"We know bike paths are important, we work closely with the cycling groups on this investment but what we do see from Infrastructure Australia's recommendation is they stand in stark contrast to what it wants to see in other states," she said.

Federal Government should focus on drought resilience, report says

The annual priority list from the independent advisory body includes 37 new proposals for the country's infrastructure, only two of which are from Victoria.

Also on IA's list is a proposal to improve transport connectivity for the 140,000 people living in the outer south-eastern suburb of Frankston.

The eight new high-priority initiatives include five national projects — inlcuding coastal inundation, waste management and national road maintenance — upgrades to land transport in Queensland, water security in Perth and regional road projects in Western Australia.

In a shift from big ticket items like the NBN, IA said improving how Australia manages its water supply in the face of drought and climate change should be the number one infrastructure priority for the Federal Government.

The infrastructure body says resilient infrastructure is needed to respond to a changing climate. ( ABC News: Nadia Daly )

The two new additions to the list join 10 other priority initiatives for the state, including ongoing level crossing removal works and a third runway at Melbourne Airport, which is currently under construction.

The list still includes the controversial East West Link, which the Andrews Government spent more than $1 billion on taxpayer funds ripping up when it came into power after the 2014 election.

But Ms Allan said the Government would not be changing its stance on a "project that doesn't stack up".

"It's a project that's been rejected at the last two state elections, and also we are focused on the projects that we committed to," she said.