The NSW Government has announced a $500 million boost to help councils tackle the mammoth task of repairing the state’s road network, following months of extreme weather events.
The new Regional and Local Roads Repair program will provide even more support for councils to continue to carry out urgent repair work to ensure people stay connected and safe.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said the road network had been battered, with hundreds of thousands of potholes opening up, and some roads being washed away by landslips.
“Families who hit the road during Christmas would have seen firsthand the scale of the damage caused by last year’s flooding and rain,” Mr Toole said.
“This $500 million boost is on top of the $50 million already provided by the NSW Nationals in government to help regional councils carry out emergency pothole repairs. We always said there would be more support on the way and today we are delivering on that.
“Since the February floods we have repaired more than 170,000 potholes across regional NSW alone. This additional funding will help repair hundreds of thousands more, right across the state.”
Nationals Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway said the application process will be simple and the cash will be available immediately so councils can get on with the job of urgently restoring the state’s road network.
“The new funding will start landing in councils’ bank accounts within weeks so work can begin right away on repairing the essential roads locals, tourists, and freight operators use every day,” Mr Farraway said.
“We understand that it’s not just about financial assistance, manpower is also needed, which is why the NSW Government has already redeployed 200 Transport for NSW crews to Western NSW to help in the worst impacted areas.”
Under the $500 million Regional and Local Roads Repair Program, repair work must be carried out by December 31, 2023.
This funding will be on top of the NSW Nationals in the state government’s $1.5 billion commitment to maintaining our state roads each year.
