Regional councils have welcomed the State Government’s commitment of a $500 million package as a fantastic start in the mission to repair $2.5 billion in road damage following 2022’s floods and torrential rains on rural roads.

Following the release of the package last Tuesday by Premier Dominic Perrottet and Deputy Premier Paul Toole, the government have today (Monday 9 January) announced that the application process will be fast-tracked to open this Wednesday 11 January.

Councils can apply for a one-off payment to support emergency and heavy patching of the pothole damage to roads with funds expected to be available "within weeks".

With a State-wide Roads Emergency declared by Local Government NSW (LGNSW) late last year, in the wake of more than 220 natural disasters declared across NSW during 2022, the funding will assist 128 local councils struggling to keep roads repaired to roadworthy standards.

LGNSW President Darriea Turley said the $2.5 billion roads damage bill caused by these disasters was additional to a backlog of $1.9 billion identified by the NRMA in their 2020/21 Fix Our Broken Roads Report.

“Councils welcome this $500 million funding injection, and we are incredibly grateful that the NSW Government has recognised the state-wide roads crisis and the imminent collapse of the local and regional road network,” Cr Turley said.

“It’s also great to hear that the funding will begin to flow almost immediately, while we are in a period of dry weather that allows councils to get out there and start repairing the damage.

“This money cannot come soon enough if we are to even begin to address the longstanding maintenance issues with our roads, which were already significantly impacting the state’s economy before the steady succession of weather events in 2022.”

Darreia Turley

Cr Turley said credit should also go to Regional Transport and Roads Minister Sam Faraway, who had consistently acknowledged the need to get the money out there and boots on the ground to commence road repair and reconstruction.

“We are all painfully aware of the magnitude of the task before us,” she said.

“This one-off funding is a great start, but what we desperately need is a significant and ongoing increase in funding for the $1.1 billion Fixing Local Roads and Fixing Country Bridges program, and an ongoing boost to annual Road-Block Grant funding.

“Without an ongoing boost, there is a very real risk that the emergency patches and repairs from this very welcome $500 million will be washed away by future weather events.

“Getting our roads up to scratch and having the ongoing funding to keep them there will not only save NSW and its people money in the long run, it will also help support the economic growth this state needs.

“Good roads are good for us all: for business, for our agricultural sector, and for everyday drivers who just want to get to where they need to be safely and without damage to their vehicles.”

Just one section of road in urgent need of repair in Bogan Shire. SOURCE: facebook

Bogan Shire Council’s Director of Engineering Services, Mr. Graeme Burke, said the funding was very timely as council attempts to keep up with road repairs.

“The funding is allotted following a simple grant application and is allocated according to the length of road of each council on a rate per kilometre basis,” said Mr Burke.

“In late 2022 Council received $549,784.00 in pothole funding with over half being used prior to the new year, so funding doesn’t go far,” he said.

“The Council has two tar patch trucks in fulltime operation and after the rain and consequent flooding we have been non-stop working on roads and repairs, particularly in the last three months.”

A familiar sight along western plains roads. IMAGE: Bogan Shire

“We are no different to other councils, our seal roads are falling apart from the constant wet weather, and this means our budget for repairs has increased dramatically,” he said.

“We are happy to report that travellers passing through have named our shire’s roads as some of the best they have travelled on, which is great to hear, as the Shire is committed to keeping community and those travelling through safe, so with that in mind we are very happy to receive the funding and continue on with repairs and upgrades to the roads in our area," said Mr Burke.

The funding split will provide $280 million for rural and regional councils and $220 million for councils in Greater Sydney and outer metropolitan areas.