The NSW Government has announced a $500 million boost to help metropolitan and regional councils tackle the mammoth task of repairing the state's road network, following months of extreme weather events. Following the announcement, Federation Council confirmed its intent to apply for a share of $500 million after months of joint Council advocacy work and lobbying efforts.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the new Regional and Local Roads Repair program would provide even more support for councils to continue to carry out urgent repair work to ensure people stay connected and safe.
"We have listened to councils and we understand the pressure they are under from many months of wet weather. This funding boost will help councils continue the huge job of bringing roads back up to scratch to keep our state moving," Mr Perrottet said.
"We are making sure our roads are in the best nick possible so NSW families, truckies, farmers and tradies can travel around our state safely.
"We recognise potholes are a major hazard right now. This critical funding injection will help every council across the state patch up potholes as well as carry out other emergency repair work."
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said the road network had been battered, with hundreds of thousands of potholes opening up across the state and some roads washed away by landslips.
"Families who hit the road during Christmas would have seen first-hand 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 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."
Federation Council Mayor, Cr Pat Bourke said the funding announcement was very welcomed news.
"Given the extent of the damage, funding streams such as this will assist Council in our ongoing recovery work. We have a long way to go, but are thankful for the NSW State Government support through listening to our joint Council advocacy work and responding to our urgent call for further funding in a timely manner."
Minister for Metropolitan Roads Natalie Ward said the NSW Government is working closely with local councils to provide more funding for road repairs and new technology to fix potholes faster.
"Following the heavy rainfall and floods we provided early access to flood recovery funding for impacted councils and this additional funding announced today is to make sure councils can complete those vital repairs," Mrs Ward said.
"On state-owned roads across Greater Sydney, the equivalent of standard football fields 139 times over have been repaired already and this latest funding will mean the potholes on your local street can be repaired by councils.
"In addition, we are trialling new ways to fix potholes faster with a rapid sealing 'cold mix' product and investing in technology that finds potholes before they find you through using vehicles to track and prioritise repairs across our roads."
This funding will be on top of the NSW Government's $1.5 billion commitment to maintaining state roads each year.
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 Government has already redeployed 200 Transport for NSW crews to Western NSW to help in the worst-impacted areas."
Funding under the $500 million Regional and Local Roads Repair Program is available to Local Government areas in both Greater Sydney and Regional NSW. Repair work must be carried out by 31 December 2023.
