The package — announced by the NSW Government earlier this month — is designed to support emergency and heavy patching of the pothole damage to roads, with the money expected to be available to councils by the end of the month.
Local Government NSW president Darriea Turley said the $2.5 billion roads damage bill caused by the disasters was additional to a backlog of $1.9 billion identified by the NRMA in its 2020-21 Fix Our Broken Roads Report.
“We are incredibly grateful that the NSW Government has recognised the statewide 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 long-standing maintenance issues with our roads, which were already significantly impacting the state’s economy before the steady succession of weather events in 2022.”
He said one-off funding was a great start, but a significant and ongoing increase in road program funding was needed.
“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.
“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.”
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