Councils in the Hunter will be able to get more money to help get on top of pothole problems with another half a billion dollar fund announced today.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet was announce a $500 million Regional and Local Roads Repair program for Councils to patch up potholes as well as carry out other emergency repair works on local roads.
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.
“This $500 million boost is on top of the $50 million already provided by the Liberals and Nationals 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.”
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 Liberals and Nationals Government has already redeployed 200 Transport for NSW crews to Western NSW to help in the worst impacted areas.”
Repair work must be carried out by 31 December 2023.