Wollondilly Shire Council has welcomed the announcement of $500 million towards road repair funding for Councils across the state.
The NSW State Government has today announced the funding, which includes the Wollondilly Shire in the share of funds to help fix our 870km of flood-ravaged road network.
The Shire was declared a natural disaster area with extreme weather events in February 2020, March 2021, February 2022, March 2022 and July 2022. Council has been labouring since to repair approximately $140m in significant damage to roads in the face of ongoing wet weather, and the shortage of qualified contractors and road repair materials.
In November, $50 million was announced as part of the State's Local Roads Pothole Repair Program, however, Wollondilly Shire Council alongside other Councils on the fringes of Greater Sydney were excluded. Mayor Matt Gould alongside Blue Mountains City Mayor Mark Greenhill OAM and Hawkesbury City Mayor Sarah McMahon strongly advocated for all three councils to be included in the program, or for additional supportive to be provided to assist with the backlog of storm damage.
They issued a joint letter to the Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway and Minister for Metropolitan Roads, Natalie Ward explaining the extensive flood damage faced by the regional councils, and the lack of appropriate funds to provide short-term repairs for the community. Mayor Matt Gould also met with several key ministers late last year pushing for additional support for Council's road network.
Mayor Matt Gould said, "This announcement is a huge win for our residents. I have worked closely with other Councils as well as Member for Wollondilly Nathaniel Smith MP to ensure the NSW Government was aware of the critical road issues that we are facing in the Shire."
"Road repairs remain our top priority, however we are in dire need of additional resources to enable our team to provide safer roads for our community after the damage it has sustained over the last 12 months. I look forward to receiving the funds so that we can target the critical works as quickly as possible."
The new half a billion-dollar funding will help councils fix landslips, potholes and other damage to roads. Funding will not be allocated according to the severity of flood damage experienced by local councils.
Instead, the amount each area receives will be determined by the total length of roads the council manages. Councils road network is in a peri-urban setting, with sealed and unsealed roads connecting a multitude of smaller towns and villages.
The program of works currently being undertaken in response to recent storm damage will be able to be extended (subject to final funding allocation) to help improve the condition of our roads within the Shire. This will include targeted reconstruction/ heavy patching and full reconstruction works.
