Local councils now have until July 16 to apply for funding to help them fix local roads to drive safer, smoother journeys in the region and support thousands of jobs.
Applications for round three of the NSW Nationals in the state government’s $500 million Fixing Local Roads Program, which is helping regional councils repair, maintain, and seal priority local roads in their communities, have now been extended.
NSW Nationals Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson said the $500 million Fixing Local Roads Program, which received an additional injection of $191 million from the NSW Nationals in the federal government, demonstrated our commitment to building a safer, stronger road network in the regions.
“Our local councils have a mammoth task in providing for their communities and maintaining their infrastructure,” Mr Anderson said.
“That’s why Fixing Local Roads is so important – it’s giving councils a helping hand to address their maintenance backlog and repair, maintain or seal the local roads that really matter to their communities.”
NSW Nationals Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole said the program has already delivered more than $393 million for 361 projects across 91 Local Government Areas in regional NSW.
“That’s hundreds of projects stretching from Cobar to Coffs Harbour that’s supporting thousands of jobs in the bush,” Mr Toole said.
“Communities are already starting to see the benefits of this program, with more than 60 of these projects open to traffic, another 17 projects close to finished and another 108 are in delivery. In total, this program is supporting about 3500 jobs across NSW.
“We know how much better roads mean in the bush – and we’ve decided to extend applications for this latest round because projects like these are creating hundreds of jobs and helping regional communities recover from the impact of floods, bushfires, drought and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We want to ensure councils are geared up and able to deliver these projects so communities are seeing the benefits of this investment every time they get behind the wheel. Even small projects can make a big difference on the roads people use every day.”
In round three, councils will be able to apply for up to $3 million for a single road project and up to $1 million for packages of small road projects.
All successful projects will be completed within two years to ensure local communities see the benefits as quickly as possible.
