The regional road surfacing funding announcement by the Minns Government this week is paving the way for more durable country roads, according to Country Mayors Association of NSW (CMA) Chairman, Mayor Rick Firman OAM.
NSW Minister for Roads and Minister Regional Transport the Hon Jenny Aitchison MP announced that $37.5 million would be invested in more than 470 kilometres of state-managed roads across the regions. The program is designed to improve the safety, resilience and reliability of NSW roads, through a Transport for NSW 10-month spray sealing program. It will cover more than 20 state road corridors from Broken Hill to Byron Bay and as far south as Eden.
“On the surface, this is very good news,” Mayor Firman said. “Well done and thank you to Minister Aitchison for pushing these crucial funds to be spent on our rural, remote and regional communities.”
The Country Mayors leader said that the investment in smart sealing appears to be a very wise initiative. “There’s a lot that has been done by successive governments over the years, which is appreciated – however, there’s a heck of a lot more to do,” he said.
“Anything to enhance safety on our roads is a good thing and should be warmly & gratefully received. However, we still need to see more funds coming out to our CMA member Councils’ most significant asset – our various road networks.”
“As Minister Aitchison knows, when it comes to funding for our country roads, there is never enough, especially after the weather extremes of recent years,” Mayor Firman said.
“Ultimately, the NSW Government is talking about spending money on the roads that they are responsible for. Over decades, the State Government has cost-shifted various road responsibilities onto Local Government in rural, remote and regional NSW by changing their classification. The CMA is optimistic that the new Transport for NSW reclassification program will see appropriate road infrastructure cost burdens returned to our NSW Government. Minister Aitchison and her team have done a lot of work developing that scheme and CMA Board and Members applaud it,” he said.