$45 million for Far West local road upgrades
8 October 2021
A record $45 million investment to upgrade dozens of local roads across the State’s West will improve journeys for regional communities, farmers and freight from Nyngan to Broken Hill.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole said the $45 million would deliver 34 projects across 24 Local Government Areas in the Far West under the $153 million third round of the Fixing Local Roads Program, which is helping councils repair, maintain and seal priority roads in their community.
“We know that sometimes it’s small projects that can drive big benefits in the bush, and this program is helping to deliver better journeys on the roads that families, freight and farmers use every day,” Mr Toole said.
“The Far West is already reaping the benefits of this program with $81 million invested across the region for 67 projects in the previous two rounds of funding. Over 16 of those are now open to traffic, and this announcement will see another 34 projects cross the finish line over the next two years.”
Minister for Western NSW Adam Marshall said these projects would give councils a significant boost in maintaining the roads that really matter to country communities.
“There’s never been a more important time to invest in the road infrastructure across the region, helping deliver safer and more efficient journeys for freight operators and primary producers who use these roads every day,” Mr Marshall said.
“It’s also very welcome news to see funding for roads in the Unincorporated Far West, proof this Government is investing in every corner of the state.”
Member of the Legislative Council Sam Farraway said round three projects would support 1374 direct and indirect jobs across the State.
“It’s great to see this funding allocated to councils in regional NSW, and even greater to see the direct benefits it’s delivering for the community with hundreds of jobs being supported through rounds one and two,” Mr Farraway said.
“Over 97 Fixing Local Roads projects have been completed to date - that’s a huge amount of local roads repaired, patched and sealed for the locals that use them every day.”
Fixing Local Roads is a $500 million NSW Government program, which was boosted by the Commonwealth Government over the first two rounds with an additional injection of $191 million. Further information can be found at nswroads.work/fixinglocalroads.