Thirty-five Sydney councils will share in $220 million in state government funding to repair roads across the city that have been damaged by extreme rainfall and flooding.
Minister for Metropolitan Roads Natalie Ward said the Blacktown, Parramatta, Penrith, The Hills and Hawkesbury councils were the largest beneficiaries, receiving over $10 million each.
“We have listened to the call from councils for help to deal with the backlog of road damage caused by repeated weather events over the last 12 months,” Ward said.
“Through this funding, councils can act now on urgent road and pothole repairs, as well as protect against reoccurring challenges through the use of technology such as cold mix.
“These works are in addition to the work our crews carry out on state roads, with over 22,500 potholes repaired and more than 1 million square-metres of road re-sheeted on Sydney state roads in the past 12 months.”
Member for Hawkesbury Robyn Preston added, “I know how tough it has been for the flood impacted community of Hawkesbury and this funding will go a long way in delivering immediate benefits to local motorists, tourists and the freight industry with safer and more reliable journeys,” Preston said.
“This funding ensures people across Greater Sydney can have their roads returned to even better condition than they were prior to the record rainfall last year.”
The $220 million is part of the $500 million Regional and Local Road Repair Program and is in addition to $25 million made available last year for flood-affected councils and the $1.5 billion spent annually by the NSW Government on maintenance of state roads.
Funding is shared between the 35 state councils based on the proportion of overall roads managed within Metropolitan areas in NSW.