NRMA welcomes announcement of new funding for regional roads

 The NSW Government has today announced more than $700 million in new funding for regional roads, which includes:

• $390 million to establish the Regional Emergency Road Repair Fund (RERRF) to allow 95 regional and rural councils to urgently fix local roads; and
• A new $334 million Regional Roads Fund for councils to build new roads and roundabouts, replace or repair old bridges and improve safety at crash blackspots.

In the lead-up to last year’s state election the NRMA launched its ‘Rate Your Road’ survey, which had a record 28,292 votes across the state. The campaign was critical in the NRMA’s work to secure more funding for the state’s roads.

NRMA Spokesman Peter Khoury commended the NSW Government for delivering on its election commitment to support regional councils.

“Today’s announcement by Minister Jenny Aitchison will help save lives,” Mr Khoury said.

“The NRMA commends the NSW Government for this significant investment in regional and rural roads. The regions are the backbone of our country and the regional road network is not only the lifeblood of regional communities but critical for delivering goods and services across the country.

“Regional councils already had a tough job maintaining local roads – a job made demonstrably tougher after last year’s flooding. We know the road toll in regional and rural NSW is particularly bad – representing 70 percent of fatalities this year.

“We commend the NSW Government for today’s announcement.”