Dungog Council welcomes $1.3M road repair funding boost

Published on 07 February 2023

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Dungog Shire Mayor, John Connors, has welcomed a $1.316 million funding boost as Dungog Shire Council continues the colossal task of repairing roads damaged by flooding and extreme wet weather events in 2022.  

This critical funding injection will help Council patch up an estimated 10,000 square metres other emergency repair works on our road network. The works to be undertaken will focus on restoring the integrity of the shire’s road surfaces with heavy patching and improve outcomes for motorists. 

Mayor John Connors applauds news of Dungog’s share in the State Government’s state-wide commitment for urgent road patching repairs. The program of works is expected to begin delivery this month.  

“It is a great start for us to address those highest priority pothole and heavy patching works that simply can’t wait. 

“The state of our road network is dire, we don’t shy away from that fact, which is why funding like this is so vital for us. 

“Our already compromised road network was further disintegrated following the number of floods and torrential rain events throughout last year. 

“Even with the significant amount of funding being directed Dungog Shire’s way, there is still much to address. We heavily rely on Government grants and funding allocations such as this and we welcome further significant funding announcements from the Government in the coming weeks,” Cr Connors said. 

This funding round is part of a $500 Million state-wide spending spree designed to support emergency rectifications and heavy patching of the damage to roads sustained last year, with the money expected to be available to Dungog Shire Council by the end of the month. 

It follows the declaration of a State-Wide Roads Emergency by Local Government NSW (LGNSW) late last year, in the wake of more than 220 natural disasters declared across NSW during 2022. 

Strict guidelines surrounding the grant expenditure means Council is now in the process of reviewing its infrastructure delivery schedule to prioritise the works. 

“Our 2023 capital works program will need to be reviewed so that we can accommodate the funding and use it wisely. While we’re actively recruiting all the time, like so many other Councils across the state, we only have a certain amount of labour and resources available to complete the works program,” Cr Connors said. 

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