The prediction was made by council’s director engineering services Theo Panagopoulos following additional formal advice of road repair funding which now totals $10,096,944.
He said last month’s NSW Government notification to extend the timeframes to October 31, 2027 to deliver the two programs Regional and Local Roads Repair Program ($4.2m) and the new Regional Emergency Road Repair Fund ($5.8m) to Federation Council has been welcomed.
“The extension of time is very good news,” Mr Panagopoulos told council’s latest monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 28.
“This will allow council staff to take stock of the current situation and plan the expenditure of these welcomed funds into the areas of most need.”
The director engineering services said the works will be delivered through a combination of council staff and contractors, and will be fully programmed.
To be undertaken by council staff, the inspection is occur from December to March.
“The works to be prioritised for this funding include shoulder maintenance, table drain maintenance, pavement rehabilitation works and heavy patching/resealing,” Mr Panagopoulos said.
“These works will be combined with the normal routine maintenance activities of council’s outdoor operations teams.”
The comments by council’s top engineer about the three-to four months inspection resulting in a good road network was welcomed by Chairman of Federation Rates Group David Bott.
“We’d absolutely welcome any refocus on the core services, particularly roads – back to basics,” Mr Bott told The Free Press/Yarrawonga Chronicle.
The Regional Emergency Road Repair Fund (RERRF) supports councils across regional NSW to fix damaged roads and ensure the road network our regional communities rely on every day is dependable, smooth and safe.
This fund will provide an additional $390 million to regional councils to continue vital repair and maintenance work and builds on the $280 million allocated to regional NSW councils through the Regional and Local Roads Repair Program (RLRRP).
Together these initiatives are providing $670 million in much needed funding for regional areas of NSW to recover from natural disasters and maintain an efficient, safe and reliable road network.
