The damage to roads after the severe flooding of the Central West in 2022 was significant with four shire councils still working hard to get them back to where they were.
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While this work continues in Cabonne, Forbes, Lachlan, and Parkes shires, joint government funding has been announced to help the four flood affected local government areas improve transport infrastructure to deal with future severe weather events.
The $32 million Regional Transport Resilience Fund (RTRF) is jointly funded by the Albanese and NSW Governments through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) and is part of the recently announced joint Commonwealth and State Government $100 million Central West Recovery and Resilience Package.
The funding is to assist betterment work after Transport for NSW and the NSW Reconstruction Authority started working with the eligible councils earlier this year to identify opportunities for betterment projects.
The councils are to make submissions by May 31, with vital transport infrastructure like bridges and flood crossings replaced and roads improved.
Parkes Shire Council general manager Kent Boyd said the funding was just what the council has been asking for.
"Everyone was absolutely delighted with the announcement of the $32 million to be shared across the four councils, allowing for what they call betterment as part of the upgrades," he said.
"So the betterment component is just what we've been asking for, for so long.
"Most of the funding is about restoration. So under the guidelines, we're able to go out and repair roads back to what they were.
"But this particular money allows betterment. We can go out and instead of just every time it floods, repairing a locality, we look at if we can put in a concrete causeway that can make a massive difference to getting people access quickly.
"This funding allows us to do betterment works like raise or put in culverts so that people can get through in a flood, put in a concrete causeway so that the road doesn't flood anymore, or raise a bridge."
Mr Boyd said Parkes Shire Council had plans to improve access for some smaller regional towns which were cut off in the last floods.
"The challenge for the councils is to use the money to best effect so that we can help our region, particularly our rural roads, to be more resilient in times of these ever more occurring natural events of significance," he said.
"We are looking at improving access for some of our regional towns like Trundle and Tullamore to allow them to get to town in times of these large events.
"Trundle, for instance, gets cut off quite quickly with relatively small amounts of rain.
"This funding might allow us to put some causeways and culverts in which help improve that circumstance."
NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison said the funding for these works "will help reduce future costs of repairs to road and transport assets damaged by natural disasters, as well as improving safety, asset utility and connectivity during, and after natural disasters".
"The 2022 floods in the Central West had a catastrophic impact on local government transport infrastructure, impacting a geographical area of about 11,000 kilometres, severing critical emergency access and community service connections, and causing extensive damage," she said.
"Research shows that for every dollar invested in risk mitigation and betterment, up to $10 is saved in recovery."
