Hunter motorists are in for a bumpy time after the NRMA revealed a $206 million backlog of funding is needed to maintain local roads in the region.
It comes as the state-wide liability hit the $253.2 million mark.
More surprising is the fact Maitland City Council carried the heaviest burden in the Hunter with an excess bill totalling $78.9 million.
The NRMA, via its Fix Our Broken Roads report, also warned NSW’s startling figure was expected to blow out even further this year due to flooding.
Early indications suggest the 2022 amount will dwarf the $1.9 billion total as councils begin to report the extent of damage caused by the heavy rainfall over the past 12 months.
NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said the alarming backlog of funding was only going to get worse.
“Regional councils are just beginning to measure the true impact of the devastating floods on the road network and the growing financial burden to rebuild,” he stated.
“The NRMA has an almighty job on its hands over the next year fighting to get the funding councils need to fix our flood ravaged, potholed-littered thoroughfare network.
“That’s why we want the community to tell us where the worst roads are through our Rate Your Road survey, by visiting www.rateyourroad.com.au.
“Having your say can make a huge difference.
“The 2019 survey received a record number of votes and that data helped the NRMA secure record road funding from the NSW and Australian governments to support local councils.
“Voting’s easy and takes only a couple of minutes.
“The survey is accessible on smartphones and desktop and will remain open until mid-February.
“The results will be released prior to the March 2023 NSW Election.”
The Fix Our Broken Roads report calls for more financial assistance to back councils through a streamlined process, the adoption of new standards and materials when fixing roads to ensure they are more resilient to damage, and a technology-driven audit of the entire network to support targeted future upgrades and evidence-based, predictive maintenance.
Maitland state MP Jenny Aitchison welcomed the findings.
“As a result of this report, we are only now starting to learn the extent of the damage,” the NSW Shadow Minister for Regional Transport and Roads said.
“But, it is not a surprise that after so many wet weather events NSW is facing a road damage crisis.
“The government could have, and should have, prepared better.
“Maintaining our state’s roads is essential for passenger and freight safety – and to keep NSW moving.
“For the government to have a nearly $2 billion backlog in road funding across the state is unforgivable.
“This report confirms what we all know the NSW Government has failed our regional, rural and remote communities on roads.
“Having such a huge backlog across the state, while they have wasted nearly 10 times that amount on failed Sydney transport projects is an absolute disgrace.
“It’s just another example of how tired and lazy this 12-year-old Liberal National government is.”
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