Perrottet government announces $1b roads package for Western Sydney

Long-promised flood evacuation routes will be improved and road safety bolstered under a $1 billion dollar roads package for Western Sydney. See which projects are on the list.

Long-promised flood evacuation routes will be improved and road safety bolstered under a $1 billion roads package for Western Sydney.

The NSW government will distribute the treasure chest of funding across a slew of projects in Western Sydney, but top of the pile is $100 million to deliver the long-awaited Pitt Town bypass.

Made famous as the backdrop to idyllic Australian drama A Country Practice, recent development as the population soared has turned the town into a catcher’s mitt for flooding, making it an island when the Hawkesbury River swells.

During the March 2022 floods, residents were left without electricity for seven days, and had to use perilous evacuation routes through bushland to escape.

Now the government says it will fast-track the bypass and make improvements to evacuation routes.

Waitress Maddy Ranzolin (above right), with Summer Chahoud, has welcomed the funding; as has butcher Martin Sharp (top right). The roads are riddled with potholes, and become dangerous in floods. Pictures: Sam Ruttyn

“We are working towards widening Garfield Road East to a four-lane divided road, providing a flood evacuation route with increased capacity as well as a better connection to the communities of Marsden Park, Box Hill, Richmond, Schofields and Rouse Hill,” Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward said.

“The Pitt Town Bypass is also a project the community has been calling for, so I’m incredibly pleased we can deliver it, significantly increasing the community’s resilience to flooding events.”

The widening of Garfield Road East will also come with a $100 million funding boost.

Butcher Martin Sharp, 52, has lived in Pitt Town for almost 40 years and said the bypass was long overdue.

“It’s a great idea, but it’s been a great idea since the 1950s … so it does need to happen,” he said.

Waitress and resident of eight years Maddy Ranzolin said anything that would get trucks out of Pitt Town town centre and help residents flee floods would be a vast improvement to the current pothole-ridden roads.

“I think it’s amazing, that’s great because the route we have to take when the floods get really bad is just not OK for normal sedan cars, they’re only good for four-wheel drives … it’s not ideal so we really need a road,” she said.

In Kemps Creek, $200 million will be invested into safety improvements on Elizabeth Dr between Devonshire Rd and Western Rd.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said: “This investment across the region is a game changer.

“We are backing Western Sydney communities by making their roads safer, making sure they spend less time on the road, and getting tradies and other business to where they need to go quicker.”

Fast-tracking projects like the Pitt Town Bypass, which was approved in 2019, will be a key focus of the funding.

The package is delivered under the government’s West Invest package to upgrade public infrastructure in Western Sydney, as the population of more than 2.5 million continues to climb.

The region will be a key battleground in an election both parties say is going to go down to the wire.

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Originally published as Perrottet government announces $1b roads package for Western Sydney