Road safety projects to get $400m boost in federal, state funding

Road safety projects across the state will get a $400 million cash injection from the Commonwealth and State governments.

Road safety projects across the state will get a $400 million cash injection from the Commonwealth and State governments.

The funding, set to be announced on Thursday, will come from a $2 billion road safety fund announced in last year‘s budget.

NSW will get $540m from that fund.

The $400m cash injection will go to more than 260 projects across NSW.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack (back) and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Adam Yip

The jointly-funded projects include more than $50m to improve school zone 40km/h speed signs, more than $20m for works along the Pacific Highway, and more than $15m to improve bushfire resilience by removing high risk trees and upgrading road infrastructure.

There’ll be $13m for works along Waterfall Way, $12m to upgrade the Sturt Highway, and $7m for the Hume Highway.

The federal government fund operates on a “use it or lose it” basis, meaning States and Territories must use their allocated money within a specific time frame or see the funds invested elsewhere.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the money will go to safety upgrades including “shoulder sealing, rumble strips to alert drivers when they are moving out of their lane, median upgrades to prevent head-on collisions and barriers to prevent run-off-road crashes”.

He said the money would “support more than 2,500 direct and indirect jobs”.

Regional Transport and Roads Minister Paul Toole said: these projects will help prevent the loss of more than 538 lives and serious injuries on our roads”.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance also welcomed the projects, saying both the State and Commonwealth governments “have a shared goal of no deaths or serious injuries on our roads”.