NRMA roads funding report finds north shore backlog

Insurer NRMA has cast doubt over the safety of some roads in Ku-ring-gai after it revealed the council had the greatest road projects backlog ($23.1 million) in Sydney’s north.

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Insurer NRMA has cast doubt over the safety of some roads in Ku-ring-gai after it revealed the council had the greatest road projects backlog ($23.1 million) in Sydney’s north.

The NRMA’s Funding Local Roads report showed Ku-ring-gai had the biggest backlog based on the 2016-17 financial year, with Ryde next ($15.7 million) among the nine northern councils.

NRMA director and chairman Tim Trumper said the state and federal governments needed to provide more funding to ensure roads were at a safe and satisfactory standard.

NRMA director Tim Trumper. Picture: Braden Fastier.

A spokeswoman for Ku-ring-gai Council did not dispute the $23.1 million figure.

However, councils assess the condition of roads and whether they require work in different ways.

Asked about the safety of Ku-ring-gai roads, the spokeswoman said the council would welcome a consistent statewide or national assessment process to measure more accurately the condition of local roads.

She said a recent $2.8 million federal government grant would help reduce the backlog.

Ku-ring-gai Mayor Jennifer Anderson at Lady Game Drive, Killara. The council recently installed a safety barrier.

While councils also receive state funding, these are usually for state roads and not those subject to the backlog.

Ku-ring-gai had made considerable progress in reducing the backlog in the last 15 years, according to the spokeswoman.

Ku-ring-gai’s roads backlog had reduced by 4.8 per cent compared to the previous year.

Long term financial plans had been revised and the backlog was expected to be eliminated by 2023, the spokeswoman said.

The council spends $13 million each year on repairing, maintaining and renewing roads and footpaths. Most of this money comes from council budgets.

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Mr Trumper said the gap between what councils need to maintain local roads at a safe and satisfactory standard had grown 30 per cent in two years.

The association has called on the government to adopt a range of measures to improve funding.

These include reserving between two to five cents per litre of the fuel excise for local roads, and classifying some strategic roads across regional areas as state roads.