Eye-watering sum needed to fix NSW’s flood-damaged roads

A staggering amount of financial support is required to restore state roads to a safe standard after months of severe flooding.

A $2.3bn backlog of funding is needed by NSW councils to maintain the state’s roads to a safe standard, new data has revealed.

In just the past 12 months alone, Sydney metropolitan councils’ backlog has increased from $39m to $411m, while the required funding in regional areas grew from $1.5bn to $1.9bn.

This comes off the back of 18 months of flooding across the state, with new data from NRMA showing a 32 per cent increase on call-outs for assistance due to tyre and wheel damage compared with the year prior.

Damage to roads following months of flooding has led to a 30 per cent increase in roadside assistance call-outs. Picture: Twitter @NRMA

NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said NSW was well “past the point” of needing support from the federal government.

“NSW has experienced unprecedented levels of rain over the last 12 months and the impact of this flooding can be seen right across the road network,” Mr Khoury said.

“There is a big task ahead for councils, which maintain the bulk of our road network, to keep our roads to a safe standard.

“This is an uphill battle at the best of times, let alone after having witnessed the devastation caused by so much flooding.”

Fixing some of the state’s roads will take some work. Picture: NSW SES

NRMA has called on the federal government to increase financial support to NSW to help address its exploding backlog of funding. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

While the NSW government has committed an additional $1.5bn to support council road improvements, the Australian government has failed to provide any additional funding support outside the budget.

“Recent announcements by the NSW government not only provided immediate funding to councils but also allocated resources to adopting new standards and materials to upgrade roads so they are more resilient to future damage – a key recommendation from the NRMA,” Mr Khoury said.

“Councils have already started the long and arduous work of rebuilding our roads and they need more help from the Australian government.”