Port Stephens Council has welcomed Labor's $11.8 million roads election pledge, which comes as the local government organisation works on repairing the road network damaged by two years of consistent wet weather.
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The council's facilities and services group manager Greg Kable said the cost of the extent of the rain damage, exacerbated by storm and flood events, across Port Stephens is believed to be in the "hundreds of millions".
"This announcement is great news for Port Stephens - the repair and rehabilitation of our roads can't be funded by council alone. We need the support of our State Government to help us fast track repairs and ensure our roads are safe," he said.
In the past year, the council has secured more than $5 million in grants from the Liberal-National NSW Government to support the repair of potholes and road damage from storm events.
During that 12 month period, the council has filled 62,000 potholes.
Following the last round of grant funding, the council has been able to begin the first stage of road repairs to Rookes Road at Salt Ash.
"We've had a huge amount of damage to our road network over the past two years and Rookes Road was one of our worst," Mr Kable said.
"Last week we started a heavy patching and rehabilitation program on Rookes Road, along with some minor drainage works.
"There'll be some impact on residents and road users during these works which will see the top section of the road removed, repairs made to the damaged material and a two part bitumen seal."
Other funding the council recently received will support projects such as the $2.4 million upgrade to Avenue of the Allies, Tanilba Bay to improve safety and reliability.
Mayor Ryan Palmer said it was great to see funding commitments for road repairs and rehabilitation in Port Stephens, and welcomed further roads funding or support commitments from the other candidates ahead of the March 25 election.
"A high quality road network not only increases safety, it reduces congestion and helps improve connections by allowing the community to move around our region more effectively," he said.
"We know it's been a tough wait for the residents who use Rookes Road - we appreciate their patience and although this first lot of works won't fix everything, we know it's a start."
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Ellie-Marie Watts
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
