The Federal and New South Wales Governments are set to provide an additional $52.5 million to help Byron Shire Council restore disaster-damaged road infrastructure.
The funding, provided through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, will go towards restoring the slope at multiple locations and repairing the culvert at Coopers Lane.
Funding received will also be used to repair landslips on Coolamon Scenic Drive (two locations), Left Bank Road (two locations), Wilsons Creek Road (three locations), Coopers Creek Road (two locations), Goonengerry Road, Frasers Road, The Pocket Road (three locations), Tristran Parade, Huonbrook Road (five locations), Johnsons Road (four locations), Dry Creek Road, Main Arm Road, Monet Drive, St Helena Road, Wanganui Road and Possum Shoot Road.
These repairs will help ensure that communities in the Byron Shire can access safer and more resilient roads.
Eight packages of funding have been approved for this work and range in value from $506,000 to $15.89 million.
Because of the volume of work, repairs will be carried out over a number of years.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management, Jenny McAllister, said that the 2022 floods had an enduring impact on the community of Byron Shire.
“We’re restoring roads across Byron Shire to help families stay connected and help businesses access roads they can rely on,” Minister McAllister said.
“We’re working with all levels of government to help local communities not only recover but rebuild for the long term.”
Federal Member for Richmond, Justine Elliot, said that it is important to keep communities connected during and after natural disasters.
“These roads upgrades across the Byron Shire are about building back better, by repairing the damage and ensuring locals can access safer and more resilient roads.
“I’m proud to be part of the Federal Government, delivering this joint investment with the New South Wales Government to continue disaster recovery in the Byron Shire.”
New South Wales Minister for Planning, Paul Scully, said that the government saw how heavily impacted parts of the Byron Shire have been by weather events in recent years, so this investment is important.
“These works on multiple sections of road in the Byron Shire will be welcome and will help restore normal travel routes around the area,” Minister Scully said.
New South Wales Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Jenny Aitchison, said that the New South Wales North Coast is vulnerable to severe weather events, and that this funding will help Byron Shire Council carry out the necessary repairs to get them back on track.
“This funding will enable Council to get on with the vital work of restoring the local roads that people use every day to travel to work and education, see their families and get to medical appointments,” Minister Aitchison said.
“Working together across all levels of government, we are ramping up investment to help communities remain connected or re-connect faster following a severe weather event.”
Byron Shire Council’s Manager of Infrastructure Recovery, Phil Warner, said that Council wants to be up front with its communities, who are understandably eager for repair work to be completed.
“It’s fantastic that we’ve received funding to do these important repairs but in some cases it will take us several years before we complete the work,” Mr Warner said.
“This is because we need to plan the work, get it approved and secure materials and people to do the work.
“We thank the community for their continued patience and will keep everyone updated on the timeframes for each of the repairs.”
