THE Upper Hunter Shire will benefit to the tune of $1.8 million, thanks to the NSW Government’s Fixing Country Roads and Fixing Country Rail programs.
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Upper Hunter MP Michael Johnsen said the Omadale Bridge replacements was among 33 projects across regional NSW to be awarded a share of $135 million, boosting freight efficiency, capacity and connectivity.
“The Omadale Bridge replacements will benefit our Upper Hunter Shire and the region by increasing tonnage and creating potential savings through removing up to 120km in detours, while improving access for the local community, tourism, industry and emergency services due to dual lanes,” he explained.
“This bridge replacement will also remove risk of structural failure.
“Our freight trucks and trains carry our food, produce and raw materials that support our local Upper Hunter community.
“These projects will ensure freight vehicles get to where our communities need them to be.
“It’ll improve connectivity between regional centres, state roads and freight facilities, reducing travel times, improving safety, and bring freight costs down.”
Mr Johnsen said the Fixing Country Roads program had reached almost $346 million, funding vital road upgrades delivering better connections to local communities.
“Freight is worth more than $60 billion to the NSW economy,” he added.
“It is critical that NSW has a state of the art freight network as the global marketplace continues to become more competitive.
“Since 2011, the government has delivered more than 600km of sealed roads, almost 200 bridges upgraded and 28 truck washes built or upgraded, all delivered through the Fixing Country Roads program.”
More details can be found online at www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/programs/fixing-country-roads and www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/programs/fixing-country-rail
