Two Essential public assets in Wollondilly will be repaired or built back to a more resilient standard, thanks to a $260 million investment by the Australian and NSW governments.
A total of 136 essential public and community assets that were directly damaged by natural disasters will be repaired or built back across the state as part of the Infrastructure Betterment Fund and the Community Assets Program.
Member for Wollondilly Judy Hannan MP said $1,304,800 from the Infrastructure Betterment Fund will go towards improving the resilience of Woodbridge Road at Menangle and Priestly Street Culvert in Mittagong, projects that were damaged by natural disasters in the Southern Highlands and Wollondilly.
Mrs Hannan said some of the projects funded include:
· $1,105,800 for Betterment of Woodbridge Road (at Navigation Creek) Menangle
· $235,000 for Betterment of the Priestley Street Culvert - Mittagong
“While the funding is low for our area these improvements are going to assist significantly for residents both in Wollondilly and Wingecarribee for two roads that are in significant risk of flooding” said Judy Hannan MP.
“The betterment of Woodbridge Road at Navigation Creek Menangle is a project that involves increasing serviceability of an important transport link during flood events by upgrading a drainage structure under the road. With this I hope to see the community is able to remain connected and not cut off midway through Woodbridge Road in an unsafe area to turn around” said Judy Hannan MP.
"The project at Priestly Street will upgrade the size of the existing culvert to increase the resilience of the culvert by allowing water to more easily pass through therefore reducing the stresses to the structure and provide better levels of service to the surrounding community by designing a culvert that can safely convey flows up to a 1 in 100 flood (dependent on space constraints). This will also reduce the likelihood of neighbouring properties from experiencing flooding as the culvert would no longer act as a ""choke"" point in the drainage network" continued Judy Hannan MP.
Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said by providing this assistance the NSW Government is helping disaster impacted communities to work towards greater flood resilience and reclaiming their unique individual identities.
“High quality essential assets and community infrastructure are what drive local economies,” Ms Moriarty said.
“By rebuilding this infrastructure, we are ensuring communities have the amenities they need to entice visitors, encourage local businesses and residents to thrive, and allow services to keep supporting their communities during future natural disasters.
“The projects receiving funding represents our commitment to improve our regions and ensure no one is left behind.”
The $190 million in projects from the Infrastructure Betterment Fund and $70 million in projects from the Community Assets Program are jointly funded by the Australian and NSW governments under Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
The Infrastructure Betterment Fund is focused on building back essential public assets, such as roads, bridges and drainage, impacted by the 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires, and the storm and flood events in 2021 and 2022, to better withstand future natural disasters, while delivering associated economic, social and productivity benefits.
For more information, visit www.nsw.gov.au/regional-recovery-programs
Media: [email protected] or Benn Banasik 0434 832 636