'Fair go': $50 million thrown at regional councils in bid to fix 420,000 potholes

Orange City, Cabonne Shire and Blayney Shire councils are among 95 regional local government areas (LGAs) eligible to apply for state funding to fix potholes.

The NSW government said about 420,000 potholes could be repaired with the Fixing Local Roads funding, roughly equating to just $120 per pothole.

A regional council in the Central West was contacted to price the cost of potholes but said averaging out the cost for each is difficult.

There are lots of variables, namely how far the potholes is from a council depot; how many are together in the one spot; the severity of the pothole or potholes; the traffic restrictions required on that section of road; and, the type of road, to name a few.

A private contractor responsible for asphalt repair in Western Australia quotes repairs at $60 per m2, although this is not a fixed fee.

Minister for Regional Roads Sam Farraway said adverse weather had put a strain on council resources.

"NSW has had more than its fair share of natural disasters and extreme weather and it's promising to see that more than 135,000 potholes have been repaired on State roads in regional NSW since February," he said.

"However, plenty more potholes still require attention, particularly on council-managed roads, which is why our government is putting more money on the table for councils to repair potholes on the roads regional communities use every day.

"This funding is available to help every regional council across the state to carry out emergency repairs and would fix roughly more than 420,000 potholes on their roads.

"This additional support will help ease the pressure local councils are facing and boost the resources they can draw upon to repair their most damaged roads to improve safety and reduce wear and tear on vehicles."

Mr Farraway isn't a stranger to the topic of potholes, having recently clashed with Orange member Phil Donato over the state of roads in the electorate.

Mr Donato took issue with Mr Farraway's comments labelling people complaining about the state of roads "keyboard warriors" only for the minister to respond by saying he was "basically the member for Orange" and criticising Mr Donato's record.

Newly announced Nationals candidate for Orange, Tony Mileto, also welcomed the announcement.

"We know the impact the unprecedented weather of the last few months has had on our roads across Orange," Mr Mileto said.

"With nearly 60,000 people living in our community, roads in Parkes, Cabonne, Forbes and Orange have seen their fair share of damage due to the relentless rain.

"This will ensure that our councils are given a fair go in getting on top of the potholes before harvest rolls around."

Applications are open for two weeks with work needing to be completed by January 1, 2024.

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