A $4.86 million cash injection to Dubbo's road network has moved a roundabout rebuild from wishlist to funded and poised to happen for the city's motorists.
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The problematic junction at Wheelers Lane and Keswick Parkway scored $966,000 as the state and federal governments combined resources to improve more than 50 local roads within Dubbo Regional Council.
A second major project is the completion of sealing the Old Mendooran Road, which will benefit from a $1.16 million allocation, with works to be done within two years.
Parkes MP Mark Coulton was in Dubbo on Thursday to announce a federal government commitment of $191 million to match the $191 million stumped up by the NSW government for the first round of its $500 million Fixing Local Roads program.
Flanked by Dubbo MP Dugald Saunders and Dubbo mayor Ben Shields, Mr Coulton said the $43.9 million flowing to the Parkes electorate in 15 local government areas was a massive win.
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"So as part of the stimulus that's required to get this country moving out of the COVID-19 pandemic... the federal government has partnered with the state government and local government to actually deliver on the ground, shovel-ready projects that can be up and running quickly," he said.
"The instructions going out to councils are that we want these projects up and operating as quick as possible to create local employment but also improving productivity."
Mr Coulton said it was not only an economic stimulus in the next 12 months, but also in the long-term, providing better links for freight and agricultural products, and tourism.
Mr Saunders said the program would achieve meaningful results, among them "the complete rebuild" of the roundabout at Wheelers Lane and Keswick Parkway, which in recent years had seen "a fair bit of problems, lots of potholes".
'This is about delivering projects that can make a big difference for local communities - projects that will drive valuable jobs in our region over the next 12 months as councils get cracking on delivery," Mr Saunders said.
Cr Shields said roads were "the biggest financial hurdle that local government faces".
"To have this money come in from the federal and state governments is an absolute godsend, particularly at this time," Cr Shields said.
"...local government has been hit quite hard from this pandemic... [The funding] is going to enable council to do some of these desperately needed projects around our council area...
"It's certainly not a silver bullet, we're certainly still going to have hundreds of kilometres worth of road that simply doesn't have the sealing that's needed, but I tell you what, this is a great start, it's a great initiative when it comes to stimulating our community."