The Australian Government has provided over $73 million in funding under the new Roads to Recovery program which is being distributed to 38 councils across the electorate of O’Connor, including Collie.
The program lends councils a helping hand to upgrade roads, improve safety and efficiency within their community.
In the South West, the Shire of Collie, the Shire of Boyup Brook and the Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes all received over $1 million in funding. The Shire of Manjimup received over $3 million.
Federal Member for O’Connor Rick Wilson said the program would provide $2 billion to local governments across the country.
“The government is investing $400 million every year following an extension of the program in the 2016 Budget to deliver a further $50 million per annum from 2019−20 onwards,” Mr Wilson said.
“This means the majority of councils will receive more Roads to Recovery funding in the 2019-20 to 2023-24 program than their base allocation in 2014-15.”
The Roads to Recovery program involves close collaboration between federal and local governments to deliver road infrastructure improvements required to support economic growth.
The allocations for O’Connor have been calculated using the proportion of Financial Assistance Grants that each local governing body receives and updated assessments undertaken by local government grants commissions.
The government clearly demonstrated its commitment to continuing this important partnership by recently ensuring that no new legislation will be required to extend the program in the future.
In 2017, the Shire of Collie received over $180,000 under the federal government’s Roads to Recovery program to fund a series of road safety projects.
One of the projects included the installation of traffic calming devices on Mungalup Road between Crampton Street and Prinsep Crescent.
The other project was resurfacing damaged asphalt at the intersection between Palmer Road and Coombes Street, the intersection between Medic Street and Steere Street North, along with Johnston Street.
