Thunderbolts Way will undergo a much needed and timely make-over after Member for Upper Hunter Michael Johnsen announced $19.7 million will be allocated to repair the road.
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The Thunderbolts Way Corridor Strategy will see priority sections of deteriorated road pavement repaired through the Fixing Country Roads and Fixing Country Rail programs.
Mr Johnsen was pleased the project is one of 33 across rural and regional NSW to receive funding.
“This strategy will identify and prioritise key upgrade projects across two Local Government Authorities to move towards higher productivity vehicle access along the entire stretch of road,” Mr Johnsen said.
“These upgrades will ultimately reduce travel times and operator costs including maintenance.”
Mr Johnsen outlined the impact of the funding on the local freight industry.
“Our freight trucks and trains carry our food, produce and raw materials that support the local community.
“These projects will ensure freight vehicles get to where they need to go.
“These projects improve connectivity between regional centres, state roads and freight facilities, reducing travel times, improving safety, and they bring freight costs down.
“Freight is worth more than $60 billion to the NSW economy, and our local communities get a share of that, so it is critical that NSW has a state of the art freight network as the global marketplace continues to become more competitive,” Mr Johnsen said.
