Wagga Mayor Dallas Tout, Minister for Regional Development and Local Government Kristy McBain and Wagga City Council Manager of City Growth, Ben Creighton at Lake Albert. Photo: Supplied.
Wagga City Council has been in talks with the Federal Government to deliver targeted transport and community infrastructure projects that will have long-term benefits.
Federal Minister for Regional Development and Local Government Kristy McBain was in Wagga on Thursday (8 August) to confirm increased funding for the local government area.
The Roads to Recovery (RTR) program will see $18 million flow to the council over the next five years, including a $7.7 million boost from the Federal Government.
“It was fantastic to visit the Wagga region and see upgrades to road safety and community infrastructure progressing, with significant funding increases from the Albanese Government supporting a pipeline of future works,” Ms McBain said.
“This is a region that’s fast-growing and it’s important that all levels of government are rowing in the same direction, which is why I’ll continue to work with Wagga Wagga City Council to support the delivery of their priority projects.”
The money will be used for projects such as surface upgrades on Copland, Norton and Travers streets.
Phase 4 of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) program added over $3.2 million for local priority projects including upgrades to the surface of Byrnes Road.
Construction of a new steel and concrete structure to replace the timber bridge on Killicks Road is underway and set for completion mid next year.
Wagga will receive $4.4 million from the Commonwealth’s Growing Regions program for the development of the Lake Albert Water Sports and Event Precinct; a figure that will be matched by council.
It’s hoped that the beleaguered and algae-plagued lake will be cleaned up and restored as one of Wagga’s most popular recreational sites.
The long promised pipeline will hopefully ensure that Lake Albert has a consistently high water level to support a variety of water sports and events.
$420,000 from the Housing Support Program has also been allocated to support the Smaller Scale Second Home Initiative, to enable the delivery of secondary dwellings on existing residential blocks.
As the local government prepares to head into caretaker mode ahead of the September elections, Mayor Dallas Tout said it was a great step forward.
“The City of Wagga Wagga is responsible for delivering critical services to a large region, which is why it’s important to partner across levels of government to ensure our community receives the support and funding we need and deserve,” he said.
“We welcome the Australian Government’s Roads to Recovery program in particular, boosting much-needed funding for us to deliver safety improvements to Wagga’s road network, which will benefit those in our community who drive on our roads daily.”
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