Years after flooding decimated roads in the Central West of the state, farmers have had enough and are urging government to increase funding for rural road infrastructure to finally repair roads which remain in shocking condition long after the events that damaged them.
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Two years on from the devastating floods which hit Eugowra and Forbes, many roads are still in a state of ruin and some farmers believe the situation has gone on too long, saying they need the roads to be able to get the food and fibre to consumers.
One such farmer is Rawson Leach, Waugan Vale, Forbes, who said the issue of roads in disrepair is affecting the whole community.
"There are genuine safety concerns, not only for farmers but the wider community as well," Mr Leach said.
"From a farmer's perspective, roads are so important for everything we do.
"To me, there's no real coherent lines of responsibility within state government and federal government and that makes it easy for politicians in particular to do the old flick pass and say that's not my responsibility.
"If you have some understanding of the logistics and just the mere fact of getting timely repairs done, you know if they could have got on to some of these repairs, especially the bigger ones, and done some stop gaps, they wouldn't have deteriorated to bigger jobs."
Mr Leach also questioned the efficacy of road repairs today.
"The repairs that they do these days seem to be less permanent and less robust in how it's done," he said.
"They've got to come back and do it again a lot sooner than what it seemed to be even 10 years ago.
"Originally I came from further north-west and I can remember the bitumen roads were really a luxury. But the ones they put down, you can drive on them today and other than fixing the edges they're still basically as good as they were.
"I can take you to roads around Trundle and Tullamore that were put down in the '60s and the '70s and they're still solid now.
"They have very minimal patching. So what is the difference now?"
A Transport for NSW spokesperson said unprecedented weather events in recent years have caused significant damage to the local, regional and state-managed road networks in the state's Central West.
"Transport for NSW is providing support for the local and regional road network through a range of mechanisms," the spokesperson said.
"In the Eugowra and Forbes area, where some roads are still in poor condition, councils are in the process of submitting larger Essential Public Asset Restoration Works (EPARW) programs, for which they require pre-approval to complete the works.
"Transport for NSW is currently working through the assessment of these exceptionally large submissions, with councils prioritising certain roads for approval.
"Once these submissions are approved by Transport for NSW, then councils have until June 30, 2025, to complete the works.
"Other NSW and Australian government disaster funding targeting these hardest hit areas of the Central West is being finalised and will be announced shortly."
Connecting the Mitchell and Golden Highways between Wellington and Dunnedoo, Saxa Road has been closed to everything except local traffic since October 5, 2022, adding significant travel time to vehicles heading in that direction.
The added travel means longer in the drivers seat for farmers and truck drivers while also adding to the time livestock spend in the trailer.
The spokesperson said Saxa Road is not a Transport for NSW responsibility.
"Saxa Road, which connects the Mitchell Highway turn-off north of Wellington to the Golden Highway is a regional road under the responsibility of Dubbo Regional Council," they said.
"It has been closed since a causeway collapse at Comobella, which occurred during flooding in 2022.
"The infrastructure in the causeway is between 40 and 50 years old and requires updating.
"Transport for NSW is supporting council in determining the required scope of these works so a design can be completed and funding allocated to have this road open as soon as possible.
"Transport for NSW thanks motorists for their patience."