Member for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan has welcomed confirmation that the $319 million reconstruction of the Kempsey-Armidale Road is locked in with contractors appointed this week.
The MP said the restoration project marks the largest Essential Public Asset Restoration project ever undertaken in NSW, and commended Armidale Regional Council and Transport for NSW for delivering the project to this important stage.
“This is a huge project to restore 43 kilometres of Kempsey-Armidale Road alongside a five-kilometre section of Lower Creek Road, ensuring greater resilience and reliability for local residents, freight, agriculture, and tourism,” Mr Moylan said.
“Armidale Regional Council have been working on this project for years, since the majority of damage to the road was caused by a series of natural disasters including drought, bushfire, floods and landslips – if it could go wrong, it did go wrong.
“Landholders, residents and travellers have endured many years of closures and disruptions, and I am genuinely pleased they will be seeing real progress underway in coming months with major works launching next year.”
The Armidale Regional Council undertook a procurement process before appointing Queensland-based civil engineering firm Beilby Holdings to deliver the extensive restoration works between Big Hill and Blackbird Flat.
The project is co-funded by the NSW and Federal Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, with $319 million set aside for this project.
The Kempsey-Armidale Road is an important transport corridor from Armidale to the cost via Kempsey and it’s restoration will also provide a viable alternative route between Tablelands and Coast for motorists.