The Australian Government committed $345 million of funding to an extension of the AusLink Black Spot program for another six years starting from 2008/09, with an extra $75 million allocated over the extension period.

WA Local Government Association President Cr Bill Mitchell welcomed the additional funding, saying the Association had been lobbying for such a result.

“Given the current allocation formula, this translates to an indicative $5 million of funding per year for the next two years for Western Australia, followed by $6.6 million per year until 2014,” Cr Mitchell said.

“The Association has been pushing hard for additional road funding considering there is an estimated $90 million dollar shortfall just to maintain our roads in their current condition.

“This decision is an encouraging sign that the critical issue of providing safer roads for the community is starting to be addressed.

“The next step is recognition of the escalating construction costs associated with maintaining road networks and should include the consideration of annual indexation.”

Cr Mitchell said the Association had also received Federal Opposition support for continuation of the program should government change in the next elections.

“Roads are an important part of reducing road trauma and have the potential to reduce fatalities by up to 43% dependent upon the level of investment made,” Cr Mitchell said.

“We applaud the Australian Government’s decision to extend the AusLink Black Spot program and are eagerly anticipating the State Government’s response to our $80 million dollar State budget bid for our Safer Local Roads project.”

Ends