THE NSW Government is delivering flood roads and emergency service upgrades to bolster the Hawkesbury community against the devastating effect of floods.
The government announced details of a $94.7M investment in the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) to strengthen flood preparedness and response across the state and at key flood risk areas, including the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley and the Northern Rivers.
This new injection of funding is a significant operational uplift for the agency over four years that will:
- Improve flood planning to better prepare for and respond to floods.
- Fund critical fleet maintenance and new equipment.
- Support training and volunteer recruitment activity.
- Enhance public information, warnings and community engagement through channels like the SES website and the Hazards Near Me App.
A further $18M will be invested over the first 12 months to improve flood planning, intelligence and rescue response capability, coordination, operational systems, training, exercising and support for NSW SES volunteers.
The new funding builds on a $14.9M statewide fleet investment which is already underway, providing additional vehicles and vessels which have bolstered the NSW SES’s flood rescue response during recent severe weather events.
By the end of July, the SES will have rolled out 164 new assets across the state, including 40 vessels, 75 ark angel rafts, 45 command vehicles, two heavy rescue vehicles and two trailers. Many of these assets have already played a significant role in response to severe weather events.
NSW SES units in the Northern Rivers, Central West and Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley have all received equipment, delivering on recommendations from the independent 2022 NSW Flood Inquiry to improve flood rescue capabilities.
In addition, planning for more than 100 infrastructure improvements are underway as part of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Evacuation Road Resilience program.
The construction industry can submit proposals to build the crucial bypass of Pitt Town. The bypass will improve congestion by taking traffic out of Pitt Town, helping residents of Hawkesbury evacuate faster during floods. Transport for NSW expects to award the major construction contract to build the bypass in 2025.
The Driftway and Londonderry Road intersection upgrade has been brought forward as part of an election commitment by the NSW Government, providing a new roundabout and an additional lane to improve road capacity during evacuations. Construction on this upgrade is expected to start in 2025, with early investigation and development work already underway.
Transport for NSW will also begin engaging with industry to build the New Richmond Bridge and Traffic Improvements Project – a $500M joint initiative with the Australian Government. The new bridge will be around 10 metres higher than the existing crossing of Hawkesbury and will be able to withstand a one in 20-year flood.
These flood road upgrades are part of a $200M commitment by the NSW Government to deliver major evacuation routes in the flood-prone Hawkesbury-Nepean.
