New South Wales investing $202 million for Regional Road Safety
Regional New South Wales is gearing up for a major transformation as the state government rolls out a massive $202 million investment to improve road safety across rural and remote areas.
This ambitious initiative, part of the broader $2.8 billion road safety budget, aims to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on some of the state’s most dangerous roads, making travel safer for all.
It’s a sobering reality: despite regional communities making up just one-third of New South Wales’ population, they account for a staggering two-thirds of the state’s road fatalities. The numbers paint a grim picture, but the NSW government is determined to flip the script with its “Towards Zero-Safer Roads Program.” This investment is not just a drop in the bucket; it’s a lifeline that could prevent up to 2,000 fatal or serious injuries caused by crashes over the life of the program.
The latest funding round will see 72 separate safety projects across regional, rural, and remote areas, each targeting high-risk locations with a combination of infrastructure upgrades and speed management strategies. The enhancements are expected to include:
- Installation of safety barriers to reduce the risk of head-on collisions.
- Widening road shoulders, providing drivers with more room to manoeuvre.
- Improved signage and road markings to enhance visibility and guidance.
These improvements aren’t just about building better roads—they’re about saving lives.
A Holistic Approach to Road Safety
The Towards Zero-Safer Roads Program isn’t just about patching up roads; it’s about a long-term, sustainable approach to reducing road trauma. The strategy focuses on infrastructure that addresses specific dangers in high-risk areas, creating safer driving environments that can withstand the test of time. This approach is aligned with the state’s 2026 Road Safety Action Plan, which ambitiously targets halving the number of road deaths and cutting serious injuries by 30% from 2018-2020 levels by 2030.
A key element of this approach is not just about fixing the roads but ensuring that road users are held accountable too. This is seen in measures like the doubling of roadside enforcement sites for mobile speed cameras and stricter enforcement of seatbelt laws using new technology. Together, these measures aim to create a safer, more responsible driving culture across NSW.
A Deep Dive into the Impact
Jenny Aitchison, Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, emphasised the critical nature of this investment: “With $202 million to target and improve safety on roads in our regional areas, lives will be saved. These upgrades will make our roads safer for all road users, locals and visitors, and this investment will go a long way towards achieving the goal of ensuring everyone gets home safely every time to their loved ones.”
The projects under this funding umbrella are diverse in scope, location, and scale. From small rural towns to busier regional hubs, each initiative shares a common purpose: to create safer roads for everyone. The success of these upgrades is not just measured by reduced accident statistics but by the tangible improvement in the quality of life for regional communities.
Building on Early Success
This isn’t the first time NSW has invested heavily in road safety. In the first round of the Towards Zero-Safer Roads Program, $41 million was spent prioritising 27 projects and completing an additional 11 safety upgrades in regional NSW. These early wins laid the groundwork for the second round of investments, proving that targeted improvements can yield significant benefits.
Other initiatives under the government’s broader road safety plan include the state’s first Road Safety Forum, which brought together international and Australian road safety experts, traffic advocates, and policymakers to collaborate on strategies for reducing road trauma. The government has also implemented the demerit return trial, which rewarded more than 1.2 million drivers for maintaining a spotless driving record over a 12-month period.
Leaders Weigh In
NSW Premier Chris Minns expressed the urgency and human cost behind these investments: “Any life lost on our roads is a tragedy. We ask drivers to take every precaution they can to be safe on our roads. It’s important the government also does everything we can to make our roads as safe as possible for those travelling on them.”
Minns’ sentiment was echoed by industry experts and local leaders who understand the complexities of road safety in regional settings. By prioritising high-risk locations and leveraging both infrastructure and enforcement, the government hopes to make a lasting impact on the regional road toll.
A Safer Future for NSW’s Regional Roads
While the task of making every road in NSW safe is monumental, the progress made so far and the significant investment underway signal a strong commitment from the state government. The Towards Zero-Safer Roads Program is more than just a set of construction projects—it’s a promise to regional communities that their safety matters.
The road ahead may still have challenges, but with continued investment, innovation, and collaboration, the vision of safer, more resilient regional roads is within reach.
