MEMBER for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan has been advised by the NSW Government that repairs to the New England Highway will begin next week.

After record-breaking floods hit the coast of New South Wales last week, traffic was rediverted to the New England Highway which resulted in it becoming a pothole-ridden danger zone for motorists.

Mr Moylan met with Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison in Parliament this week, to push for urgent assistance and much-needed repairs to the highway.

As a result of their meeting, road crews from the Pacific Highway will be shifted to the New England Highway from next Monday to begin work.

“I have been working on this since late last week and the Northern Tablelands electorate office has been inundated with calls and emails from concerned drivers reporting near-misses, blown tyres, and vehicle damage,” Mr Moylan said.

“I travelled to Glen Innes from Armidale last week and experienced first-hand how bad the road conditions are.

“I met Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison and her team while in Parliament in Sydney this week to push for urgent repairs and I am pleased to say she has agreed for road crews to be relocated to the New England Highway next week to begin work.

“Until the road crews can repair the worst of the damage, I urge motorists to be careful while travelling.

“While the road is being worked on there will be delays. I ask motorists to be patient so the road crews can restore the highway.”

Member for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan met with Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison requesting urgent assistance to repair the New England Highway.

Meanwhile, the NSW State Emergency Service is proactively working with the NSW Reconstruction Authority to facilitate a phased approach to recovery as clean-up and assessments continue across coastal New South Wales.

The SES is co-ordinating the efforts of partner New South Wales and interstate emergency service agencies, the Australian Defence Force and locally mobilising community volunteers to undertake damage assessments and assist in clean-up activities across impacted areas.

NSW SES Assistant Commissioner, Colin Malone, said it is important to commence the recovery process as soon as possible, where safe so affected communities get the support they need.

“We have teams on the ground and are working closely with recovery partners to provide support and assistance through a range of measures over the coming days,” he said.

“We are continuing to resupply isolated communities and we still have a few residual jobs to attend to, but with the assistance of our valued emergency service partners and community members mobilising to help we are working through them as quickly as possible.

“I thank our local SES volunteers, who have left their families and workplaces to assist their communities, often while their own home was at risk of flooding. This event has proved to be a challenging few weeks for many communities across New South Wales.

“I’d like to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of all personnel and volunteers involved in the relief and clean-up effort.

“Their dedication and collaboration spanning local, national, and international support is making a meaningful difference in helping communities recover and rebuild as quickly as possible,” he said.