Work on a 19.6-kilometre stretch of Rangari Road in the Tamworth Regional and Gunnedah Shire local government areas will begin in December with road crews now preparing to break dirt in December.

Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson said he had been pushing hard to get shovels in the ground as soon as possible as he did not want to see the recent flooding events push back construction any further.

“Transport for NSW took over the project in July and since that time, I have been working closely with the department to see what could be done to get work underway as soon as possible,” Mr Anderson said.

“Since July, ongoing wet weather events have kept all our road crews extremely busy as they work around the clock to fill potholes and repair land slips.

“I can now update the community that Transport have brought forward a significant amount of work on the road and the community can now expect to see the trucks on site in December.

“The community have been campaigning for an upgrade to Rangari, and I am pleased that the NSW Government will now deliver the safe, sealed road the community needs and deserves.

“Rangari Road will soon become the vital freight and farming route we have been fighting for, as well as a much safer route for local families. I’m looking forward to joining the community in a matter of weeks to celebrate the start of work on the road.

“The $15.3 million Rangari Road upgrade remains one of my top priorities as the local member.

“That’s why I have delivered funding allocations of $9 million, $1.6 million, $1.4 million, and more recently $3.3 million as part of the 2022/23 NSW Budget.”