BY JESSICA ROUSE

The state government is still Fixing Country Roads throughout the Hunter region with the third round of funding under the program now open.

A further $100 million is now available for eligible councils to share in for upgrades to roads, bridges and truck washes.

The funding is aimed to go towards projects which local councils believe will deliver significant benefits to local communities. The funding is a part of a $543 million commitment for Fixing Country Roads from Rebuilding NSW.

Lake Macquarie, Cessnock, Maitland and Port Stephens Councils are all being encouraged to apply for a share in the funding with applications open until 1 September 2017.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald says country roads need to be streamlined for efficiency to ensure the easy movement of freight in and out of regional areas well into the future.

“From the conversations I’ve had with council it’s always a case of money and proritising and for me it’s looking at where the trucks are running at the moment, where we need to have better connectivity for our freight network and where we can get more efficiency around that,” said Scot MacDonald.