It’s a red-letter day for the community of Mullaley.
The perseverance of the farming village to see Grain Valley Road sealed has finally paid off, with the final link in the funding chain secured.
The state government funding adds to the $3.85 million committed by the federal government in late August, and $500,000 committed by Gunnedah Shire Council.
Mullaley Public School P&C vice-president Lizzy Bell said the announcement wasn’t “a moment too soon” after sharing her concerns about the safety of children travelling on the school bus with the NVI in March.
“It’s the best news we could have heard today,” Mrs Bell said on Friday.
The Mullaley resident said the news had taken her by surprise because talk of state funding had died down in recent months.
“It was out of the blue because we had no idea of a timeline and it had sort of gone off the radar a bit with other things going on,” she said.
“You really don’t know [what to believe] when you’ve heard it all before.”
Mullaley Public School principal Ben Carter also welcomed the news and said the upgrade would “go a long way to ensuring the safety of our children travelling to and from school”.
“I drove [Grain Valley Road] this afternoon and my teeth just chatter. It’s awful,” Mr Keam said.
“It’s a great relief to hear the news and I hope there will no extra spokes in the wheel to muck it up,” he said.
“It will make a heck of a difference to that 10 kilometres I travel [on the gravel].
“To see it started will be good – to see it finished will be even better.”
READ MORE:
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- Mayor says Grain Valley Road is 'number one priority'
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