What starts on 12 October, and where

On 30 September Kyogle Council announced it had secured around $10 million in Australian Government funding for another round of upgrades on the Clarence Way, which the Mayor called a lifeblood for rural communities in the west of the local government area. The money will support the upgrade of six sections of the road between Bonalbo and Urbenville. The release lists them, with their lengths, and says where work begins: Works are scheduled to start on the first section near Hootons Road on 12 October 2026, with all projects expected to be completed by early 2028.

The six Clarence Way sections in Kyogle Council's release, drawn to scale by length: 1.5 km near the Hootons Road intersection, where works are scheduled to start on 12 October; 700 metres north of Old Bonalbo Village; 1.0 km near the Murphys Road intersection; 2.4 km between Murphys Road and Falls Road at Bean Creek; the first 1.3 km of Yabbra Scrub from the southern end; and 1.3 km near Blackwood Lane. Total 8.2 km. Near the Hootons Road intersection 1.5 km, from 12 Oct North of Old Bonalbo Village 700 m Near the Murphys Road intersection 1.0 km Murphys Road to Falls Road, Bean Creek 2.4 km Yabbra Scrub, first section from the south 1.3 km Near Blackwood Lane 1.3 km
The six sections in the order Kyogle Council's 30 September 2026 release lists them, bars drawn to scale by length; they add to the release's 8.2 km. This is not a map: the release places each section only by the landmark named. The release says works start on the first section near Hootons Road, which we have marked.

The work itself, in the council's description, is pavement widening and strengthening, bitumen sealing, culvert replacements, and improvements to line marking and road delineation. The release puts the new sections on top of three years of work on the same road between Sandilands and Urbenville: more than 35.5 km upgraded at about $50.2 million. Add the 8.2 km and, on the council's figures, the upgraded length of the road passes 43 km. The release does not say how much of the road that leaves.

Clarence Way is a vital connection for our communities and plays an important role in supporting freight, agriculture, tourism and everyday travel across the region

Cr Danielle Mulholland, Mayor of Kyogle, in the council's release of 30 September 2026.

Who pays

The release says the federal money came through Tranches 3 and 4 of the program, and Council will contribute another $2.5 million, bringing the total value of the projects to $12.5 million. The program's published lists show the two grants line by line, and they reconcile with the council's round numbers.

Tranche 3

$5,000,000

federal, of a $6,254,402 total project cost. Design and upgrade of 3.4 km across 3 sections between Bonalbo and Urbenville, to a consistent 7 m wide sprayed seal.

Tranche 4

$4,998,703

federal, of a $6,248,703 total project cost. Upgrade of 5.1 km across 5 sections between Bonalbo and Urbenville, to a consistent 7.6 m wide sprayed seal.

From the program's Tranche 3 and Tranche 4 successful project lists, read 8 October 2026. Together: $9,998,703 federal and $12,503,105 in total project cost, so $2,504,402 falls to the council. The sums and the difference are ours.

Two things in those rows are worth noticing. The first grant is exactly $5,000,000 and the second is $1,297 short of it, and the program's factsheet says it will contribute up to a maximum of $5 million in program funding for each eligible project. And the federal share of each is 80 per cent, give or take a fraction, which is the factsheet's ceiling for council projects located in regional areas. All five of Lismore's projects on the lists sit at the same 80 per cent.

Of $12,503,105 in total project cost for the two Clarence Way projects, $9,998,703 (80 per cent) is federal and $2,504,402 (20 per cent) is the council's. Federal: $10.0m 80 per cent Council: $2.5m 20 per cent
The two Kyogle rows in the Tranche 3 and Tranche 4 lists, added together. The council share is the total project cost less the federal funding; the percentages are ours.

Two descriptions of the same road

The money agrees. The road does not, quite. The council's release counts six sections and 8.2 km; the two federal rows count eight sections and 8.5 km. The rows also give two different seal widths, 7 m in one project and 7.6 m in the other, which the release does not mention.

The Clarence Way package, as each source describes it
Kyogle Council release, 30 SepFederal tranche lists
Sections68 (3 + 5)
Length8.2 km8.5 km (3.4 + 5.1)
Seal widthNot stated7 m (Tranche 3), 7.6 m (Tranche 4)
Federal moneyAround $10 million$9,998,703
Total$12.5 million$12,503,105

Release lengths are its six listed sections; federal figures are the two Kyogle rows. The additions in brackets and the $12,503,105 total are ours.

We have not established why they differ. Neither document explains it. A project can be rescoped between application and delivery, a section can be split or merged, and the release may count by place where the application counted by stretch; any of those would do it, and none is on the record. The release is the council's own schedule for the works, so it is the one to plan around.

The rest of the region

The program publishes a list of successful projects for each of its four tranches so far. Read together on 8 October they hold 124 projects nationally, 54 of them in NSW. Seven of those 54 belong to councils in this masthead's patch, and all seven are Kyogle's or Lismore's.

The 54 NSW projects on the program's four tranche lists, one dot each: 2 are Kyogle Council's, 5 are Lismore City Council's, and 47 belong to other proponents. None belongs to Byron, Ballina, Tweed or Richmond Valley councils. Kyogle, 2 Lismore, 5 Others, 47 Byron, Ballina, Tweed, Richmond Valley: 0
One dot per NSW project on the program's Tranche 1 to 4 successful project lists, read 8 October 2026: 14, 8, 16 and 16 NSW rows. The count by proponent is ours.

Lismore's five put it level with Goulburn Mulwaree and Waverley councils for the most NSW projects on the lists, on our count. They are a bridge and four road jobs, $12,520,413 in federal money between them:

  • Chelmsford Bridge, Chelmsford Road (Tranche 1): a 20 m single-span, single-lane replacement with the deck raised approximately 2.0 m. $1,676,000 federal of $2,095,000.
  • The Channon Road, Dunoon (Tranche 1): approximately 1.9 km from Currie Road to Dunoon Road, to at least 7 m width with sealed shoulders. $2,015,708 of $2,519,636.
  • Rous Road, Tregeagle (Tranche 3): approximately 1.7 km widened to at least a 7 m seal with sealed shoulders, plus an S-bend realignment. $2,717,672 of $3,397,091.
  • Tregeagle Road, Tregeagle (Tranche 3): approximately 900 m widened to at least 7 m with sealed shoulders. $1,253,877 of $1,567,347.
  • Tweed Street and Dunoon Road corridor (Tranche 4): approximately 1.7 km of wider lanes and sealed shoulders, three roundabouts, and in the list's words, both roads upgraded to provide for a Flood Evacuation Route. $4,857,156 of $6,071,445.
Projects on the four tranche lists, by council
CouncilProjectsFederal funding
Lismore City5$12,520,413
Kyogle2$9,998,703
Byron Shire0None
Ballina Shire0None
Tweed Shire0None
Richmond Valley0None

Our count and sums of the Tranche 1 to 4 lists as read on 8 October 2026, searching each list's proponent column for the six councils. Together, Kyogle and Lismore hold $22,519,116 of the $140,307,862 in federal funding on the 54 NSW rows, about 16 per cent (our arithmetic). The lists record successful projects only; they do not show who applied.

Our read

This is opinion, built on the figures above. For people in the west of the shire the answer is simple and good: the next works start on Monday 12 October near Hootons Road, six named places get a wider, sealed and better-drained road, and the council expects it all done by early 2028. The two grants sit at or within $1,297 of the program's $5 million ceiling, which is how a long rural road gets fixed under a capped program: in pieces, each a separate application.

Two things would make it better. The council and the federal record should describe the same job. Six sections or eight, 8.2 km or 8.5 km, is not a scandal, but it is the kind of gap a funder and a ratepayer should both be able to close by looking, and a published section map with dates would close it for drivers too. And the regional picture deserves a question. Kyogle and Lismore hold all seven of this patch's council projects; the other four, Byron, Ballina, Tweed and Richmond Valley, hold none. The lists cannot tell you whether those councils applied and missed or never applied, and it would be unfair to assume either. It is a fair thing for their residents to ask.

What happens next

  1. 30 September 2026 Kyogle Council announces the Tranche 3 and 4 funding and its six sections.
  2. 12 October 2026 Works are scheduled to start on the first section, near Hootons Road.
  3. Early 2028 All projects expected to be completed, in the release's words; it also says the 8.2 km will be upgraded over the next 18 months.

How we sourced this

The schedule, the six sections, their lengths, the works and the three-year history are from Kyogle Council's release of 30 September 2026, read on the council's website on 8 October 2026. The grant figures, project descriptions and counts are from the four successful project lists on the Australian Government's Infrastructure Investment Program website, read the same day as HTML tables; the lists carry no publication dates. The $5 million maximum and the 80 per cent regional ceiling are from the program's August 2026 factsheet; we have not read the full program guidelines, and the lists do not say which rate the department applied, so the 80 per cent shares are our arithmetic, set beside the factsheet's ceiling. Our arithmetic: the Kyogle and Lismore sums, the $2,504,402 council share, the 80 and 20 per cent split, the 8.5 km and eight sections, the 43 km running total, the counts by proponent and the 16 per cent share. The project count by council matched proponent names as written (for example Kyogle Council, Lismore City Council), so it counts councils' own projects. The lists also carry four Transport for NSW projects on state roads. One is on the Summerland Way and is described only by a segment number and the words Risk Road; the list does not say where on the road it is, so we have not placed it in any council area or counted it. The council's release names the program Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program; the program's own pages call it the Safer Local Roads Infrastructure Program. We have not contacted Kyogle Council.

Sources

The working. AI read the documents and drafted this story, under rules people set and answer for, working from the primary sources below. How we work.

  1. Kyogle Council, Another $12.5 million for the Clarence Way (media release, published 30 September 2026, read 8 October 2026): the federal and council amounts, the six sections and their lengths, the works, the 12 October start, the early 2028 completion, the 35.5 km and $50.2 million history, and the Mayor's comments.
  2. Australian Government, Infrastructure Investment Program, Safer Local Roads Infrastructure Program (program page, read 8 October 2026): the $200 million a year, application-based, merit-assessed program and its links to the four tranche lists.
  3. Australian Government, Infrastructure Investment Program, Safer Local Roads Infrastructure Program factsheet, August 2026 (PDF, 2 pages, read 8 October 2026): the $5 million per-project maximum, the 90, 80 and 50 per cent ceilings for council projects, and the Minister's final decision.
  4. Australian Government, Infrastructure Investment Program, Successful Projects, Tranche 1 (read 8 October 2026): 29 projects, 14 in NSW, including Lismore's Chelmsford Bridge and The Channon Road.
  5. Australian Government, Infrastructure Investment Program, Successful Projects, Tranche 2 (read 8 October 2026): 23 projects, 8 in NSW, none for the six councils.
  6. Australian Government, Infrastructure Investment Program, Successful Projects, Tranche 3 (read 8 October 2026): 30 projects, 16 in NSW, including Kyogle's 3.4 km Clarence Way project and Lismore's Rous Road and Tregeagle Road.
  7. Australian Government, Infrastructure Investment Program, Successful Projects, Tranche 4 (read 8 October 2026): 42 projects, 16 in NSW, including Kyogle's 5.1 km Clarence Way project and Lismore's Tweed Street and Dunoon Road corridor.

Drive the Clarence Way, or know why the section counts differ? Tell us and we will check it against the documents and log the outcome.