Palerang's newly elected mayor Pete Harrison is surprised the ACT does not feature in the NSW Department of Transport's long-range masterplan.
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''Now, that has a devastating impact on us,'' he said. ''We have a population of 350,000 in south-east NSW. That's half the picture. What about the other 350,000 [in the ACT] who use our roads whenever they leave Canberra?''
Palerang Council's highest maintenance costs were the four biggest roads out of the shire into Canberra, which were in desperate need of attention.
''All deliver economic benefits to the ACT, and take them out of our shire.''
Cr Harrison and Yass Valley Council's new mayor, Rowena Abbey, are former corporate high-flyers who see road links to Canberra as crucial to growth in their towns and villages.
Cr Harrison studied at the ANU and was a research scientist involved in molecular modelling before developing software that led him into information technology, where he became a communications engineer. He ran an Asia Pacific division of a professional services organisation before retiring, then got involved in the Wamboin community, which led him on to council.
He expects his experience running a professional services organisation to count at the helm of council, which he said is fundamentally a service-delivery organisation.
''One issue we have real trouble with is roads,'' he said. ''In a large area with a small population and small rate base, there are 1300 kilometres of roads, 600 kilometres of them sealed, 700 kilometres unsealed, and 120 bridges, including 30 wooden ones.''
Graduating from the Institute of Technology business studies with a major in accounting, Cr Abbey's career centred on treasury risk management. She worked for major banks, an oil company and served on the board of an energy company, and expects affordable housing to bring more Canberrans into the fast-growing Yass Valley.
''When I was on council before, we actually limited development applications because of lack of confidence in the water supply,'' Cr Abbey said.
She said a new dam wall now under construction would enable population growth.
She would like to see a start made on duplicating the Barton Highway, because of the high number of road deaths and near misses.
Trucks and cars coming off the Hume Highway's dual carriageway from either Sydney or Melbourne suddenly strike a single carriageway, which makes the Barton Highway more dangerous.
Younger families looking for affordable homes and Yass people generally needed the highway to get to and from hospital services in Canberra, as well as to enjoy the national capital's cultural events.
