GOCUP Road will receive a major upgrade over the next four years after the government committed to investing $70 million to bring it up to scratch.
The key freight route between Gundagai and Tumut has long been derided as substandard, with many truck drivers labelling it a "death trap" due to its poor condition.
When complete in 2019, the new Gocup Road will feature a wider surface that won't melt on scorching hot days like the current one, along with a number of new climbing and overtaking lanes.
The government had previously committed $10 million to upgrades of the road in the past four years but this $70 million promise will finish the job.
"We've campaigned long and hard for this road upgrade," member for Wagga Daryl Maguire said.
Mr Maguire was joined by member for Burrinjuck Katrina Hodgkinson, who is contesting the new seat of Cootamundra, Gundagai mayor Abb McAllister and his Tumut counterpart Trina Thomson for the announcement on Saturday.
Ms Hodgkinson acknowledged it had been a "consistently hard slog" to secure the funding, which the local community has spent decades lobbying for.
"I remember standing in the middle of the Gocup Road back in the 2003 election campaign committing $4 million for the road then, but it was only ever available piecemeal," she said.
"I have been campaigning relentlessly for the Gocup Road since 1999."
Funding for the upgrades is already "in the bank" and is not contingent on the approval of the leasing of the state's poles and wires.
The government budgeted $200 million last year for its Regional Freight Pinch Point and Safety Program, funded by the leasing of ports in Sydney, Newcastle and the Illawarra, where the Gocup Road money has been drawn from.
The results of an NRMA survey conducted mid-last year identified Gocup Road as one of the region's worst roads, while it has also been the site of a number of accidents in recent years.
An 81-year-old woman died in a fatal accident on Gocup Road, five kilometres north of Tumut, in March last year.
The new upgrade works are scheduled to commence in the next few months, with $8.6 million being invested in the road by the government this financial year.
NEWS that Gocup Road is to receive a major upgrade has been welcomed as "very belated, but very positive" by one trucking operator.
V-Suthern Transport managing director Chris Sutherland said the announcement the government would spend $70 million fixing the road was a "win-win" for everybody.
Mr Sutherland said a higher quality road would in turn lead to reduced maintenance bill for trucking operators, with a smoother road surface set to take less of a toll on their vehicles.
"These sort of projects and infrastructure like this are a real saving to the industry," he said.
Tumut mayor Trina Thomson said an improved Gocup Road could also unlock new industry opportunities for the region.
"There are industries we don't even know," she said.
"If they see we've got a really good transport industry, they may come look."
Councillor Thomson said Saturday's funding announcement was about more than just a road and is looking big picture at what the $70 million investment could lead to.
She hopes the federal government may come on board with additional funding for the region to unlock the potential created by an upgraded freight route.
Her Gundagai counterpart, Abb McAlister, also believes the road may lead to further opportunities presenting themselves to the region.
"If we get a good road (transport companies) can convey their product over, it means a big thing," Cr McAllister said.
"I think you'll find there'll be a lot more investment in the area."
