The state's roads are in a state of disrepair amounting to $1.7 billion, according to an annual snapshot by the state's motoring body.
A report from the NRMA to be released on Monday has found regional councils are shouldering the bulk of the maintenance backlog. Non-metropolitan councils reported repairs worth about $1.3 billion, according to backlog estimates provided by councils.
It will take a decade for the backlog to be erased, according to NRMA projections, even assuming a recent increase in road maintenance in the federal budget is maintained.
"Roads are the single greatest safety issue confronting regional NSW," said NRMA's NSW president Kyle Loades.
But this year's report records a significant drop on last year's road maintenance figures, which put the state's road repair bill at about $3.2 billion.
Fairfax revealed recently that many of the state's councils had downgraded their infrastructure backlogs at the stroke of a pen. That happened as they made appeals to the state government to be exempted from plans to merge with other councils and sought to prove their operations were financially sustainable.
The NRMA is calling for the federal government to triple its funding for a road repair program and return a greater share of the federal government's fuel excise to state councils.
The excise is worth about $15.7 billion to federal government revenue. Less than half is reinvested in the road network.
"This expenditure pales next to the personal and economic impact caused by inadequate roads and infrastructure," Mr Loades said.
The motoring lobby says local councils need more qualified engineering expertise and to pool their resources to fund and build road projects.
The Sydney councils with the greatest self-reported backlogs include Bankstown, Parramatta, Waverley and Auburn councils.
The state's roads cover nearly 185,000 kilometres.
Nearly 130,000 people were injured on NSW roads between 2008 and 2014.
