More councils are calling out for millions of dollars in federal road funding to be unfrozen.

Many roads have fallen by the wayside as a result of stymied funding earmarked for regional infrastructure.

The Federal Government’s May budget saved nearly $1 billion by halting the indexation of financial assistance grants to local governments.

It was yet another problem shunted down from the federal level to the lower tiers, this time forcing cash-strapped councils to cut their own road budgets.

Given that road repairs and maintenance are usually the biggest expenses on the books, some councils have made adjustments to everything from community child care to libraries and swimming pools just to cope.

Local governments around the country have demanded the restoration or replacement of the federal assistance grants on which they relied.

But Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss has filled their requests with promises for the future.

He says while the Government “has temporarily paused indexation of the Financial Assistance Grants program for three years, it will still provide $9.3 billion (to 2017-18) to local government to deliver services and build community infrastructure through the FAGs program”.

“The Coalition Government's 2014-15 Budget outlined a $50 billion investment across Australia to deliver vital transport infrastructure, including many large scale commitments which will trigger more than $125 billion in infrastructure investment,” Mr Truss said.

Given that remote regions with smaller populations rely most on grant income, the “paused indexation” will slug country councils the hardest.

Cootamundra Shire Council in regional NSW says it will see $1.1 million less over four years than it would have, and will scale back park, library, swimming pool and road services as a result.

Regional South Australian council Port Pirie says it has lost $1.2 million over four years due to the change, choosing to cut road maintenance rather than increase rates.

Roads and services in the Central Goldfields Shire in Victoria will suffer too, Mayor Barry Rinaldi says.

Councils around the country will be cutting services and taking out loans to try to catch the shortfall