RoadWatch: Roundup

June 2019

Welcome to our monthly Austroads RoadWatch: Roundup for June. Discover our latest news, published reports, Guide updates, webinars and events.

Cutter oil performance research to inform update of Australian Standard

Austroads has released a report, Relationships Between Cutter Oil Properties and Sprayed Seal Performance, to inform the update of Australian Standard AS 3568 Oils for Reducing the Viscosity of Residual Bitumen for Pavements. Australian government agencies use this standard to specify the properties of hydrocarbon oils used during the construction of sprayed seal but it has not been updated since 1999.

"The existing AS 3568 specifies some materials which are no longer commercially available. Some cutter oils that fail AS 3568 requirements also appear to perform satisfactorily during sprayed seal construction," says Robert Urquhart ARRB Principal Technology Leader and report author.

"The current issues with AS 3568 have required many agencies to maintain their own local specification standards. We are aiming for agencies to adopt the updated AS 3568 to save themselves time and extra work."

In Australia and New Zealand cutter oils (cutters) are added to hot binders when sprayed seals are constructed at cooler temperatures to enhance the adhesion between binder and aggregate.

Updated Specification Framework for Polymer Modified Binders

Austroads has released an updated test method, Specification Framework for Polymer Modified Binders, to achieve satisfactory design of both sprayed seal surfacing and asphalt pavement applications by outlining the requirements for polymer modified binders (PMBs) and crumb rubber modified binders used in these applications.

The framework is based on test procedures that have been applied in Australia for several years. Specification limits are taken from the results of nationally coordinated field trials and laboratory studies, supplemented by Austroads jurisdiction experience.

The main changes in this version are the:

addition of an alternative Standards Australia method for determining viscosity at
165 °C
addition of a stress ratio binder property
removal of the consistency and elastic recovery binder properties
replacement of the rubber content by analysis binder property for the class S45R binder, with a stipulation that this binder class be manufactured from crumb rubber from used vehicle tyres
addition of a definition for field-produced crumb rubber modified binders.

Download the Test Method

Upcoming Austroads webinars

Austroads Guide to Asset Management 4 July 2019, 1pm AEST
This webinar will give you an overview of the 2018 edition of the Guide to Asset Management which provides guidance for road managers on the application of contemporary ‘whole of organisation’ asset management practice to road networks.

Relationships Between Cutter Oil Properties and Sprayed Seal Performance 11 July 2019, 1pm AEST
This webinar will give you an overview of an Austroads project that compared the test properties of seven commercially available cutter oils with their sprayed seal performance.

No charge but registration is essential.

Can’t make the live session? Register and we’ll send you a link to the recording.

Latest webinar recordings

Lean Construction: Responding to the Productivity Challenge Faced by the Construction Industry
This webinar, presented on 16 May 2019, provides an overview of the Lean approach to construction project delivery.

View all our past webinars online www.austroads.com.au/webinars.

World Road Association updates

Austroads currently has full or corresponding representatives on 15 World Road Association technical committees. Representatives are members of, or have a close working relationship with, an Austroads Task Force or working group.

Asset Management

The Asset Management Technical Committee met in Slovenia in April.

The committee has recently updated the Road Asset Management Manual.

Read the meeting report by David Darwin, Austroads’ representative on the committee, for more information on meeting outcomes.

Environment Considerations in Road Projects and Operations

The Environment Considerations in Road Projects and Operations Technical Committee met in Auckland in May.

A road traffic noise best practice management guide is near completion. It provides advice on a range of road traffic subjects and includes a chapter on noise mitigation options for road agencies.

Read the meeting report by Rob Hannaby and Helen Murphy, Austroads' representatives on the committee, for more information on meeting outcomes.

Design and Operation of Safer Road Infrastructure

The Design and Operation of Safer Road Infrastructure Technical Committee met in Kuala Lumpur in April.

The Committee is focusing on vulnerable road users, driver distraction and fatigue, and how human factors should be considered in road design and operations. The work will be incorporated into the Road Safety Manual and lead to Road Safety Audit Guidelines which account for conditions in low and middle-income countries.

Read Evan Coulson's meeting report for more information.

Review of the Heavy Vehicle National Law

The National Transport Commission has released an issues paper seeking feedback on easy access to suitable routes under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).

The paper:

summarises the current access arrangements under the HVNL and in Western Australia and the Northern Territory
analyses issues with the current access arrangements under the HVNL and outside the law
seeks preliminary views on the way we can improve heavy vehicle access.

Upload a written submission via the NTC website or submit your ideas through our dedicated HVNL Review site until Friday, 16 August 2019.

Reminder: Effective fatigue management issues paper open for comment

The NTC is also seeking feedback on ways to improve fatigue management in a future HVNL. Upload a written submission or provide online feedback by Friday, 16 August 2019.

Other recent research

BITRE: Road deaths Australia—monthly bulletins

This bulletin contains current counts and summaries of road crash deaths and fatal road crashes in Australia. It is produced monthly and published on BITRE's website on or around the 14th of each month. Data are sourced from the road traffic or police authorities in each jurisdiction.

Download the May 2019 report

BITRE: Fatal Heavy Vehicle Crashes Australia—Quarterly Bulletin

This report tracks numbers of fatal crashes involving heavy vehicles. Statistics for Jan-Mar 2019 are now available.

Download the Jan-Mar 2019 report

ITF: Benchmarking Accessibility in Cities

This report presents a new urban accessibility framework by comparing data for 121 cities in 30 European countries. The report:

identifies which destinations can be reached on foot, or by bicycle, public transport or car, within a certain time (accessibility)
measures how many destinations, such as schools, hospitals, food shops, restaurants, people, recreational opportunities and green spaces, are close by (proximity)
compares accessible and nearby destinations to show how well each transport mode performs (transport performance).

Centre for Pavement Engineering Education news

2018 Excellence Award

The CPEE Annual Excellence in Teaching Award recognises academic staff who have enhanced student learning and contributed to the curriculum of the postgraduate Master of Pavement Technology course.

The 2018 Excellence Award was jointly presented to Prof Ron Ayers, University of Southern Queensland and Mr Bob Andrews, Principle of Inratehno, Sunshine Coast.

Enrol for second semester courses

Enrolments are open until 12 July for semester two tertiary education online courses covering roads, pavements and infrastructure asset management.

Short courses on pavement design and road lighting

Annual Pavement Design Series:

Jun 18 - Mechanistic Pavement Design – CIRCLY, Melbourne
Aug 13-14 - Flexible Pavement Design, Principles and Practice, Perth.
Aug 15 - Mechanistic Pavement Design – CIRCLY, Perth.
Oct 15-16 - Flexible Pavement Design, Principles and Practice, Melbourne.
Oct 17 - Mechanistic Pavement Design – CIRCLY, Melbourne
Oct 22-23 - Flexible Pavement Design, Principles and Practice, Brisbane.
Oct 24 - Mechanistic Pavement Design – CIRCLY, Brisbane.
Nov 26-27 - Flexible Pavement Design, Principles and Practice, Sydney.
Nov 28 - Mechanistic Pavement Design – CIRCLY, Sydney.

Annual Road & Public Space Lighting Workshop Series:

Jul 30-31 - Road & Public Space Lighting Workshop, Brisbane.
Sep 3-4 - Road & Public Space Lighting Workshop, Sydney.
Sep 17-18 – Road & Public Space Lighting Workshop, Melbourne.

Find out more about CPEE short courses