Welcome to our monthly Austroads RoadWatch: Roundup for July.
RoadWatch: Roundup
July 2021
Welcome to our monthly Austroads RoadWatch: Roundup for July. Discover our latest news, published reports, Guide updates, webinars and events.
Austroads national office is moving
From 30 July 2021, our national office will be based at Level 9, 570 George Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. All other contact details will remain the same.
Please update your records and if you have any questions, email us at austroads@austroads.com.au or call +61 2 8265 3300.
New resources help evaluate the risks and returns of maintenance investment
Austroads has published templates to help road agencies evaluate the risks and returns of maintenance investment choices across different types of infrastructure.
“The three Excel investment prioritisation templates and the detailed user guide will help road authorities prioritise different investment opportunities to report the implications of different funding level options in a non-technical, easy to understand manner," said Ross Guppy, Austroads Transport Infrastructure Program Manager.
Each template is specialised to the maintenance of a different type of infrastructure, with templates for road surface and pavement, bridges and other structures, and traffic lights and signs.
Emerging vehicle technology trials webinar
Austroads will hold a webinar to present lessons learned from some of the emerging vehicle technologies trials conducted in Queensland and Victoria and introduce our online trials library.
To help prepare for the impact of future vehicles and technologies on the road transport system, Austroads’ members and private industry around Australia and New Zealand have engaged in a range of technology trials.
The webinar will present the online repository of the trials collated by Austroads to capture some of the ground-breaking work and share lessons learned to help agencies better focus their research investment and inform policy and strategy decisions.
Tuesday, 27 July 2021, 1-2 pm AEST
Register for an overview of the online repository with Andrew Somers, James Soo and Nicholas Brook.
Using recycled waste plastics in local road surfaces
Austroads has released interim guidance on the use of recycled waste plastic in surfacing applications on local roads.
The guidelines focus on how plastics could be incorporated into asphalt or sealing work and include flow charts, forms and examples that will provide support in assessing products and technology.
The interim guidelines are intended for use by local government for the surfacing of local roads. These are roads that primarily provide access to properties and do not experience heavy traffic volumes or a high proportion of heavy vehicles.
Tuesday, 10 August 2021, 1-2 pm AEST
Register for an online overview of the interim guidelines with authors Azeem Remtulla and Steve Halligan.
Incorporating recycled plastics into asphalt
Austroads Project APT6305 is investigating the benefits, methodologies, testing frameworks, and performance-based specifications for incorporating recycled plastics into asphalt.
A total of 3.5 million tonnes of plastics were consumed in Australia for the 2018-19 financial year. 11.5% of the consumed plastics were recycled (locally and exported) while the rest were sent to land fill. This national project will identify technological solutions to use recycled plastics in asphalt roads.
Funded by the Commonwealth/Transport Infrastructure Council through Austroads, this project will bring together recyclers and associations, the asphalt industry and state road authorities across Australia and New Zealand.
The project has delivered its first report Use of Road-grade Recycled Plastics for Sustainable Asphalt Pavements: Overview of the Recycled Plastic Industry and Recycled Plastic Types. Other reports will examine the performance and environmental assessment of bitumen and asphalt modified with recycled plastics.
Review of the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework – Stage 3
Stage 3 of the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework Review is underway to produce improvements for heavy vehicle driver training and licensing systems across Australia.
In continuation of the extensive program of work, which started in 2017 and includes a comprehensive review of heavy vehicle licensing in Australia (Stage 1) and investigation of best-practice overseas experience and available research (Stage 2), Stage 3 of the project will develop robust heavy vehicle driver training and assessment standards with an associated curriculum framework.
The project will ensure drivers are equipped with the knowledge, skills, competencies and experience to safely drive all classes of heavy vehicles in a range of conditions. It is due to be completed by mid-2022.
PIARC Performance of Transport Administrations committee meeting
Performance of Transport Administrations Technical Committee 1.1 held its third meeting in June 2021.
The committee focuses on identifying best practices for establishing a framework for measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of transport administrations with a particular focus on overall customer experience and communication of performance information.
Austroads co-hosts the 2021 Australasian Road Safety Conference
Austroads is proud to co-host this year's Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC) as a virtual conference platform sponsor and exhibitor.
ARSC 2021 will run from 28 to 30 September 2021 and accommodate face-to-face delegates in Melbourne, Australia, and virtual delegates from anywhere in the world. It will feature representatives from all facets of road and transport safety including research, teaching, practice and policy bringing together the best speakers and ideas from Australasia and international jurisdictions.
We hope to see you in Melbourne or online.
Hurry! Early bird registration rates close on 31 July.
There is no charge for our webinars, but registration is essential. If you can’t make the live session, register and we will send you a link to the recording.
Austroads Project Pipeline 2021-22 | Register
Thursday 22 July 2021, 1 pm AEST
Are you a consultant who may be interested in tendering for Austroads projects? Register to hear about our upcoming projects and what is required to work with Austroads.
Emerging Vehicle Technology Trials Online Repository | Register
Tuesday 27 July 2021, 1 pm AEST
In this webinar we will share ground-breaking work and lessons learned from emerging vehicle technology trials conducted in Australia and New Zealand by Austroads’ members and private industry.
Technical Basis of Changes to Guide to Pavement Technology | Register
Tuesday 3 August 2021, 1 pm AEST
Join the session for an outline of the technical basis for changes made to parts 2 and 5 of the Guide to Pavement Technology.
Use of Recycled Plastics in Road Surfacing | Register
Tuesday 10 August 2021, 1 pm AEST
Information shared in this session will assist local government practitioners in the use and procurement of road surfacing products incorporating recycled waste plastic.
Review of the Guide to Road Safety and Structure for Online Access | Register
Tuesday, 24 August 2021, 1 pm AEST
Register for an overview of the updated Guide to Road Safety. This webinar is the first session in a two-part series, which will explain how to use the guide and outline key points for each of the new parts.
Review of the Guide to Road Safety and Structure for Online Access – Part 7 | Register
Thursday, 26 August 2021, 1 pm AEST
Learn about contemporary approaches to road safety strategy development and road safety management outlined in Part 7 of the updated Guide to Road Safety.
BITRE research
BITRE's monthly bulletin contains current counts and summaries of road crash deaths and fatal road crashes in Australia. Data are sourced from the road traffic or police authorities in each jurisdiction.
You can also view monthly updated road safety statistics and an Australian Road Deaths Database.
Upcoming industry events
Event organisers are carefully reviewing their arrangements to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Please be aware that details may change at short notice.
AITPM National Traffic and Transport Conference, Brisbane, 29-30 July 2021
AfPA 2021 International Flexible Pavements Symposium "Roads going full circle" (online), 3-5 August 2021
2021 Engineering, Innovation, and Technology Forum, Brisbane, 24-26 August 2021
MEGATRANS: Reimagining the supply chain, Melbourne, 8-10 September 2021
2021 Australasian Road Safety Conference, Melbourne, 28-30 September 2021
ADVI Summit, Sydney, 18-19 October 2021
12d Tech Forum 2021 (online), 19-21 October 2021
IPWEA International Public Works Conference, Adelaide, 31 October-4 November 2021
ARRB Symposium "Integrated Mobility Impacts 2021", Melbourne, 17-19 November 2021
