Welcome to our monthly Austroads RoadWatch: Roundup for August
RoadWatch: Roundup
August 2023
Welcome to our monthly Austroads RoadWatch: Roundup for August. Discover our latest news, published reports, Guide updates, webinars and events.
Austroads research is paving the way to improving the durability of roads
The City of Melbourne and nine suburban and regional councils in Victoria will incorporate recycled plastics in asphalt pavements. Austroads research is paving the way to improving the durability of roads and alleviating environmental problems caused by plastic.
“This project builds on the Austroads work completed last year that confirmed recycled plastics can be successfully incorporated in road infrastructure without detrimental effects on the environment, the health and safety of the workers, or the future recyclability of plastic-modified asphalt,” said Austroads Chief Executive Geoff Allan.
“A major contribution of this project will be to develop evidence-based guidance that will provide certainty to road managers about the use of recycled plastics in road surfacing applications and thus lay the foundations for this solution to be embraced nationally.”
Towards the national harmonisation of asphalt performance specifications
Austroads has released a technical report that lays out the first steps of what will become a new performance-based asphalt specification framework. The report, which is free to download on the Austroads website, is a significant step forward in standardising asphalt performance testing methodologies across Australia and New Zealand.
The asphalt industry is rapidly evolving, and it is widely accepted that prescriptive specifications are not necessarily well suited to take full advantage of the benefits that new and innovative technologies can provide. A national performance-based asphalt specification would allow asset owners and asphalt suppliers to take full advantage of the enhanced performance characteristics of current and emerging asphalt technologies.
“The new report marks a significant milestone for the road industry in Australia and New Zealand,” said Austroads Transport Infrastructure Program Manager, Ross Guppy. “We believe the report will encourage positive change in the way asphalt is tested and pave the way for more consistent, high-quality road infrastructure in Australia and New Zealand.”
Austroads unveils strategic plan, charting a path to address key challenges and seize opportunities in road transport
Austroads has released its Strategic Plan for 2023-27. The new plan comes at a time when road agencies are facing new and heightened challenges, disruptions and opportunities.
The Strategic Plan defines the challenges and opportunities faced by Austroads and its members, the strategic directions and actions of the organisation, and the performance measures used to assess progress during the life of the plan.
“The plan provides us with a clear roadmap for our future work with a particular focus on delivering outcomes for our members,” said Austroads CEO Geoff Allan.
A ‘push-pull’ approach to minimise jurisdictional supplements to Austroads Guide to Road Design
Austroads has reviewed jurisdictional practices of developing supplements to its Guide to Road Design and devised a process that will reduce the need for supplements. This includes a pathway for adding supplement material to the Guide.
The Guide to Road Design provides advice to designers on the production of safe, economical, and efficient road designs. Although transport agencies rely on the Guide for most aspects of the design process, on occasion some local conditions and circumstances require supplementary guidance. The presence of multiple sources of guidance poses a challenge for road designers.
“There is a vast repository of supplementary guidance developed across Australia and New Zealand. We looked at how current supplements can be minimised and more efficiently managed to provide greater harmonisation of practices and reduce the need for practitioners to check multiple sources”, said Michael Nieuwesteeg, Austroads Road Safety and Design Program Manager
Maximising value and improving the quality of automated vehicle trials
Austroads has published new guidance to aid with the evaluation and reporting of automated vehicle (AV) trials. The guidance provides organisations developing, approving or delivering AV trials with direction to improve the quality of trials and achieve greater harmonisation across jurisdictions.
There are a growing number of trials testing the infrastructure and operational requirements needed for successful wide-scale adoption of AV technologies. “Achieving greater consistency in evaluation and reporting has value for Austroads members, vehicle manufacturers, importers, and the community,” said Geoff Allan, Austroads Chief Executive.
The guidelines complement and supplement the Guidelines for Trials of Automated Vehicle Trials in Australia published by the National Transport Commission and Austroads in 2020 and jurisdictional guidelines.
Austroads Bridge Conference 2022 papers now published
Papers presented at the 11th Austroads Bridge Conference are now available on the Austroads website for download.
More than 120 speakers from Australia and abroad presented over 140 technical papers at the conference held in Adelaide last November by Austroads and the Department for Infrastructure and Transport South Australia. Presentations covered topics including asset management, bridge analysis, design and assessment, life cycle cost, sustainability and bridge technology.
“The publication of papers from this event represents a significant source of industry expertise and advancements in bridge engineering practice from practitioners from all over the world," said Ross Guppy, Transport Infrastructure Program manager at Austroads.
The full collection of papers can be downloaded in two zipped folders or papers can be downloaded individually.
CIECA calls for abstracts for their 2024 international congress
CIECA, the International Commission for Driver Testing, is calling for abstracts for the 56th CIECA congress happening next year in Dubai.
Next year's CIECA congress, themed 'Preparing Drivers for Smart Mobility and Road Safety', is a forum for all researchers, practitioners and stakeholders interested and working in driver testing.
The deadline for submissions is 1 November 2023.
Keep up to date with the latest Austroads RoadWatch: Insights subject areas
Stay up to date with the latest news from Austroads by subscribing to the new 'RoadWatch: Insights' alerts for Test Methods and Specifications, and Environment and Sustainability.
RoadWatch: Insights provides subscribers with information about the latest Austroads publications, projects, upcoming webinars and events. The alerts are categorised into a number of different topics and subscribers only receive email alerts that relate to the subject areas they have chosen to receive.
You can sign up for the new alerts in your Austroads account.
Keep people safe when walking: survey now open
Austroads project, Keeping people safe when walking, is seeking input from stakeholders who can provide valuable experience and insight into pedestrian road safety.
Walking is an indispensable leg of a sustainable transport system and this new project crucial to reaching our target of zero road fatalities and serious injuries by 2050.
In Australia's urban areas, almost one third of all deaths on the road network are pedestrians. This project will start by reviewing travel and trauma data to gain a better understanding of the ways at which pedestrians are at risk on our roads, and to identify the data required to support investment in safer walking.
We invite anyone with interest in this important area to complete the stakeholder survey at the link below.
Australasian Road Safety Conference 2023 | pre-conference events
Five pre-conference events have been confirmed for the Australasian Road Safety Conference scheduled to take place in Cairns in September 2023.
The pre-conference events will be held on 18 September and will be open to in-person and virtual attendees.
Join the conference to learn from subject matter experts and to share your experience at the Local Government Network Workshop, Early Career Event, Emergency Vehicle Safety Workshop, International Outreach Chapter and LMIC Workshop: Designing Safer Roads for PTWs.
Opportunity for Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Concrete Structures
The Smartcrete CRC funded project Sustainable Low Carbon Concrete for Future Infrastructure is looking for a Post Doctoral Research Fellow to join the project team under the supervision of Professor Rebecca Gravina at the University of Queensland.
Austroads is a proud supporter of the Smartcrete CRC. This is an exciting full-time, fixed-term position for up to two years. The position will involve research in the area of civil engineering with an emphasis on the use of recycled waste materials in concrete construction, net zero emissions and sustainability.
PIARC Technical Committee Meeting
PIARC Technical Committee 1.4: Climate Change and Resilience of Road Networks, met in Oslo Norway in a hybrid format from 19-20 June 2023.
This cycle of the technical committee addressed two issues:
- uniform and holistic approaches to climate change and other hazards resilience
- update of the PIARC Climate Change Adaptation Framework.
Read the report from the June meeting.
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.
National Harmonisation of Test Methods used in Asphalt Performance Specifications | Register
Monday 21 August 2023, 1pm AEST
This webinar will provide an overview of a recently completed Austroads project undertaken to harmonise test methods used in asphalt performance specifications. The project developed three new Austroads asphalt test methods and updated several existing methods for use in future performance-based specifications.
NSW’s Transition to Smart On-Board Mass for PBS Mass Monitoring | Register
Thursday 31 August 2023, 1pm AEST
Join this session to hear about the NSW's transition from Interim On-Board Mass (OBM) management to Smart OBM. The session will be beneficial to PBS operators who operate their fleet in NSW or travel across the border, application service provides seeking information to update their customers and road authorities looking to better understand the use of Smart OBM data.
Australia's 3G network Shutdown | Register
Monday 4 September 2023, 1pm AEST
Between December 2023 and September 2024, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone will close their 3G networks to make room for new, faster services. Join this webinar with key industry players and organisations who will provide high-level information on the impacts of the 3G shutdown and what local government and transport industry need to do to prepare for the transition.
A National Approach to Measuring Non-Fatal Crash Outcomes: Stage 2 | Register
Tuesday 12 September 2023, 1pm AEST
Register for an overview of the outcomes of Stage 2 of an Austroads project commissioned to establish a system to report serious injury cases due to road crashes in a consistent way throughout Australia and over time.
Guide to Road Safety Update – Practical Approaches for Managing Regional Road Safety Priorities | Register
Wednesday 13 September 2023, 1pm AEST
This webinar will provide a background to and an overview of the project that gathered information on known effective road safety interventions for regional and remote areas. Join to learn how to effectively select, prioritise, implement and evaluate interventions to prevent road fatalities and serious injuries in regional and remote areas.
National Telematics Framework: Setting a Benchmark for Intelligent Access | Register
Wednesday 20 September 2023, 1pm AEST
For over a decade, the national Telematics Framework has been setting a benchmark as an effective regulatory framework for optimised vehicle movements, making Australia a world-leader in intelligent access management. This webinar will provide useful insights for the development of future vehicle management programs and share practical lessons around the implementation of complex regulatory frameworks.
Australia and New Zealand Roads Capability Analysis 2022-2032 | Register
Friday 22 September 2023, 1pm AEST
Following previous workforce capability studies, Austroads engaged Oxford Economics Australia to undertake a new workforce capability analysis for member authorities based on planned and forecasted infrastructure development and service objective requirements in Australia and New Zealand. Tune in for a summary of the results and findings of this research.
2023 National Walking and Cycling Participation Survey | Register
Tuesday 3 October 2023, 1pm AEDT
In this webinar, Cycling and Walking Australia and New Zealand will present the 2023 National Walking and Cycling Participation Survey covering its methodology and providing a high-level overview of the results. Presenters will also talk about how the data is used in different states.
Update to the Guide to Road Design – Detailed Review of Supplements | Register
Thursday 5 October 2023, 1pm AEDT
In this session you will hear about the outcomes of a project that reviewed and classified material in the jurisdictional supplements to the Austroads Guide to Road Design to establish guidance that could be moved into the Guide. You will also learn about a cross-jurisdictional platform developed to minimise supplement content and harmonise material in the Guide.
Physical Infrastructure to Support Connected and Automated Vehicles | Register
Wednesday 18 October 2023, 1pm AEDT
Come along to a webinar discussing the latest on connected and automated vehicles (CAV) and the pivotal role that interaction with physical infrastructure plays in their integration into our transport system. This webinar will help agency decision-makers preparing for future physical infrastructure CAV support practices.
Austroads Vehicle Classification Scheme – Heavy Vehicles | Register
Wednesday 25 October 2023, 1pm AEDT
Join us for the first session in a three-part webinar series detailing the changes to the Austroads vehicle classification scheme. This webinar starts off the series with a discussion of the scheme and heavy vehicles.
Austroads Vehicle Classification Scheme – Light Vehicles | Register
Thursday 2 November 2023, 1pm AEDT
Tune in for the second webinar in the three-part webinar series on the Austroads vehicle classification scheme. This session will cover the changes to light vehicles.
Austroads Vehicle Classification Scheme – Measuring Active Transport | Register
Thursday 9 November 2023, 1pm AEDT
Come along to the final webinar in the three-part series detailing the changes to the Austroads vehicle classification scheme. This final webinar will focuses on measuring active transport.
Recent webinar recordings
Austroads tenders and project opportunities
- APT6183 Austroads asphalt performance specification. Closing Tuesday 29 August 2023, 4pm AEST.
ABT1925 Guidance on flood recovery, assessment and risk management for bridges. Closing Monday 4 September 2023, 4pm AEST
Current vacancies
Austroads and Transport Certification Australia (TCA) employ staff across a range of specialised and technical disciplines. We pay attention to maintaining a safe and welcoming work environment, where all staff have equal access to opportunities. We encourage our staff to participate in external and internal training to make sure their skills and knowledge are continuously improved. We take inclusion and diversity seriously. We embrace difference and diversity of identity, experience and thought, and actively strive for inclusive behaviours across our company and our work.
We have open positions for:
- Programs Administrator (Sydney)
- Senior Technical Project Manager (Sydney)
- Road Safety Project Manager (Sydney or Melbourne)
- Technical Project Officer (Melbourne)
- Electronics Engineer (Melbourne)
- Data Coordinator (Sydney)
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.
ITS Australia Global Summit 2023, Melbourne, 28-31 August 2023
Australian Freight Industry Awards, Melbourne, 2 September 2023
National Local Roads, Transport & Infrastructure Congress, Canberra, 6-7 September 2023
ecologiQ Greener Infrastructure Conference, Melbourne, 18-20 September 2023
Australasian Road Safety Conference, Cairns, 19-21 September
XXVIIth World Road Congress, Prague, 2-6 October 2023
14th Asia Pacific Cities Summit (APCS) & Mayors' Forum, Brisbane, 11-13 October 2023.
Technology and Maintenance Conference, Melbourne, 16-18 October 2023
CICA National Conference, Exhibition & Crane Display, Perth, 26-28 October 2023
AfPA International Flexible Pavements Conference, Brisbane, 30 October - 1 November 2023
9th International Conference on Weigh-In-Motion (ICWIM9) and 17th International Symposium on Heavy Vehicle Transport and Technology joint international conference, Brisbane, 6-10 November 2023
