Welcome to our monthly Austroads RoadWatch: Roundup for June.
RoadWatch: Roundup
June 2021
Welcome to our monthly Austroads RoadWatch: Roundup for June. Discover our latest news, published reports, Guide updates, webinars and events.
Austroads announces Environment and Sustainability Program
Austroads has announced the establishment of a new Program focussing on the environment and issues of sustainability.
Austroads Chief Executive Geoff Allan said sustainability was identified by the Austroads Board as a key focus area in the Austroads 2020-24 Strategic Plan.
Program Manager, Vibeke Matthews, said the Environment and Sustainability Task Force, which has representatives from all Australian and New Zealand transport agencies, is a trans-Tasman collaboration providing leadership and best practice guidance, and driving improvements in environment and sustainability in transport.
Austroads welcomes new Program Manager, Vibeke Matthews
Austroads Chief Executive, Geoff Allan, has welcomed Vibeke Matthews who is leading the Austroads’ Future Vehicles and Technology Program and the newly established Environment and Sustainability Program.
“Vibeke brings a wealth of knowledge in program and project management combined with a passion for delivering public value through innovative solutions. We are very fortunate to have been able to second her from the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads for six months. After which we are expecting Paul Davies, currently acting Austroads General Manager Operations, to return to the role,“ Geoff said.
Austroads Project Pipeline 2021-22
Are you interested in Austroads’ pipeline of projects for 2021-22? This webinar will provide an overview of our 28 upcoming projects and what is required to work with Austroads.
Upcoming projects focus on data collection and management, digital engineering, tunnel design and componentry, bridge assessment, pavement technology, road design, road safety audits, driver licensing, environment reporting, and vehicle and infrastructure connectivity.
The session will be most beneficial to consultants who may be interested in tendering for Austroads projects.
Justifying road pavement preservation and renewal
Austroads has published a modelling framework, supporting tool and compilation of case studies to help road asset managers evaluate and select effective road preservation and renewal treatment options.
Ross Guppy, Austroads Transport Infrastructure Program Manager, says road asset managers are regularly required to justify decisions about the timing and type of road surfacing and rehabilitation treatments applied across their networks.
The framework is based on applying whole-of-life-cycle costing and economic measures and identifies solutions to minimise total transport costs.
Register to attend the final session in the series of three webinars about the report. The webinar will be held on Friday 18 June 2021, 1-2 pm AEST and will cover investment decision making.
Click on the links below to watch the first two webinars in the series:
The technical basis of changes to Guide to Pavement Technology
Austroads has published two technical reports drawing together the research underpinning changes made to the Guide to Pavement Technology.
The reports detail the technical basis for changes made to Guide to Pavement Technology Part 2: Pavement Structural Design and Guide to Pavement Technology Part 5: Pavement Evaluation and Treatment Design.
Ross Guppy, Austroads’ Transport Infrastructure Program Manager, said the Guide to Pavement Technology series is an essential go-to resource for Australasian pavement designers.
Tuesday, 3 August 2021, 1-2 pm AEST
Register for an online discussion of the report with Dr Michael Moffatt and Dr Geoff Jameson.
A holistic approach to bridge asset management
Austroads' Engineering Guideline for Bridge Asset Management has been featured in the magazine Infrastructure.
There has been significant interest in the Guideline and it has been downloaded more than 1300 times since it was released in January.
There are many and varied standards and documents used by road asset owners and managers. While those documents contain firm foundational guidance, they are often generic and are not easily applied to specific assets, such as bridges.
The report authors explain in the article how the guideline builds on foundational documents, such as ISO 55000 and the International Infrastructure Management Manual (IIMM), and promotes an engineering approach to bridge asset management.
Use of recycled plastics in road construction projects
Austroads Transport Infrastructure Program Manager Ross Guppy and RMIT Associate Professor Filippo Giustozzi will talk about the use of recycled plastics in road construction projects from a sustainability and engineering perspective at AfPA 2021 International Flexible Pavements Symposium "Roads going full circle" scheduled for 3 - 5 August 2021.
The presentation is based on a current Austroads project that will develop evidence-based and performance-based specifications to establish a road-grade plastic polymer sourced from recycled plastic manufacturers and material recovery facilities which can be used in asphalt.
The research is funded by the Australian Infrastructure and Transport Ministers.
There is no charge for our webinars, but registration is essential. If you can’t make the live session we will send you a link to the recording.
Development and Justification of Asset Preservation and Renewal: Investment Decision Making | Register
Friday 18 June 2021, 1 pm AEST
This final session in a series of three webinars will explain the asset preservation and renewal framework and the economic and customer centred basis for justifying appropriate levels of investment.
Next generation Asset Data Collection: Road Pavement Performance | Register
Tuesday, 22 June 2021, 1 pm AEST
Join this webinar for an overview of a research report on next generation data collection technologies for road pavement assets. Learn about the availability and cost-effectiveness of emerging technologies and some of the implications of transitioning to new approaches.
Strategy for an Improved Mechanistic-empirical Flexible Pavement Treatment Design | Register
Thursday, 24 June 2021, 1 pm AEST
Learn about a strategy for future improvement of the mechanistic-empirical procedure used in pavement rehabilitation and strengthening treatment design. The webinar will present future research direction derived from a review of national and international literature and road agency best practice.
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.
BITRE research
Australia’s light vehicle fleet – some insights investigates how Australia’s light vehicle fleet characteristics vary across different geographies, including states/territories, major cities, city sectors, region types, and small areas.
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
