highway engineering australia v47.1 june-july 2015

V47.1

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TRANSPORTINFRASTRUCTUREITS TECHNOLOGY

HIGHWAY ENGINEERINGAUSTRALIA

JUNE/JULY 2015

PUTTING THE BRAKES ON REVERSING ACCIDENTS

contents June/July 2015Volume 47 Number 1

About the CoverBuilding on its international success, the Reverse Smart AEB (Automatic Emergency Braking) system looks set to change the face of worksite safety throughout Australia. By providing an additional level of protection, including an engineering control that can stop the vehicle, the Reverse Smart AEB system can significantly reduce the risk of impacts and injuries caused by reversing vehicles and large mobile plant on a worksite.

Turn to 1 for the full story.

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2 Editor’s Column

4 Special Features

13 ITS Special Feature

31 Cover Story: Reverse Smart – Putting the Brakes on Reversing Accidents

34 Sponsored Content

36 Asphalt In Focus

46 Road Safety

53 Stormwater Report

56 Pipeline Technology

58 Major Projects

68 TCA News

70 2015 Budget Feature

76 Industry News

8

20

42

52

June/July 2015 | Highway Engineering Australia 1

Dear Readers,

It seems that hardly a day passes when we aren’t confronted with the never-ending carnage on the nation’s roads. Every day we hear stories of someone having their life cut short, or dramatically and permanently changed by a serious road accident.

Together with the ‘big three’ accident causes (speed, alcohol and fatigue), other factors such as drugs, aggression, ‘hoon’ driving behaviour, and a lack of driving experience will all no doubt play a significant role in numerous serious accidents - particularly across the younger driver population.

Not surprisingly, the over-representation of young drivers in road trauma statistics generates a significant level of (often heated) debate about what can be done to improve the attitude of young drivers on the road.

Even though these discussions inevitably result in a myriad of ideas and laws, including increasing the legal driving age and limiting the number of passengers, it’s interesting to note that the general consensus appears to be that improving driver education for young drivers will play a key role in reducing road trauma. Regrettably, this ‘consensus’ of opinion has yet to translate into any significant changes in mandatory professional driver training and license testing procedures throughout Australia.

Unfortunately, it is still possible to obtain a Driver’s License in some Australian States with little more than a basic understanding of the road rules, a minimal level of professional driving experience (which tends to place a heavy emphasis on learning how to reverse parallel park) and absolutely no mandatory high-speed highway, freeway and/or rural road driving experience whatsoever. And while some jurisdictions have introduced Learner’s Log Books with required hours of driving prior to taking the practical test, this is not a uniform national requirement.

Furthermore, it does not involve any mandated professional driver training.

For many young male drivers, and an ever-increasing number of young female drivers, the issues associated with this lack of driver training are being further compounded by the fact that when they obtain their driver’s license, in many states there are still very few (if any) limitations on the type of vehicle they may drive.

The combination of a lack of driver knowledge and experience, excessive horse-power and youthful ‘bravado’ is a deadly cocktail.

While we may only be limited in our capacity to control youthful bravado, we do have the capacity to address the issues of lack of driver knowledge and excessive horse-power.

If we are truly serious in our approach to road safety and in reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads, we must all work together to improve both driver education and licensing standards throughout Australia. Furthermore, rather than considering delaying our children’s involvement with driving, I believe that we should be looking to incorporate formal driver education programs, including advanced driver training and ‘emergency response’ training, as part of the high school curriculum as early as possible.

For maximum effectiveness, these education programs also need to be backed up with strict, nationally ‘standardised’ legislation governing the types of vehicles that can be driven by young and/or inexperienced drivers.

Although we may never achieve the ‘utopian’ goal of a zero road toll, helping to eliminate the ‘culture’ of bad driving through education and enforcement will no doubt help the young drivers of today increase their chances of surviving to become the older, more experienced drivers of tomorrow.

Anthony T SchmidtManaging Editor

EDITOR’S COLUMN

Driver Education Criticalin Helping Young Drivers to Survive

2 Highway Engineering Australia | June/July 2015

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The cost of delays on roads in Australia’s six largest capitals is projected to spiral to $53.3 billion in 2031 without the implementation of strategies, including integrating land use and transport planning, new road construction, additional public transport and the introduction of demand management measures.

That is the stark finding of Australia’s first comprehensive infrastructure audit compiled by Infrastructure Australia and released on 22 May by IA’s Chairman, Mark Birrell. The audit said the figure represented a 290 per cent increase on the

cost of congestion in 2011, which was $13.7 billion. Another key finding related to demand for public transport – the

audit found that currently only one-in-six Australians travelled to work by public transport, but it foreshadowed demand would jump by 89 per cent by 2031.

In releasing the Australian Infrastructure Audit Report, Mr Birrell said Australia’s productivity and quality of life would be tested, with population and economic growth set to cause increasing congestion and bottlenecks.

He said Australia must act now before these demand pressures affected living standards and economic competitiveness.

“Experiences of transport networks failing to keep pace with demand, water quality standards being uneven, energy costs being too high, telecommunication services being outdated or freight corridors being neglected are now so common that they necessitate a strategic response.”

The audit strategically identified the drivers of infrastructure demand and the impact they were having. It also outlined the policy, funding and delivery challenges Australia must face.

“Australia has handled growth and demands like this before and I am optimistic that we can do so again. The challenge is managing our success so that infrastructure delivers the economic benefits and living standards Australians expect,” Mr Birrell said.

The report made 81 findings including that:• Australia’s population was expected to grow from 22.3 million

in 2011 to 30.5 million in 2031 – with the majority of the growth occurring in capital cities.

• The expected population growth reinforced the economic importance of capital cities – they contributed $854 billion to the economy in 2011 and were projected to contribute $1,621 billion in 2031.

• Congestion threatened economic growth and living standards and could cost Australia $53 billion by 2031.

• Without action, road travel times in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra were expected to increase by at least 20 per cent in the most congested corridors by 2031.

• On average, demand for public transport in our capital cities is set to almost double over the next 20 years.

• The national land freight task is expected to grow by 80 per cent by 2031, with a large component expected to be handled by road freight vehicles.

• Maintaining and maximising the efficiency of existing infrastructure would be critical, and in many cases would be of equal or greater importance as developing new infrastructure projects.The report also found institutional arrangements in the transport

sector didn’t provide sufficient funding to address the current gaps.“Without a total increase in both public and private funding

of infrastructure, and market reforms to strengthen the transport and water sectors, we won’t have the infrastructure that a growing population and our globally-focussed economy deserve,” Mr Birrell said.

The audit proposed a number of major changes to the way new infrastructure would be planned and delivered:• improving governance and modernising regulatory settings so

Australia realises the best out of its infrastructure;• boosting transparency and project assessment processes to

enable informed choices; and

Congestion key challenge for infrastructure planners

SPECIAL FEATURE

“Without a total increase in both public and private funding of infrastructure, and market reforms to strengthen the transport and water sectors, we won’t have the infrastructure that a growing population and our globally-focussed economy deserve.”


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• greater sharing of information on infrastructure performance and outcomes to improve long-term decision making.The audit focused on urban transport – including urban roads,

urban passenger rail, light rail, bus and ferry; national highways, freight rail and airports. It looks at the capacity and utilisation of each mode in 2011, the projected demand for 2031 and the implication for Australia’s Infrastructure Plan.

Demand for key road corridors was, according to the audit, expected to exceed supply, especially in cities with rail networks that are not well developed.

It said managing the demand would involve integrated solutions to bring about additional capacity in road and rail networks.

There had been modest efforts to date to increase the density of cities, especially around transport nodes, and greater emphasis on integrated transport and land use planning could be required to meet changing community expectations and to make the most of existing and future transport networks.

The audit said capacity increases, particularly in public transport would be required to meet projected growth in trips to and from major central business districts and the issue of cost recovery would become increasingly important.

“Governments will need to focus on expanding the capacity of existing services, as well as providing new infrastructure to commuters in growth areas, often on the outskirts of urban areas.

“As public networks are expanded in urban centres, the issue of cost recovery will become increasingly important,” the audit highlighted.

“In order to ensure the sustainability across urban mass transport networks, government and service providers will need to improve efficiencies in terms of delivery and administration.”

The document also said regional centres would require increased public transport options to maximise economic opportunities and improve access to services.

In looking at national highways, the audit said demand for the highways would grow considerably to 2031 because of strong population growth – the demand would place increasing pressure on the current cost recovery model operated by governments.

The key elements of the current cost recovery model were registrations fees - $7.5 billion; tolls - $1.5 billion; excise on fuel purchases - $9 billion and the National Heavy Vehicles Charges Determination.

The audit contended that providing more transparent links between road user charges and expenditure on road planning, investment and maintenance may provide governments with greater means of implementing a more effective road user charging model.

“Developing funding methods that reflect users’ willingness to pay and encourage private funding for projects are likely to emerge as key strategies to address growing demand for national highways.”

National highways are key to the land freight task, which is expected to grow by 80 per cent between 2011 and 2031.

Accommodating this growth, according to the audit, would require policy reform to enable wider use of higher productivity vehicles, like B-triples, and selected investment to improve the performance of national highway infrastructure.

That investment would include increasing bridge load limits and targeted safety improvements.

The audit found the demand for freight rail infrastructure was projected to grow, particularly relating to the haulage of resource bulk commodity in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales.

It said freight rail would need to play a growing role in transferring goods from ports to inland freight terminals and in moving containerised and general freight over long distances.

Rail would remain cost effective for freight service providers over medium to long journeys and the audit made particular reference to the development of an inland freight line between Brisbane and Melbourne for which the Federal Government has committed $300 million.

It said significant productivity gains could be realised by using 1,800 metre trains, with the potential to shift to 3,600 metre trains in future.

Infrastructure Australia Chair, Mark Birrell, said it would consult with the public, governments, business and peak bodies on the audit as it prepared the Australian Infrastructure Plan.

The 15-year plan would, he said, make recommendations on project investment priorities, with a reinvigorated Infrastructure Priority List, and specific areas for policy reform. The plan would be submitted to government in late 2015.

Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, and Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Jamie Briggs, said the audit showed the economic imperative of fixing the road and transport networks in our major cities.

“This audit is a first for Australia and will drive action on infrastructure investment by revealing the costs of inaction,” Mr Abbott and Mr Briggs said.

“For example, road congestion in Australia is currently costing some $13.7 billion per year. If we don’t take action, the cost will be $53 billion a year by 2031.

“The government has already taken significant steps to address our nation’s infrastructure backlog after years of under-funding by previous governments.

“Last year, it embarked on the biggest infrastructure investment program in our nation’s history, with a $50 billion infrastructure package that is improving road and rail links in every state.

“Investing in the right infrastructure will support Australia’s economic growth and unlock our economic potential.”

Mr Abbott and Mr Briggs said the Asset Recycling Initiative was freeing up states to invest in a range of productive infrastructure.

“All levels of government need to work with the private sector to build more and plan to deliver innovative congestion-busting projects that eliminate traffic gridlock and transform our cities.”

Later this year, Mr Abbott and Mr Birrell said the government would release Infrastructure Australia’s 15-year plan which would outline infrastructure priorities to ensure the building of a stronger and more prosperous future.

A copy of the audit is available at the Infrastructure Australia website.

SPECIAL FEATURE

“Governments will need to focus on expanding the capacity of existing services, as well as providing new infrastructure to commuters in growth areas, often on the outskirts of urban areas.”


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Brisbane’s $1.5 billion Legacy Way Tunnel is a reality – the 4.6 kilometre road tunnel that connects the Western Freeway at Toowong

with the Inner City Bypass (ICB) at Kelvin Grove opened on 25 June after final testing was completed. The massive infrastructure project involved more than 7.3 million work hours by 9,000 people.

Detailed commissioning of the project was carried out by consortium crews to ensure the tunnel was safe to carry traffic – over 70,000 tests were conducted as part of the commissioning.

The work involved testing more than 80,000 switches that power everything in Legacy Way, from the road signs to the ventilation system. Items in the tunnel to be commissioned included:• 42 kilometres of fire piping;• over 700 kilometres of cabling;• 9.2 kilometres of cable ladder;• over 1500 lights;• over 200 fans;• 450 dampers for smoke extraction;• 175 intelligent traffic signs; and • over 250 cameras, including 163 fixed

automated incident detection cameras spaced every 30 metres in the tunnel, 89 rotatable CCTV cameras and 14 external cameras.

Twenty different trades worked across the tunnel commissioning, such as electricians, boilermakers, fire safety technicians, ventilation technicians and software engineers.

Legacy Way comprises two parallel tunnels, which pass underneath sections of Toowong, Auchenflower, Milton, Paddington, Red Hill and Kelvin Grove.

The twin two-lane tunnels include:• 37 underground cross passages, which

connect Legacy Way’s two tunnels every 120 metres to provide safe access between the tunnels in the event of an incident;

• a longitudinal ventilation system to manage in-tunnel air quality;

• fire protection and safety management systems; and

• a free-flow electronic tolling system.Legacy Way features a state-of-the-art

traffic control centre which will monitor for changed traffic conditions that might impact on motorists’ safety, modern traffic signs, and emergency telephones – all of which are designed to provide safer more efficient travel.

Drivers will save up to 14 minutes in travel and bypass seven sets of traffic lights.

Transcity is the consortium responsible for the design, construction and operation of Legacy Way.

Transcity is a joint venture between Brisbane-based BMD Constructions, Italian tunnelling company, Ghella, and Spanish tunnelling and civil infrastructure company, Acciona Infrastructures.

Legacy Way was designed to reduce traffic congestion on surface roads by completing the missing link of motorway standard road between the Western Freeway and the Inner City Bypass.

Brisbane Lord Mayor, Graham Quirk, said the tunnel was a major investment in Brisbane’s road network.

“Legacy Way is a 100-year piece of infrastructure, which will go a long way in ensuring Brisbane is a safe and accessible city for future generations.”

Federal Infrastructure Minister, Warren Truss, said Legacy Way was a major investment in the Brisbane road network and an iconic piece of infrastructure for the River City.

Brisbane City Council committed $1 billion to the construction of the project while the Federal Government contributed $500 million.

Lasting Legacy for Brisbane’s transport network

SPECIAL FEATURE

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Legacy Way during construction.


The Victorian Government has reached what it describes as “binding final agreements” with the East West Connect consortium (EWC), formalising the in- principle deal that was agreed in April.

Under the deal, which scuppered the multi-billion dollar project formalised by the Napthine Government, the State acquired the

EWC business and associated project assets for $1 (one dollar).

Treasurer, Tim Pallas said on 15 June the agreement confirmed the final cost to the State included $339 million in costs incurred by EWC through the bid process and design pre-construction, and $81 million that was spent to establish the credit facility for the project.

“Before the election, we promised that a Labor Government would not proceed with the Liberals’ East West Link and would not be liable for compensation. These promises have been kept,” Mr Pallas said.

“While not a cause for celebration, it allows Victorians to move forward and focus on projects that stack up.”

The comments triggered an immediate response from Shadow Treasurer, Michael O’Brien, who said Labor’s decision to tear up the East West Link contract had been a shocking waste of public money whichever way the deal was assessed.

“That’s why I’ll be writing to the Auditor-General, John Doyle, asking him to investigate this matter and get to the bottom of exactly what the cost of Labor ripping up the East West Link will be to Victorian taxpayers.”

Mr O’Brien said the East West Link episode had been a financial scandal.

“Over $400 million in compensation, at least the same again in sunk costs that will never be recovered and goodness knows how much on Labor’s new $3.1 billion credit card.

“Labor promised the contract wasn’t worth the paper it was written on; they were wrong. They promised that there would not be a dollar of compensation paid; they were wrong,” Mr O’Brien asserted.

“They have now wasted hundreds of millions of dollars of Victorians’ money all to not build a road and a road that Victorians need. We’re very concerned that Labor has failed; absolutely failed to be upfront with

Victorians about the true cost of ripping up the East West Link contract.

Treasurer Pallas said the State had also negotiated a $3.1 billion bond agreement, available for the Melbourne Metro Rail Project, with members of the EWC banking group.

The bond agreement, along with the swap arrangement, would be managed by Treasury Corporation Victoria.

The Metro bond agreement, Mr Pallas said, provided the State with financing capability for Melbourne Metro at a far lower cost to the Victorian taxpayer than the project banking facility provided to EWC.

Combined with the $1.5 billion announced in the 2015-16 Victorian Budget, the government has now secured more than $4.5 billion for the major rail project, almost half the total expected cost.

The State has appointed Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Westpac Banking Corporation to act as joint lead managers for the issuance program.

With regard to Metro Rail, Mr O’Brien claimed the Federal Government had always said that asset recycling fund money would be available for use by a state government for any purpose, as long as it was about new infrastructure.

“That’s always been on the cards. “I think the major problem is that we

still haven’t seen a business case for the Melbourne Metro Rail tunnel.

“This is a government,” Mr O’Brien said, “which is all about talking and press releases, fluoro vests and hard hats; very little about shovels in the ground and very little about building infrastructure.”

Deal to end East West Link finalised

SPECIAL FEATURE

“We’re very concerned that Labor has failed; absolutely failed to be upfront with Victorians about the true cost of ripping up the East West Link contract.”

Shadow Treasurer, Michael O’Brien, talking with journalists.


A report by the New South Wales Auditor-General has criticised and questioned the practices of the State Treasury and Infrastructure New South Wales in the management of major infrastructure projects.

The report – by the then Auditor-General, Grant Hehir, released on 7 May – focused on major capital projects – it examined 88 projects, each worth over $50 million, listed in state budgets between 2010-11 and 2013-14.

Mr Hehir left his position in New South Wales to become the Commonwealth Auditor-General. He commenced a 10-year appointment on 11 June, replacing Ian McPhee.

His report into major infrastructure projects in New South Wales found the projects in question experienced an overall cost growth of over three per cent after their funding was initially approved. Their estimate to complete grew by $900 million, from $27.97 billion to $28.87 billion.

Of the 50 such projects completed, their cost grew by some $720 million, from $10.73 billion to $11.45 billion, a 6.7 per cent increase.

The report said these understated the true level of cost increase because each of the project estimates in the Budget Papers already had a contingency allowance built-in to cover unforeseeable occurrences.

Mr Hehir found in his report that the independent assurance given to the NSW Government and sponsor agencies on the viability of large capital projects throughout their lifecycle was inadequate. Government policy, he said, was regularly not followed and not properly communicated to those responsible for implementing such policy.

This audit sought to test the effectiveness of the NSW capital project assurance system, which includes gateway reviews and reporting, but Mr Hehir said significant levels of non-compliance identified in case studies prevented this. The NSW Commission of Audit also identified this issue in 2012.

Gateway reviews are conducted by independent reviewers at key stages of a project’s life cycle and provide an independent assessment on a project’s readiness to proceed to the next stage.

“The December 2014 WestConnex audit also found that the government’s independent assurance framework had not been complied with,” Mr Hehir said.

“The agencies argued that WestConnex warranted different arrangements due to its size, duration and complexity. This argument cannot be applied to the projects examined in this audit.”

Mr Hehir said low compliance with mandatory gateway requirements persisted, with only 30 per cent of strategic reviews and 66 per cent of final business case reviews conducted on new construction projects included in the 2014-15 Budget.

“A contributing factor to agencies not complying with policy is that NSW Treasury has not formally communicated the government’s decisions on agency responsibilities and independent assurance following the establishment of Infrastructure NSW in 2012.

“Treasury needs to urgently communicate the government’s decisions on capital project assurance because there is confusion in agencies about requirements and responsibilities,” the Auditor-General contended.

“Infrastructure NSW and Treasury should also publicly report on compliance with the government’s independent assurance and monitoring framework.”

The audit said following a review conducted by Infrastructure NSW, the government agreed in December 2014 on an improved process for independent assurance over major capital projects costing at least $100 million.

It said the government’s new process had the potential to address current weaknesses. However, if the new process, like the current one, was not communicated and implemented it would not have the desired impact.

The report can be found on the NSW Audit Office website.

Management of large infrastructure projects questioned by A-G

SPECIAL FEATURE


SPECIAL FEATUREIntelligent Transport Systems

News and Feature Articles

Highway Engineering Australia (HEA) was part of one of the key gatherings in Australia’s transport infrastructure industry from 12-14 May – ITS 2015. Intelligent Transport Systems Australia hosted the Australian Intelligent Transport Systems Summit and National Electronic Tolling Forum; the events drew specialists from around Australia and the world to Melbourne to share developments in the rapidly advancing and expanding ITS sector. More than 400 delegates – 50 of them from overseas – gathered at the Crown Conference Centre to attend presentations across keynote plenaries, break-out sessions and interactive discussion forums.

This segment of Highway Engineering Australia focuses on ITS 2015 – it includes stories on a number of leading speakers at the summit and key ITS Australia figures, Chief Executive, Susan Harris, and President, Brian Negus. The segment looks at the pivotal role of Australian-born, Peter Sweatman, in the development of MCity – a new facility at the University of Michigan dedicated to testing connected and automated vehicles and systems before they are tried out in real traffic.

Then there’s a feature on Jack Opiola – the Managing Partner and President of the US-based D’Artagnan Consulting, who

is recognised as a thought leader in the area of road usage charging by distance and/or time.

Dr Grant Hausler from Geoscience Australia speaks with Highway Engineering Australia about GA’s role in providing infrastructure to help accommodate positioning technology, while Richard Harris from Xerox Services provides his insights into the applications of big data in the transport sector.

David Clements from Transurban talks about the key role ITS will play in a $1 billion project in Melbourne; the CityLink Tulla Widening development and Marcus van der Velden from Hyder consulting speaks on ITS and local roads away from the freeway environment.

ITS 2015 was not just a showcase event in its own right; it was the forerunner to the 2015 World ITS Congress in France in October and next year’s World ITS Congress to be held in Melbourne.

As part of its ongoing association with ITS Australia, HEA will feature, later in the year, a preview of the World ITS Congress in France and will recap on that event when the Australian delegation returns.

ITS Summit 2015 S P E C I A L F E A T U R E

ITS SPECIAL FEATURE


ITS AUSTRALIA

THE ‘GO TO’ ORGANISATIONDeveloping policies and regulations supporting the roll-out of emerging technology in the transport industry and informing debate on them is one of the key roles of ITS Australia.

“Our role as the peak industry body responsible for transport technology is to assist government decision makers to develop those policies and regulations so they can underpin the roll-out of technology and the benefits it brings to the community,” said Susan Harris, Chief Executive of ITS Australia.

“It’s a complex space and in many respects, we are seen as a ‘go to organisation’ to provide an independent opinion about the facts on how emerging technology actually works.

“We have a national ITS policy framework that was established in 2011 which set the standard for a response to emerging technology in the transport industry.

“We’re currently reviewing that policy and looking to expand it to cover increased automation in vehicles and autonomous vehicles. Australia is seen as having a very considered approach and is viewed favourably across the world.”

Ms Harris said in terms of intelligent transport systems, governments would always take-on a range of views. She said they had a complex role in assessing a wide range of perspectives, and ITS Australia was pleased to be formally engaged with governments to inform their considerations.

“For example, I represent the ITS sector on the National Transport Commission’s Industry Advisory Group.

“We’re able to advise that group on issues in the ITS sector and, particularly at the moment about autonomous vehicles, or talking about measuring congestion and its impact on productivity.

“We have the opportunity to put forward our views and generally we’re seen as being a sensible and reasoned contributor.”

Ms Harris said it was important for ITS Australia to help the community understand technology within the transport sector, understand the benefits it will bring in the future and to achieve those benefits without any downsides.

She said there would be a public open day as part of the 2016 ITS World Congress in Melbourne which would give the public and the media a chance to be involved and experience the latest technology.

“Engaging with the media, engaging with political and commercial leaders to get the word out to the public is a priority – it’s an exercise in demystifying the technology, if you like, so people can see its value.”

Technology and ITS in particular, Ms Harris said, was the way of the future.“We’ve got the internet, we’ve got communications devices that are

faster and more efficient than ever before, and we’ve got big data that can process huge amounts of data.

“So the collision of all these technologies means the world is our oyster in terms of what we want to achieve with technology.

“It’s an exciting part of how we maintain the liveability and the level of mobility that we’re looking for in our growing cities,” said Ms Harris.

“Transport networks have been shown to be a really close link to a country’s productivity and economic prosperity, so if we want to prosper, we need to ensure we have great mobility.

“That mobility will enable people to get to jobs and to live in a community where they can see each other face-to-face; it’s critical to our life style as well as our economic wellbeing.”

At a global level, Ms Harris said, the ITS sector provided a great environment in which to work.

“There’s a tremendous amount of goodwill in the way we learn from each other in such a complex space. There are competitors who are trying to get ahead, but they are still keen to ensure the sector implements the best of technology that achieves the best results for communities.”

“Our role as the peak industry body responsible for transport technology is to assist government decision makers to develop those policies and regulations so they can underpin the roll-out of technology and the benefits it brings to the community.”

ITS SPECIAL FEATURE


ITS 2015 FEATURE

ITS THE KEY TO WORKING SMARTER“We’re never going to build enough (infrastructure) – roads or public transport – to satisfy the demands of communities, so we have to work smarter.”

The words of Brian Negus, General Manager Public Policy with the RACV and President of ITS Australia, when putting into context the critical importance of intelligent transport systems to transport networks.

Mr Negus said ITS was about improving safety, mobility and sustainability of transport systems and those factors applied equally to roads, public transport, bicycles or pedestrians.

“Implementing ITS is about achieving smoother flow on our freeways and seamless operations on our train, tram and bus services.

“It’s about getting smart technology in those modes of transport to make sure they run to timetable better and to provide improved information to the community.”

Mr Negus said it was up to the ITS industry to sell the benefits of smart technology to governments so they understood how the technology could improve road systems, could remove blockages and could manage incidents when they occurred.

“Unless we demonstrate what’s possible, governments won’t necessarily engage in the uptake of higher technology because there is still a ‘strong build mentality’ in place.

“Working smarter is something they’re starting to embrace, but we still have a fair bit of work to do in Australia in each of the states to really have governments realise the benefits. That’s part of our job.”

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“Then there’s the broader perspective. Asia Pacific, from a population standpoint, is the fastest growing region in the world. If you look at China and Japan, in particular, they are also early adopters of technology.

“They are doing a lot of work in the transport space, both in building transport facilities and especially in wanting to embrace technology.”

Mr Negus said the estimated value of the ITS industry in the Asia Pacific region was $13 billion on a yearly basis and it represented a massive area of business opportunity.

“I recently led a delegation to Nanjing (Capital of Jiangsu Province) to learn about developments in infrastructure and the ITS side of infrastructure in China, and also to share what Australia could offer in the sector.

“Part of the benefit we have in being within ITS Asia Pacific is to connect with countries in the region so Australian companies can apply for work in China, in Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia because our companies are expert in the technology side of the sector.

“At a global level, again the plan is to share experiences across borders, especially connecting companies in Australia with what’s happening in the Americas and Europe to make sure we’re up with the latest and can provide companies with opportunities to do business.”

Mr Negus said driverless cars or “connected vehicles” as he preferred to call them, were a lot closer to becoming a reality than many people believed.

“A lot of people have been saying they’re five to 10 years, maybe 15 years off, but we’re already seeing them. It’s happening now – we’ve seen the Google car, we’ve seen Vovlo and Mercedes with connected vehicles.

“We’re already seeing in-car technology – lane departure control, blind spot indicators, heads-up displays, active cruise control and automatic autonomous breaking are all game changers.

“And we’re now also seeing in the connected vehicle space, vehicle-to-vehicle technology,” Mr Negus said.

“It’ll now be only another two or three years before we see, for instance, Mercedes, VW and BMW with the ability for in-car technology which can detect via radar, infra-red or other systems, vehicles around them.

“The next tranche then is for vehicle-to-infrastructure technology. So looking down stream, we’re seeing the connected vehicle will be a game-changer in relation to safety and mobility for the transport system.

“In the freight sector,” Mr Negus said, “we’re already seeing autonomous vehicles in the mining sector – virtually platoons of driverless trucks. Off-road certainly, but we are already operating in effectively driverless capacity.

“It won’t be very long before we see that on the road and we think, probably, in the freight sector.

That will be one of the first tranches where we’ll see this technology rolled out because there are huge productivity gains from having platoons of trucks operating.

“There are challenges from a safety perspective and a community acceptance point of view, so we have to work through those issues with governments and various authorities.

“But that’s where the first tranche might occur before we see mass updates of driverless cars in the general vehicle fleet.”

Mr Negus said it was important to strongly promote that fleet managers adopted smart technology early.

“That’s because we know community safety is a critical issue and most fleet vehicles flow through to the second hand market in about two or three years. Therefore, the used market can receive the benefit of safety technologies which otherwise it probably wouldn’t be able to afford.

“The public transport sector has different systems in play. If you look at passenger or freight train systems, the technologies that make a huge difference are high-technology signalling systems which, in the context of passenger trains, will give you shorter headways and much more effective operations.

“In the freight sector, virtually longer trains are the key and technology there is really all about safety given capacity is generally not an issue.

“Certainly in the passenger fleet system, the smarter technology in signalling is an absolute key, whereas in the road system, it is more about the individual vehicles that are in play.

“Hence, the in-car safety systems, the vehicle-to-vehicle technology systems and vehicle-to-infrastructure systems to improve safety and mobility are the new directions.

“So I think we’re looking at two different directions for the vehicle fleet and the public transport fleet, but both are going to rely on new technologies to make them more effective and efficient.”

From an environmental standpoint, Mr Negus said sustainability was a key objective in implementing intelligent transport systems.

“We can see that in vehicles. For example, many vehicle manufacturers are producing smaller and more efficient engines which deliver better fuel consumption and reduce C02 outputs.

“If you reduce congestion in the road system, then you again achieve improved efficiency and better average speeds, and reduced environmental pollution.

“Equally, on train, tram and bus systems if you can put in place improved systems, people will increasingly embrace public transport and maybe transfer mode.

“And we know that in the context of public transport versus roads, public transport is more effective in moving lots of people.”

“What we’re about as an organisation in Australia is connecting those groups – the companies, governments and universities – to achieve better outcomes from a community perspective and also from a business perspective for our members.”

Mr Negus said there was still a need to construct more infrastructure to alleviate shortcomings in the network.

“We still have gaps in our freeway system; we still have train systems that don’t run on time. But by making roads and public transport more efficient and more effective, we can achieve better throughput and better outcomes.”

Australia had always been an early adopter in the technology space, according to Mr Negus.

He said Australia (Melbourne) led the world in managed motorways and was one of the first nations in the world to adopt multi-lane, free-flow electronic tolling.

Parking management technology, intelligent assist drive-time information systems on freeways and smart card ticketing for public transport were also issues Australia confronted upfront and adopted early.

ITS Australia, Mr Negus said, was comprised of about 80 members covering developers, producers and installers of technology; governments – Federal, state and local – because they bought and installed management systems for freeways and public transport; and universities where formative research occurred, particularly in the ITS space.

“What we’re about as an organisation in Australia is connecting those groups – the companies, governments and universities – to achieve better outcomes from a community perspective and also from a business perspective for our members.

ITS SPECIAL FEATURE


ITS 2015 FEATURE

MCITY’S OPENING TO BRING NEW ERA OF MOBILITY MCity is vastly different to any other city around the world – for starters, it is 32 acres in size and has an expected life span of about eight years.

That’s because the Michigan metropolis has a unique purpose. MCity has been designed specifically for testing connected and automated vehicles and systems before they are tried out in real traffic. It will be formally opened on 20 July 2015.

The full-scale cityscape can be found on the campus of the University of Michigan and it’s been developed under the auspices of the university’s Mobility Transformation Center (MTC).

MTC – under the directorship of Australian-born, Peter Sweatman – is a major research partnership of industry, government, and

academia that is laying the foundation for a commercially viable system of connected and automated vehicles.

“Connected and automated vehicles hold the potential to dramatically improve the safety, sustainability, and accessibility of our mobility system,” said Dr Sweatman.

MCity includes four-lane-miles of roads with intersections, roadway markings, traffic signs and signals, sidewalks, benches, simulated buildings, streetlights, parked cars, pedestrians and obstacles such as construction barriers.

It was designed and constructed in partnership with the Michigan Department of Transport.

“As much testing as possible of connected and automated systems ought to be carried out in a safe off-road environment,” Dr Sweatman said.

“We’re going to make sure that when we put automated systems out on the road, they’re going to be as good as they possibly can.

“We won’t be able to solve every problem before we deploy, but we need to be in a position to learn quickly and correct any problems that arise.

“Our centre has been set-up, planned and implemented under an eight-year program,” Dr Sweatman said. I guess things have a tendency to have a longer life than expected, but we think

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a lot of the work is going to be carried out in the immediate-to-near future. We do not see this as something that’s going to be around for decades.”

Dr Sweatman said MTC was developing complementary on-road vehicle deployments in the city of Ann Arbor and across south east Michigan that would serve as test beds for partners to evaluate the effectiveness of various approaches and explore market opportunities.

He said the centre had to ensure its relationship with Ann Arbour – population of about 114,000 people (2010) – was not impeding the city’s day-to-day operations.

“We need to make sure we create value for the city and we think we’ve achieved that goal. We’ve been running about 3,000 connected vehicles in Ann Arbor for about three years and the city has found that to be a positive experience.

“The volunteers we’re dealing with want to do more and the city has its own objectives, particularly related to pedestrian safety. One of the things we’re working on as an early adopter is V-to-P (vehicle-to-pedestrian) technology for safety.

“There’s been focus on V-to-V (vehicle-to-vehicle) and V-to-I (vehicle-to-infrastructure) technology, but V-to-P is very important. One reason we’ve prioritised that issue is to take into account what’s important to the city.”

Dr Sweatman said a key objective of model deployment in Ann Arbor was to make sure all vehicle technologies were interoperable.

“There are, for example, multiple suppliers of radios that go into vehicles and, similarly, there are multiple suppliers of technology that goes into infrastructure in Mcity.

“It’s critical that we don’t have mismatches because of different suppliers.”

Dr Sweatman said the lessons learned from the Ann Arbour deployment would potentially be applied to other cities.

“There’ll be other Ann Arbors spring-up and they’ll have their own unique flavour. It will depend on the priorities of those cities, as well as the main stakeholders in those projects.

“The communications technology itself becomes standard – once there is a standard platform, applications can be overlaid on a local basis.”

A central plank of the MTC is its Affiliates Program, which was launched on 26 March with 27 initial members from a wide range of industries.

The affiliates represent sectors that will play a role in shaping a viable system of connected and automated vehicles – the sectors include: • automotive manufacturing; • vehicle communication devices;• chips and hardware; • insurance; and• companies engaged in technologies such as

advanced modelling, big data acquisition and intelligent transportation systems.“There are many interrelated technical, legal,

social, economic, regulatory, and urban planning challenges ahead,” said Dr Sweatman.

“Working with a diverse group of partners in industry and departments across our campus, each of which brings its own expertise and perspectives to the table, is critical to our success.”

The affiliates commit $150,000 each over three years to participate in selected MTC working groups and research programs, as well as key research reviews and an annual MTC Congress. They will also have selected access to the MTC’s off-road and on-road test programs.

The affiliates complement a founding group of 14 Leadership Circle companies, which have each committed $1 million over three years to support the MTC and its programs.

“It’s a very interesting group,” Dr Sweatman said. “To bring it all together is a pretty big step. The best part of my job is getting this ecosystem of companies in a room and starting a conversation.

“We caucus as an industry group and then we bring in government agencies; federal state and city.

“There has been a growing realisation in the private sector about the potential of connected and automated vehicles and systems.

“In a sense, the connected vehicle technology, which is highly beneficial and exciting in its own right, has been a bit below the radar. But the thing that’s attracted attention and carried a certain amount of hype has been automation and driverless vehicles.

“In the last couple of years, we’ve seen an explosion of interest. There’s a wide range of views, even among our partners, about how it’s all going to play out, Dr Sweatman said.

“One of the key points of debate focuses on the scenario where you have a mix of automation and conventional control out on the road; a hybrid period where you have automated vehicles operating with manually controlled ones.

“We think one of our contributions at MTC will be to move as quickly as possible to clarify those sorts of situations so there is a more common understanding of how they might play out.

“What our partners want,” Dr Swetman said, “is for MTC to be the voice of reason as to where we’re at, what the priorities need to be, how quickly we can do things and what due diligence is necessary when it comes to the technologies involved.

“There’s no way we can solve every problem before we get out on the road.”

Dr Sweatman said the 20th century model for road safety was not a process that would even vaguely apply to, or work for, 21st century mobility.

“The 20th century model involved comprehensive testing before a vehicle was put on the road and, when crashes occurred, they were studied and improvements were made.

“Under the 21st century scenario, a lot of effort will be put into safety as systems are being designed and a tremendous amount of data will be collected as development takes place.

“There will be rapid feedback to the manufacturer as to how this is proceeding.

“Standards are being developed around the world for proving the safety of computer systems. They have to be designed in a way that’s comprehensively intended to be safe. The data collected will make sure that happens.”

“Connected and automated vehicles hold the potential to dramatically improve the safety, sustainability, and accessibility of our mobility system.”

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A KEY FACTOR TO EFFECTIVELY AND SAFELY OPERATING THE WIDENED CITYLINK-TULLAMARINE FREEWAY CORRIDOR IN MELBOURNE WILL BE THE APPLICATION OF INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEMS, ACCORDING TO ONE OF THE PROJECT’S HEADS, DAVID CLEMENTS OF TRANSURBAN.

Mr Clements is the Program Director for the CityLink Tulla Widening – a project designed to upgrade 24 kilometres of the corridor, increase the road’s capacity by 30 per cent and boost performance and improve safety.

The project, which is scheduled to start in October 2015, is a brownfields development that will add the equivalent of 33 kilometres of new traffic lanes to the corridor.

Mr Clements said the real challenge of the project was delivering the work on an extremely congested roadway that was one of the major elements of Melbourne’s road network.

“We’ve got 210,000 vehicles using the busiest section of the corridor during peak and our delivery strategy and philosophy has been developed around ensuring we minimise traffic disruption.

“The existing lane configuration is multiple traffic lanes and an emergency stopping lane on the outside shoulder, both inbound and outbound.

“The existing lane widths will be reduced from 3.5 metres to 3.35 metres and the existing emergency stopping lanes will be removed, providing space to incorporate an additional lane in each direction.

“The key then to be able to effectively and safely operate the upgraded corridor is applying intelligent transport systems across the road; so we have lane-use management systems and automated incident detection systems so we can respond to any incident in a very short period of time, and maintain the safety of the corridor,” said Mr Clements.

“Transurban is developing the design and delivering the ITS component of the project in-house. A team is in place and running with that element of the project.”

Mr Clements said it was decided to reconfigure the corridor instead of physically widening it to achieve the space required for the additional lanes because that option would have imposed a huge impact on communities living along the corridor and cost significantly more.

“It would have involved land acquisition by the Victorian Government; major impacts on landowners and occupiers along the route and potentially taken extra time through diverting or eliminating utility assets along the corridor and on roadsides.

“Like any large-scale infrastructure project there’s a value-for-money equation that needs to be part of deciding what has to be undertaken and how it’s going to be achieved.”

Mr Clements said the widening project was effectively in delivery mode. Transurban signed an agreement with the government on 30 April and had also signed a contract with its design and construct civil contractor.

“Already we have some of our ITS works underway – the operational maintenance control systems upgrade is being carried out and we’re undertaking trials of ITS device technology on the roadway.”

Mr Clements said construction work to change the roadway would commence in October and the project was scheduled to be completed by early 2018.

“The timeframe is more than two years, but some of the obligations and constraints we have to meet include maintaining the existing capacity of the road at a speed of 80 kilometres-an-hour at all peak periods during delivery.

“We can’t go out and close the road to customers during peak periods – customers who are relying on the network to get them to and from work or where-ever they’re going.

“That means we are limited in terms of the real estate that we have from a construction perspective to carry-out the work.”

Mr Clements said now contracts had been executed for the widening of the corridor, Transurban would be working closely with VicRoads which was responsible for the project’s northern sections.

“We’re looking at opportunities to ensure that we’re located in the same area, so we’re close to each other. We (Transurban and VicRoads) currently run interface meetings with stakeholders and the community, and we adopt a one-team approach.

UTILISING EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE ITS KEY TO CITYLINK TULLA WIDENING

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“In this instance, the community is well informed. The infrastructure exists, so that’s not new to the community. What stakeholders want to know is how they are going to be impacted during construction and how they are going to ensure they maintain the performance requirements we are currently delivering to them.”

Under the CityLink Tulla Widening, project works being completed by Transurban will extend from Bulla Road, Essendon Fields, along Citylink and the West Gate Freeway to Power Street, Southbank.

The widening involves:• at least one extra lane in each direction from the Bolte Bridge to Bulla

Road;• one extra lane on the ramp from Bolte Bridge to West Gate Freeway

(towards the Burnley Tunnel); and• one extra eastbound lane on the West Gate Freeway, between the Bolte

Bridge and Power Street.A managed motorway will also be provided, including:• variable speed, message and lane use signs;• ramp metering (stop and go signals) for all on-ramps; and• CCTV cameras to monitor traffic and incidents.

Traffic improvements at key interchanges will help improve safety and ease congestion. The upgrades include:• widening the ramp from Bolte Bridge to West Gate Freeway (towards the

Burnley Tunnel) to reduce queuing on the Bolte Bridge;• two new dedicated lanes to Bell Street, from the Tullamarine Freeway

and Calder Freeway;• over 600 metres of widening on the West Gate Freeway between the

Bolte Bridge and Power Street, including separating city-bound traffic and Burnley tunnel-bound traffic to improve traffic flow; and

• a new bridge over CityLink connecting Bell Street and Pascoe Vale Road.Transurban’s contribution to the $1.28 billion project is worth

approximately $1 billion. It will be responsible for works on CityLink between Bulla Road and

Power Street, freeway management systems on CityLink and West Gate Freeway, and a contribution to the complementary State works between Bulla Road and Melbourne Airport.

“We can’t go out and close the road to customers during peak periods – customers who are relying on the network to get them to and from work or where-ever they’re going. That means we are limited in terms of the real estate that we have from a construction perspective to carry-out the work.” Transurban’s David Clements - Program Director for the CityLink Tulla Widening project.

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ITS 2015 FEATURE

GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA WORKING TO DEVELOP NATIONAL POSITIONING INFRASTRUCTURE

THE INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEM SECTOR IS ONE OF A NUMBER OF INDUSTRY GROUPS WITH WHICH GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA (GA) IS LIAISING TO DETERMINE WHAT LEVEL OF INFRASTRUCTURE IS REQUIRED TO ENABLE MORE ACCURATE AND RELIABLE POSITIONING ACROSS AUSTRALIA.

“We’re not in the business or policy area of providing ITS infrastructure per se. Our focus is the underlying positioning infrastructure that enables growth, development and innovation in these technologies,” said Geoscience Australia’s Grant Hausler.

Dr Hausler coordinates Planning and Development of the National Positioning Infrastructure (NPI) project at GA.

He is a member of the NPI Advisory Board established by Geoscience Australia, the Australian Government’s Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Working Group and the Attorney General’s Space Community of Interest within the Trusted Information Sharing Network (TISN).

The use of positioning technology, according to Dr Hausler, is growing in industries such as ITS, mining, agriculture, construction, emergency management and Location-based services, and these user applications have a demonstrated need for better geodetic infrastructure.

“Understanding ITS requirements is a new space for Geoscience Australia – our infrastructure sits at the very beginning of the supply chain. This reflects our business in the Earth science or ‘geodesy’ domain, and applications such as ITS demonstrate the importance of this science and capability as demand for precise positioning continues to grow.”

Geodesy is a branch of applied mathematics or earth sciences; a discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the earth, including its gravitational field, in three-dimensions.

“We’re aware the types of requirements moving forward are around very precise location information and delivering this information as reliably as possible,” Dr Hausler said.

“We’ve been engaging much more broadly across a wide range of sectors to understand how they use positioning so we can begin to know what requirements; what minimum

performance they actually need. What is the enabling infrastructure that’s required?”

Dr Hausler said the aim is to provide infrastructure that has commonality across all user sectors.

“When we talk about national positioning infrastructure, it’s very much hard and soft infrastructure.

“What these industries will take is essentially a data product that comes into their vehicles to essentially make their position more accurate and reliable or to correct their position.

“It’s not just about providing position itself. It’s also monitoring the performance of that system; being able to alert users when something is wrong.

“You need a national infrastructure system to do that. The system needs to be as robust as possible and government has a natural role in coordinating provision of this infrastructure.”

Dr Hausler said Japan, China, India, the United States, Europe and Russia are all deploying and modernising Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), and these assets are essentially a “global public good” freely accessible to any user.

“When you activate your smart phone and it receives a GPS position, you’re getting data from these satellites, not Geoscience Australia.

“Our role is to try to provide an alignment with the national coordinate framework within that context – data that can make that alignment more accurate.

“The systems are free-to-air and some are designed with what we call augmentation signals. They are signals that potentially offer better value or added capability.

“Ensuring all signals and information from these systems are standardised and interoperable allows any signal from any constellation to be accessible by any user, regardless of their device type,” Dr Hausler explained.

“The fact that we don’t own or operate one of these systems means we don’t develop the actual satellites and signals themselves, but instead work to optimise and standardise the data that we record by tracking these systems using our national ground infrastructure. We have agreements in place for cooperation on GPS and other constellations and are actively engaging with different providers.

“When you’re operating infrastructure like GPS you need monitor stations across the globe, so we also host infrastructure for providers; for example, Japan. We have reference stations in Australia that contribute data to domestic and international ground monitoring networks.”

Dr Hausler described the arrangement with the ITS sector and other industry groupings as “early industry engagement”.

“We’re at the formative stage of our relationship with the ITS industry; we’re engaged with organisations like ITS Australia to assess how we can best meet their needs.

“ITS is one of many industry sectors we’re very keen to understand more about.”

Figure provided courtesy of AuScope (geospatial component) – see http://www.auscope.org.au/

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Governments should be proactive in implementing trials of road usage charging so road users can develop informed opinions on the charging as a valid mechanism for funding road infrastructure, according an international expert on road funding and the application of intelligent transport systems.

Jack Opiola is the Managing Partner and President of the US-based D’Artagnan Consulting and he has 35 years’ experience as a project manager, consultant and senior policy advisor to local, state, national and international transportation agencies and private clients.

Mr Opiola is recognised as a thought leader in the area of road usage charging by distance and/or time.

“I see the synergistic fit of telematics and intelligent transport systems being furthered by creating a rational funding mechanism to sustain transport funding into the future.”

Mr Opiola was a key speaker at the ITS 2015 Australian Intelligent Transport System Summit in Melbourne.

He said governments had a role to play in undertaking market testing samples with the aim of introducing road usage charging.

“In a democratic society, we owe it to citizens to give them choices – so a lot of the debate over the road charging issue involves taking a concept that makes sense from a feasibility standpoint and from a cost-benefit standpoint, and informing people who have questions or doubts.

“If you implement market testing, let them experience it for several months or a year, they can judge its simplicity or otherwise.”

Mr Opiola said politicians understood they had to follow public opinion, but the public needed information to develop an informed opinion.

“You can tell people the benefits of something all day long, but until they experience it, they don’t fully understand. Market testing is an attempt to take words and concepts and put them into practice, and then measure people’s responses.”

Mr Opiola said several American states including Oregon, Washington State and California were in various stages of actively considering and implementing trialling or market testing of road usage charging.

In Oregon, legislation provides for the State Department of Transportation to set-up a road usage charge system for transportation funding. The system, which was due to start operating from July 2015, involves a mileage collection system for 5,000 cars and light commercial vehicles. People participating in the Road Usage Charge Program will assess a charge of 1.5 cents per mile and issue a gas tax credit as warranted.

Mr Opiola said California had allocated funding to undertake a demonstration which involved a similar number of people to the Oregon program.

“We’re talking about five or six thousand people using different methods of collecting the fee, whether it be reading their odometer or having a device installed in their car.

“One of the reasons for testing multiple methods is that everybody has different lifestyles. People who like technology will opt to install a device in their car to do the reporting for them.”

In the case of Washington State, the authorities had opted for a demonstration project to evaluate the charging system.

Mr Opiola contended that if California adopted road usage charging after undertaking market testing, other jurisdictions would follow the lead.

“California is a bellwether state and other jurisdictions will copy what goes on there – that’s true in the US and internationally.

“And I mean, hell, California has the world’s seventh largest economy as a state, so there are a lot of pluses to copy.”

Mr Opiola said there was a good body of knowledge to show that road usage charging changed people’s driving habits and/or patterns.

“People become more mindful of the trips they make and start combining trips like taking the children to school and picking up the dry cleaning while they’re out. That has huge benefits to the environment, to vehicle miles travelled and, in a lot of cases congestion, because unnecessary trips are eliminated.

“By cutting out discretionary trips you help reduce congestion and if a road charge does that, then road users are suddenly getting that condition or that benefit all year long.”

TRANSPORT SPECIALIST CALLS FOR ‘MARKET TESTING’ OF ROAD USAGE CHARGING

“People become more mindful of the trips they make and start combining trips like taking the children to school and picking up the dry cleaning while they’re out. That has huge benefits to the environment, to vehicle miles travelled and, in a lot of cases congestion, because unnecessary trips are eliminated.”

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ITS 2015 FEATURE

DATA ANALYTICS ‘SQUEEZING’ INTELLIGENCE FROM TRANSPORT DATAA senior executive with the global company, Xerox, which specialises in data mining and analytics, says too much money has been spent investing in systems which have become legacy systems.

“We need to be much smarter about how we use information technology,” said Richard Harris, Director Communications and Marketing, International Transportation and Government at Xerox.

And Mr Harris said it was important to realise that technology was a means to an end.

“It’s about the outcomes, not about how clever or how advanced the technology is – the technology is a tool and it’s what the technology delivers that is really important.

Xerox is a leading multi-national in the transportation sector. It processes over $5 billion annually in road tolls and over 200 million public transport and transit tickets every day.

Mr Harris said big data was becoming increasingly important around the world because transport operations and mobility in cities were becoming increasingly complicated.

“There are now so many players involved, the options open to people regarding how and when they travel are much more varied than a few years ago when it was accepted that transport networks were operated by a central authority.

“Understanding mobility in a vibrant city like Melbourne is critical in order to make the city liveable and more attractive.”

Mr Harris said most of the world’s developed countries/cities were becoming far more “switched on” to the value of data they were holding.

“It’s incredible that for many years, transport authorities have been collecting data that they could make so little use of – now data analytics has reached a stage where those authorities can extract some real value from the material that’s been hidden for so long in their archives.

“Big data squeezes intelligence from data just as intelligent transport systems squeeze more capacity from infrastructure. What the analytics show or highlight provides insight and identifies trends at a much earlier stage so solutions can be introduced more quickly to benefit people.”

Mr Harris said identifying trends earlier meant operators, the private sector or government, could make better use of existing systems or infrastructure.

“Building a road – even if you can do it environmentally and economically – takes a long time. With ITS, existing infrastructure can be used more efficiently and effectively, and the results can be obtained earlier.

“Making use of existing infrastructure is particularly important when governments and/or private investors are operating in times of budgetary constraint.

“I know Australia has been protected somewhat from the economic downturn, but in Europe particularly, we’ve been getting away with existing transport infrastructure for the past seven years because the volume of movement has been diminished due to the recession.

“Now the recovery is underway, the problem areas are becoming much more apparent; we’ve failed to separate economic performance and the amount of traffic and amount of transport needed.

“In times of economic stress when major capital projects are not viable, quick return can be achieved by investing in ITS,” Mr Harris said.

“One of the challenges, of course, is that it becomes a revenue budget rather than a capital budget, so there’s an ongoing commitment.

“It’s a bit like building a website. The site might be brilliant, but it soon becomes useless if it’s not properly maintained. ITS is the same; there’s a continuing requirement to ensure it’s operational.”

Mr Harris said the relationship between analytics providers and state/city authorities was a major factor in the use of big data to progress transport and provide increased efficiency.

ITS SPECIAL FEATURE


“The challenge is always the administrative and organisational aspects; for example, the system we put in place in Los Angeles with off-street parking – getting information about occupancy and prices to help people.

“We had access to data covering on-street parking and, importantly, to off-street car parks. The more aligned, the more joined-up parties are; the better chance they have that data is integratable and useable without a lot of manipulation. They can squeeze extra benefit from that data.

“With the LA system, we can go online anywhere and look at the data, and show people the occupancy, where the spaces are and how much revenue is coming in.

In Canada, Mr Harris said, 19 transport operators in Montreal joined forces and implemented a joint procurement for a back-office. He said the common ticketing system that Xerox put in place covered Montreal, Quebec, Laval, Longueuil and Sorel-Varennes, and featured a contactless card holding up to four different tickets to travel throughout the region.

“We’ve maintained the key requirement of keeping all of the operators’ data separate, private and secure. From the basis of a common

shared platform, it’s relatively easy to design a system that suits all parties.

“I’m keen to capitalise on the capabilities of IT, so we don’t need a separate back-office for every system. We can partition and gain benefits of scale.

“If companies like Xerox can be engaged early enough with relevant authorities, we can educate them, inform them and enable them to see and recognise the benefits,” Mr Harris said.

“But if we’re just reacting to a call for tender it’s too late. It’s one of the reasons why Xerox is keen to be a member of associations like ITS Australia, ITS America; so we can work together and explain the benefits of information technology.

“We’re not in the business of providing somebody with a back office system which is going to be outdated in three years – we want flexibility for people.”

Mr Harris cautioned that it was too simplistic to contend that city authorities or governments would be left behind if they were slow in adopting big data.

“It’s maybe not always a good idea to be the first to adopt systems because you learn the lessons, the pitfalls, the hard way.

“I’m on the World Road Association (which represents the road administrations of 122 governments) and we have challenges with countries with emerging economies.

“I wouldn’t say to them ‘ITS, big data, that’s what you should be focusing on’.

“First of all, they want to focus on achieving quality water and sewerage infrastructure, and ensuring their roads don’t disintegrate when it rains.

“Those countries may have – in comparison with Melbourne and Australia – very poor infrastructure, but they may have a fantastically high penetration of mobile phones, so they can skip some of the generations of data collection we’ve gone through.

“I wouldn’t say nations that fail to quickly adopt big data will be left behind. I would say, instead, that it would take them longer to realise the benefits.”

And Mr Harris said that over time, the implementation of big data with respect to transport networks would help improve the environment.

“When you improve transportation, improve mobility and improve efficiency in cities, you can’t help but improve the overall environment.”

MELBOURNE GEARING UP FOR 2016 WORLD ITS CONGRESSMELBOURNE WILL BE THE FOCUS OF THE GLOBAL ITS INDUSTRY IN 2016 WHEN IT HOSTS THE 23RD WORLD ITS CONGRESS.

The 2016 event will be the second time Australia has staged the world congress – the first occasion was in Sydney in 2001.

The theme of next year’s congress, to be held from 10-14 October, is Enhancing Liveable Cities and Communities – a perfect fit for Melbourne which was rated the world’s most liveable city for the fourth successive year in 2014.

Preparations for the event are well underway and ITS Australia hosted a visit by the World Congress Board of Directors in May to showcase Melbourne.

The Board comprises representatives from the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe, and it’s charged with ensuring each world congress is successfully promoted and managed.

“Securing the 2016 World Congress is a huge privilege,” said Susan Harris, Chief Executive of ITS Australia.

“We were really honoured to host the Board and highlight to the members the level of sophistication of Melbourne, the level of roll-out of the city’s technology, the strategic view in terms of our road network.

“There were comments from the board about the number of cranes on the skyline, the number of building developments, the modern look and feel of the city,” Ms Harris said.

“We tend to accept all of those things as Melburnians, but it’s great to be able to showcase them internationally.”

Brian Negus, President of ITS Australia and a Board member for eight years, said a major presentation on plans for the World Congress was delivered to the visiting Board members giving them an overview of what would be a multi-faceted program.

“We’ve booked all of Melbourne’s Convention centre and most of the Exhibition Centre with the opportunity to expand that space if needed.

“We’ll run a lot of on-road demonstrations,” Mr Negus said. “We’ve secured part of the Grand Prix track at Albert Park for demonstrations and we’ll run technical tours to various traffic control centres.

“We’ll visit Melbourne Airport for pilot training sessions, Telstra for major technology sessions and Yarra Trams, Metro Trains and the Port of Melbourne for sessions in their control centres.

“The Board has reviewed the arrangements we’ve put in place and has given its backing to Melbourne for the 2016 World Congress.

“Given Melbourne is the world’s most liveable city – we’ve been accorded that honour the last four years in a row and seven times in the last 10 years – the ITS community is looking forward with great enthusiasm to coming here to enjoy the city and see our ITS facilities.

“To see what we’ve rolled out in relation to smart technology and to embrace that. They want to support us.”

Mr Negus said in addition to looking at what the 2016 World Congress had to offer the Board also discussed this year’s World Congress in the French city of Bordeaux from 5-9 October and the 2017 event scheduled for the Canadian city of Montreal.

ITS SPECIAL FEATURE


ITS 2015 FEATURE

DEVELOPING ITS STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE THE ARTERIAL NETWORK

When looking at a city’s road network, attention is easily focused on “big ticket” items like the construction of multi-billion dollar motorways or major projects to upgrade the efficiency and capacity of existing infrastructure through measures like ITS.

But a key part of the network can be overlooked – the arterial road network which is critical in carrying traffic entering and exiting motorways, freeways or tunnels.

In Victoria, VicRoads commissioned the multi-national design and engineering consultancy, Hyder Consulting, to undertake a review of the arterial network as part of an overall initiative to set-out a technology road map for the next five years.

Hyder Consulting’s Marcus van der Velden – a specialist in intelligent transport systems – was the lead author of the ITS Conceptual Infrastructure Requirements Review.

Mr van der Velden said developing conceptual infrastructure requirements for the arterial network represented a natural progression from work by VicRoads in identifying the needs of freeways and motorways.

“VicRoads had completed a study on managed motorways and developed a framework to put in place guidelines.

“The question that arose from the VicRoads study was ‘what are we doing with the arterial network?’.

“A technology roadmap can only be successfully completed if there is a clear strategy for future deployment on the arterial road network.”

Mr van der Velden said the arterial review was carried out in four phases:• User Requirements Capture through several stakeholder workshops

across VicRoads business areas.

• Concept of Operations development through workshops which developed further and considered the application of the requirements.

• ITS Arterial Road Conceptual Design which included the delivery of a review of available and emerging technologies, and how these might aid achieving identified operational goals, and

• A Gap Analysis and feasibility review which addressed the current VicRoads environment and outlined actions needed to progress and establish the conceptual design as a tool for all stakeholders to use in the development of projects. Mr van der Velden said the key objective of the Gap Analysis review

was to collate a single resource of the actions that were needed following the infrastructure review.

That review would assist the VicRoads’ ITS team in preparing the five-year forward road map for technology deployment. The review included:• Assessment of the forward technology horizon and how it aligns to the

Conceptual Design Technology Toolkit developed in the project; • Key current limitations and opportunities to progress a wider deployment

of ITS infrastructure to meet user and operational requirements; and• Development and integration opportunities for the back office and control

systems to maximise the benefits of on-road assets on the arterial road network.Mr van der Velden said the review found there was a lack of

understanding about what was happening on arterial roads – what kind of journeys were taking place and what measures could be implemented to improve travel efficiency for road operators and users.

He said there were minor trials being undertaken, like blue-tooth trials and LPR (licence plate recognition) capture between intersections – trials that were showing benefits.

ITS SPECIAL FEATURE


‘SOFTLY SOFTLY’ APPROACH TO PROVIDING PUBLIC TRANSPORT PRIORITYEltham in Melbourne’s north eastern suburbs and Dublin, the capital of the Irish Republic, are worlds apart geographically and historically, but they are closely linked from an intelligent transport system standpoint.

The link is in the form of a public transport priority system designed by the Eltham-based company, Advantech Design P/L – a system which has been adopted by Dublin City Council to improve the efficiency of its bus fleet.

Advantech Design is recognised for its expertise in traffic systems design and review, SCATS Travel Time Prediction Systems, ITS solutions, SCATS Public Transport Priority, Bus Tracking and Bus and Tram Priority.

Trevor Powell, the company’s Managing Director, said it had a close working relationship with the City of Dublin and developing the priority system TRANSnetw extended the collaboration.

Mr Powell said studies undertaken by the local government authority showed the initiative had substantially reduced public transport travel times.

“Cities like Dublin face significant challenges because they have very limited road capacity. Most of Dublin’s road network can’t cope with today’s demands and the council requested us to develop applications that would enable improved public transport priority.”

Mr Powell said the council worked with Dublin Bus – the major public transport provider in the greater Dublin area – to develop ideas and guidelines relating to the operation of the priority system.

“They had a basic framework in place and we overlaid a detailed design plan.”

Mr Powell said data on bus route timetable information was fed into the TRANSnet system to provide an adaptable and effective public transport priority system.

He said regular data received from transponders fitted to public transport vehicles identified a wide range of criteria including:• route identifiers;

But, Mr van der Velden said, there were questions about the level of benefit involved.

“Technology assets are being put into the network, the maintenance cost is increasing, the effort required by maintenance crews is increasing, but what is the level of the data coming back?

“When funding is sought for particular projects, internal mechanisms will be questioned – why are we doing that? There needs to be a clear understanding and evidence-based priority about measures that are needed.”

Mr van der Velden said providing a more efficient arterial network was important, given that congestion was growing on the overall road network.

“If a journey is going to take 20 or 30 minutes – 10 or 15 minutes of which might be on a motorway – the other five-to-10 minutes on an arterial also has an influence on the productivity of people using the road and freight being moved.

“You can influence the performance of the wider network by gaining an understanding of the journeys that are taking place on arterial roads and by developing and understanding strategies that are needed in the event of an incident.”

Mr van der Velden said bringing about cultural change in road users would help improve the arterial network because most of them believe the ability to get into their car and drive to work is a right rather than a privilege.

He said providing drivers with more information would help achieve cultural change.

“Ideally, you’re trying to capture people before they pick up their car keys and leave the house.

“Once they shut the front door they’re virtually committed to a travel plan, but if they have information about traffic conditions, they can adjust their movements by delaying their journey, changing their route or changing their mode of transport.

“If they are in the car, a dedicated radio channel could alert them to changed conditions without driver distraction.

“Within our project team,” Mr van der Velden said, “there is certainly an appreciation that cultural/attitudinal change will not occur overnight because people are not going to change if they’re not given information – if they can’t see a benefit.”


• specific journey pattern modifiers;• vehicle location (geographical);• schedule adherence information;• vehicle operator• vehicle-at-stop information;• vehicle identifier; and• route information and direction

Mr Powell said the TRANSnet system applied what could be described as a “softly-softly” approach.

“It looks at whether a bus can pass through an intersection by simply increasing the phase time by 15 seconds or if it can be achieved by increasing the cycle length.

“The system provides a soft level of priority and continually monitors the results. If the level of priority was successful, it reverts to normal operation, but if it wasn’t successful, it escalates the level of priority.

“It can keep lifting the level of priority to provide a green waiver all the way down the road.”

The system could be applied, Mr Powell said, at any time because it had a very powerful scheduler.

“The scheduler provides different parameters to different detectors at different times of the day. The parameters might provide for a soft priority at a weekend, rather than escalate, but during morning and evening peak periods it might be a case of starting with a moderate level of priority and escalate from there.”

Mr Powell said there was evidence from the Dublin experience that the priority system was influencing the efficiency of movement in public transport.

“Dublin undertook studies using a sample size of about 300 buses over about a-month and found there was a seven per cent reduction in public transport travel times – a reduction you would have to rate as substantial.”

Because the system provided the softest level of priority possible, Mr Powell said, the impact on other road users was minimal.

“In cases where more serious intervention is required, the system then provides a recovery step as part of its ‘clean-up’ process.

“The system recognises that because it takes time away from traffic on other approaches to an intersection to give a bus priority, there should be an offset to allow impacted traffic to help restore travel patterns to normal.”

Mr Powell said Adelaide had followed Dublin in deploying the system – it was introduced in the South Australian capital earlier in 2015 – and Advantech Design was in talks about TRANSnet with Main Roads WA and VicRoads and Public Transport Victoria.

He said there was no problem with the system across municipalities because it interfaced with SCATS – the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System – which was the largest adaptive traffic system in use in the world.

“When we designed TRANSnet we developed the system’s core engine to have special interface into SCATS at a modular level. If we have an authority that is using a different form of traffic management technology, we can develop a new interface module that will allow it to talk with other systems to control traffic.”

It was important in developing a quality transport network, Mr Powell said, to provide public transport that operated efficiently and, if necessary, had priority.

“People need to expect that, as car drivers, they are not always going to receive the priority they want. In many instances, you have a single occupant in a car as opposed to several hundred people on a train or 70 to 80 people on a bus.

“The efficiency of moving that number of people on a bus far outweighs the efficiency of moving a car and a driver.

“I think people will come to accept that it’s more important to look at where demand occurs and provide priority in that area.”

Mr Powell conceded that Australia was car-oriented because cities were separated by huge distances, but he said if road authorities could introduce more efficient methods of moving people, they would embrace those methods.

“There’s always only going to be so much road capacity and if demand increases to the point where it can’t be matched by capacity, the answer rests with funding more efficient ways to move people.

“Public transport which is accorded priority has to be one of the keys in that mix – one of the best ways to provide efficiencies.”

“Dublin undertook studies using a sample size of about 300 buses over about a-month and found there was a seven per cent reduction in public transport travel times – a reduction you would have to rate as substantial.”

View of Dublin, capital of the Irish Republic.

ITS SPECIAL FEATURE


PUTTING THE BRAKESON REVERSING ACCIDENTS

Every year, incidents involving reversing vehicles and mobile plant result in fatalities and numerous serious injuries at worksites across Australia.

The combination of large equipment (often with limited visibility from the operator cabin), busy worksites and constant reversing manoeuvres can quickly turn into an OH&S disaster – even for those wearing the required high visibility PPE. Indeed, the danger posed by reversing vehicles and mobile plant is widely considered one of the highest OH&S risk factors for workers in the road construction and maintenance sectors.

With that in mind, road authorities, councils and contractors are looking to AEB (Automatic Emergency Braking) technology to help eliminate or significantly reduce the risk of reversing incidents and accidents.

While there have been a number of reverse ‘warning systems’ available on the market for some years now, AEB reversing system technology is a relative newcomer – especially in the heavy equipment and mobile plant market; but it is already having a significant positive impact in terms of reducing the number of incidents.


Reverse Smart: State-of-the-art radar technology

Reverse Smart has been at the forefront of AEB reversing system technology for a number of years throughout Europe and the UK, with many hundreds of successful installations on heavy vehicles, large plant and other mobile equipment.

Building on this success, Reverse Smart now looks set to change the face of worksite safety throughout Australia. Speaking about the Reverse Smart system, Davin Hamnett, Business Development Manager with Reverse Smart explained:

“One of the main benefits of the Reverse Smart system, is that it provides an engineering control to avoid an impact, rather than relying on driver / operator response times.”

“On most worksites, there is usually a myriad of equipment operating, most of which has flashing lights, beacons, cameras and reversing buzzers or other audible warnings. In short, there is usually a lot going on and there’s too much external stimulus to pay attention to all of it – especially when you’re trying to concentrate on the job at hand,” he said.

“While from the outside looking in, it may seem almost impossible to miss a large piece of equipment moving towards you, in reality, impact accidents occur with alarming regularity – and this often results in serious injuries or even fatalities.”

“By providing an additional level of protection, including an engineering control that can stop the vehicle, the Reverse Smart AEB system can significantly reduce the risk of impacts and injuries,” Davin Hamnett added.

The Reverse Smart AEB system has been specifically designed to reduce the incidence of large vehicles or mobile plant impacting workers or objects while reversing. The Reverse Smart AEB detects objects or people behind the vehicle, warns the driver / operator and, unless the driver confirms the nature of the object and specifically triggers the ‘sleep’ mode (which is used when intentionally reversing up to a solid object), applies the vehicles brakes.

WHAT THE OPERATORS SAID ABOUT REVERSE SMARTAs is the case with any new technology being added to a vehicle or piece of plant, the operators’ opinion of Reverse Smart was a critical factor in its success. Drivers and operators do not want or need an extra level of complexity added to their equipment.

Operator feedback about the Reverse Smart system has been universally positive, with drivers praising the unit for both its performance and practicality, and the fact that it doesn’t require additional maintenance or calibration and doesn’t interfere with their normal operation of the vehicle.

The VicRoads trial also required the operators to complete a Likert Scale Effectiveness and Usability questionnaire about the Reverse Smart AEB system. The operators provided positive feedback to the eleven questions, with all agreeing that ‘…automatic braking technology should be considered for further use across our industry’ and that ‘…in understanding that Reverse Smart could apply the brake, they were more aware when reversing’.

Reference: VicRoads Worksite Safety Update No 133 (April-May 2015)

“Have felt safe while reversing when I know there is foot traffic about”

“I am more cautious when reversing”

“It works like an extra pair of eyes”

COVER STORY


The key to the success of the Reverse Smart system lies within its purpose-designed radar, which not only allows for an accurately focussed detection area, but also overcomes many of the limitations that can be experienced by traditional ultrasonic detection. Davin Hamnett explained:

“Unlike ultrasonic reversing detection - which is a common feature on many passenger vehicles – the Reverse Smart radar system is not affected by vibration or frequency clashes which can result in ‘ghosting’ and false proximity alarms.”

“In addition, the fact that the radar unit is a purpose-built, heavy duty, fully-sealed unit, means that it is unaffected by dust and dirt and is suitable for use in even the harshest operating environments,” he said.

“It’s extremely robust, and maintenance free,” he added. “The driver or operator doesn’t have to change the way they operate the equipment and there are no additional steps required to operate or calibrate the Reverse Smart system once it has been installed.”

“The only driver interaction with the system is when they are intentionally reversing up close to a solid object, in which instance they can press a button to ‘sleep’ the braking function while still maintaining the proximity detection alert,” Davin Hamnett added.

Proven Performance in the FieldAvailable exclusively throughout Australia from safety, traffic control and line marking equipment specialists A1 Roadlines, the Reverse Smart AEB system is already proving popular with Australian equipment owners and operators alike, with outstanding performance both in the field and during a recent VicRoads safety system assessment trial.

The trial, which commenced in mid-February this year, involved a full in-service evaluation of two Reverse Smart AEB units. The first unit was installed on a SprayLine Cover Truck located at a regional depot, while the second was installed on a Road Services Patrol Truck at a Melbourne metropolitan depot.

The trial has been extremely successful in terms of both the units’ performance and operator acceptance of the system. Indeed, drivers have been very supportive of the technology and agree that it benefits their daily work activities and has even helped to increase their awareness and care while reversing.

Not surprisingly, positive feedback from both the VicRoads trial and a series of live demonstrations has resulted in a flood of inquiries and strong demand for the Reverse Smart system from across the road maintenance and construction industry.

For further information, or to arrange a demonstration, please visit: www.reversesmart.com.au or contact:Davin Hamnett, Reverse Smart, Ph: 0419 177 199or A1 Roadlines Pty Ltd, Ph:1300 217 623 (1300 A1ROAD)

WHY THE NEED FOR AEB DEVICES?The Victorian Transport Accident Commission (TAC) ran a campaign in regards to the benefits of AEB (Automatic Emergency Braking) devices, which highlighted the need for engineering controls to assist in the reduction of vehicle-based accidents. This is primarily due to the fact that traditional reversing aid devices such as ultrasonic rear sensors and reversing cameras are reliant on the driver’s reaction to an external stimulus to avoid an impact event.

Needless to say, these concerns are multiplied with heavy vehicles and large mobile equipment, especially in operating conditions such as those experienced in the road construction / maintenance industries where workers are often in close proximity to heavy mobile equipment.

The Reverse Smart AEB system has been specifically designed to address these issues, significantly reducing the risk of an impact injury.

Pictured: (Opposite) The purpose-designed Reverse Smart radar system is not affected by vibration or frequency clashes which can result in ‘ghosting’ and false proximity alarms. (Above) The in-cabin indicator features a ‘sleep’ mode button, which ‘sleeps’ the braking function when intentionally reversing up to a solid object

COVER STORY


I’m locked into a contract… Or am I?Many businesses enter into a contract with their electricity

retailer. The term ‘contract’ suggests a very permanent arrangement, however, the reality is that the contract is more a commitment of what rates a retailer will offer for the term of the agreement. Often what deters a consumer from terminating a contract is an exit fee, however exit fees usually represent a small fraction of potential savings, that’s if there are actually any exit fees - many contracts have no termination fee at all.

• In Victoria, the average exit fee is approximately $20• In NSW early termination fees are capped at $130 in the

first year of a contract, and $45 outside the first year of acontract

• In SA the average early termination fee is $100

I run a business so I need a reliable power supply, am I better off going with the big providers?

One of the biggest myths in the electricity industry is the idea that bigger power companies will provide a more reliable power supply. This is not true. All power companies use the same poles and wires, and are buying power from the same wholesale energy market. This myth developed from the telecommunications industry, which saw larger providers delivering superior phone coverage and utilising their own cables to deliver a better service. There is no discrepancy in service quality in the energy industry as the poles and wires which deliver electricity to your business are run by distribution networks which are not affiliated with energy retailers.

My retailer offered me a 30% discount!... 30% off what?A marketing technique which blurs the lines of savings

you may (or may not) be making is to offer consumers a big discount. When retailers refer to a discount, they are referring to a discount or % off what is known as their ‘standing offer’. A standing offer is a generic rate that retailers publish but very few customers are actually on ‘standing offer’ rates as these are typically expensive rates and would cause most customers to shop around, or ask for better rates. In VIC 25% of customers are on standing rates*; In NSW 37% of customers

are on standing rates; And in SA only 17% of customers are on standing rates**.

This term ‘discount’ is very appealing, but it is important to understand that a 30% discount does not translate to 30% reduction on your bill, nor does it translate to 30% cheaper than other retailers. It may simply be a 30% discount of the retailers’ most expensive rate. To accurately compare savings you need to compare the rates per kWH (both peak and off-peak), the service to property charges and any other applicable fees. Don’t be blinded by the ‘discount’.

BlueNRG: The right alternative for your businessBlueNRG is an Australian owned and operated business-only

electricity retailer. BlueNRG’s key focus is on cutting the cost of energy for businesses. This is achieved through an innovative and transparent approach to electricity retailing. No ‘discount’ rates, no hidden charges – the rate you see is the rate you pay.

Shopping around for the lowest rates is a simple way to cut costs, but it is not necessarily the most effective. Technology continues to create more ways to reduce your energy expenditure by increasing your energy efficiency and reducing your overall energy usage.

BlueNRG CEO, Julian Taylor, says adopting this technology is an excellent solution for businesses truly committed to cutting their energy costs, and BlueNRG is able to support businesses considering this path.

“BlueNRG is not burdened by fossil-fuel electricity generation assets, which puts us in an ideal position to embrace renewable technology and support businesses in reducing their electricity costs by increasing their energy efficiency.

“We are currently expanding our product offering and in addition to our competitive rates, we will soon be supporting businesses in achieving energy independence through energy efficient products such as LED lighting, solar systems and power factor correction devices and affordable storage solutions,” Julian says.

For further information on BlueNRG please visit : www.bluenrg.com.au or call 1300 355 755.

* Source: AEMC – 2014 Retail Competition Review – Final Report, page 153** Source: Australian Energy Regulator: Annual report on the performance of the retail

energy market 2013-14, page 7

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Take control of your business energy costs

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At BlueNRG, we specialise in energy for business - and it's a simple and quick process to see how much you could save.

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Rest assured, we use the same poles, same wires and provide the same power as your current retailer.

Phone 1300 355 755www.bluenrg.com.au

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ASPHALT IN FOCUS

Pennant Hills A5E and A15E binder trial assessment updatePennant Hills Road in Sydney is a major

north-south arterial road constructed with a concrete substructure. It is

heavily congested in the morning and evening peaks, and also services a high level of heavy truck traffic.

The road showed signs of underlying slab rocking resulting in pavement cracking above some of the concrete joints. Some rutting had also occurred due to the channelised nature of the heavy traffic.

In early 2013, a section of the road underwent a mill-and-resheet process that trialled the assessment of the new polymer modified binder, A5E, against an A15E control.

The Standard A15E binder uses a nominal 5% SBS, plus combing oil, to modify a C170 bitumen. The A5E binder uses 7.5% of Kraton’s D0243 in a harder AR450 bitumen and it does not require combining oil. The asphalt was a dense grade AC14 heavy duty asphalt.

The trial, undertaken by Downer, was carried out on the northbound carriageway of Pennant Hills Road and involved four sections;• Section one involved Downer milling 60

metres of all three lanes to 50mm. This was replaced with 50mm of asphalt with the A15E binder on one-and-a-half lanes, and the A5E binder on the other one-and-a-half lanes alongside.

• Section two involved milling and paving 70 metres of the middle lane, which carries mostly heavy vehicle traffic, to a depth of 50mm with 50 mm of asphalt with the A5E binder.

• Section three involved milling and paving 70 metres of the middle lane to a depth of 100mm, replaced with asphalt containing the A5E binder.

• The fourth and last 70 metre section of the middle lane was milled to 50mm, and filled with conventional asphalt with the A15E binder.Warren Carter, National Technical Manager

for Downer, said the same aggregate grading was used in the asphalt for the trial with the two binders.

“Downer elected to trial the binders in a real-life demonstration on a well-used traffic corridor like Pennant Hills Road rather than performing laboratory assessments to test the performance of the binder mix,” said Mr Carter.

“The section of Pennant Hills Road used in the trial has seen significant issues over the years due to the high and heavy traffic use – it is perfect for us to run this binder trial on asphalt that continues to be driven to its limits with use.”

“The trial demonstrated that the performance of the binders was comparable after two years in our assessment.”

Mr Carter said the similarity of the performance of the binders at this early stage was not surprising but this was a long term evaluation.

“We will, over the next 10 years, continue to regularly assess the trial sections of Pennant Hills Road to understand the longer term performance of both binder products,” said Mr Carter.

KEY FINDINGThe Downer trial demonstrates that after two years both the A5E and A15E binder products performed comparably.

“Since the trial, we have found that the newer A5E binder can be used in many applications. Whilst we used it in a straight wearing course, the binder has also been evaluated in full depth applications at the NCAT Pavement Test Track in the American state of Alabama and has shown good performance under accelerated loading conditions.”

Mr Carter said the A15E binder was currently being used more broadly for roads that carried heavy traffic in Sydney.

“In the future we may find that the A5E’s claimed extra performance characteristics lend themselves to very high stress areas, justifying the nominal binder premium from a whole-of-life perspective.”

ASPHALT IN FOCUS


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Performance Evaluation of Stone Mastic Asphalt and Hot Mix Asphalt Mixtures Containing Recycled Concrete Aggregate

ABSTRACTEnvironmental and economic considerations have encouraged civil engineers to find ways to reuse recycled materials in new constructions. The current paper presents an experimental research on the possibility of utilizing recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) in stone mastic asphalt (SMA) and hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures.

Three categories of RCA in various percentages were mixed with virgin granite aggregates to produce SMA and HMA specimens. The obtained results indicated that, regardless of the RCA particular sizes, the use of RCA to replace virgin aggregates increased the needed binder content in the asphalt mixtures.

Moreover, it was found that even though the volumetric and mechanical properties of the asphalt mixtures are highly affected by the sizes and percentages of the RCA but, based on the demands of the project and traffic

volume, utilizing specific amounts of RCA in both types of mixtures could easily satisfy the standard requirements.

INTRODUCTIONIn recent years, many studies have been carried out on the use of construction and demolition (C&D) wastes in developed countries. The most considerable interest is the reuse of waste materials in new construction sectors.

It is the intention of scientists and researchers, as well as people in authority, to explore waste material recycling for environmental and economic advantages and also the possibility of solid waste reuse in road construction.

Reusing waste material is one of the many ways to solve the problem of excess solid waste materials in industrial and urban areas. It can make significant contributions to the environment and the economy, such as reducing the overuse of natural resources and saving them from exhaustion, reducing the environmental pollution levels from waste materials generated in urban and industrial areas, and contributing to savings in energy and money.

Therefore, in order to reduce their negative impacts on the environment, it is logical to reuse these waste materials in engineering and industrial applications.

Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is produced by crushing demolished concrete structures such as buildings, bridges, and dams. RCAs were initially used as filler

materials and, based on previous researches; it could be used as road sub-base materials and in non-structural concrete applications such as curbs, canal lining, driveways, and footpaths.

Waste materials to be used in pavement constructions can come from different sources, including demolition of civil engineering structures and industrial wastes. These materials are mostly classified based on their resources like industrial by-products (steel slag and coal fly ash), demolition by-products (concrete, tiles, and bricks), and road by-products such as RAP (recycled asphalt pavements) or RCP (recycled concrete pavements).

Concrete is the most basic construction material all around the world, which essentially consists of aggregates (sand, crushed stone, or gravel), cement, and water. Environmental and economic considerations have encouraged governments to find ways to use recycled materials in new productions.

When the concrete structure is demolished, repaired or renewed, recycling is an increasingly common method of reusing the rubble concretes. On the other hand, in recent years, the knowledge of continued wholesale extraction and use of aggregates from natural resources have been questioned at the international level. This is the result of the depletion of quality primary aggregates and greater awareness on environmental protection.

Moreover, the availability of natural resources for future generations has also been considered as an important issue.

This article is based on extracts from a paper

prepared by Mohammad Saeed Pourtahmasb and

Mohamed Rehan Karim of the Department of Civil

Engineering, Center for Transportation Research,

Faculty of Engineering, at the University

of Malaya. The article was first published

in September 2014 by Hindawi Publishing

Corporation. Highway Engineering Australia has

utilised extracts because of space limitations and

the complete presentation can be found at http://

www.hindawi.com/journals/amse/2014/863148/

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USE OF RCA IN ASPHALT MIXTURESWaste material from demolished concrete structures is one of the largest wastes in the entire world. For example, this amount of waste in Europe is around 180 million tons per year or 480 kg per capita per year. These ranges are from over 700 kg per person in a year in Germany and the Netherlands, and 500 in UK to almost 200 in Greece, Sweden, and Ireland.

Therefore, concrete waste has become a global concern that requires a sustainable solution.

Recent studies on RCAs have shown the acceptable potential to produce strong and durable materials for HMA pavements. However, the amount of fine RCA should not exceed more than 30 percent of the fine aggregate portion of the pavement mixtures. This is because as the fine RCA increases, the density will be decreased due to higher mortar in fines which causes higher water absorption in the mixture.

In 2003, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) proved the acceptable performance of RCA in base and sub-base materials of roads which, not only significantly reduce the costs, but also have many environmental benefits. In latter investigation, in 2004, California Department of Transportation (Cal-trans) discovered that even though the RCA collection start-ups costs are high, in general, overhead costs are significantly reduced.

Recycled concrete aggregates are different from virgin aggregates due to the amount of cement pastes remaining on the surface of the recycled aggregates after undergoing the recycling process. The presence of cement paste increases the porosity of the aggregates, reduces the particle density, and thus affects the quality and water absorption capacity of the RCA. Therefore, utilizing RCA in hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures affected the volumetric properties and performance of HMA mixtures.

In a joint experiment, Paranavithana and Mohajerani performed experiments on the effects of recycled concrete aggregates on the properties of HMA, in which 50% RCA by dry weight of total aggregates was used as coarse aggregate in the asphalt mixtures.

The performance tests carried out on these mixes showed that using RCA in HMA mixtures lowered the resilient modulus and creep resistance of the mix, and increased the stripping potential of them. In addition, the mixes containing RCA showed large variations in strength under dry and wet conditions.

In 2007, Wong et al. studied the utilization of RCA as a partial aggregate substitution in HMA. Three HMA mixes were included in the study by substituting granite filler/fines with 6% untreated, 45% untreated, and 45% heat-treated recycled concrete, respectively. All three mixes passed the wearing course criteria specified by the Singapore Land Transport Authority (SLTA), based on the Marshall mix design method.

The performance tests on the mix with 6% RCA showed comparable resilient modulus and creep resistance to those of the traditional HMA mix. The mixes with the higher percentage of RCA showed higher resilient modulus and resistance to creep.

Another research was conducted by Topal et al. who studied the use of recycled concrete aggregates in hot mix asphalt. They found that RCA can substitute HMA aggregates and achieve the required Marshall stability (MS) and indirect tensile strength (IDT) of the mixtures.

The test results indicated that the Marshall stability values increased with the increase of RCA in the mix. However, the voids in mineral aggregate (VMA) and the voids filled with asphalt (VFA) decreased with the increase in RCA content. This was believed to be due to crushing of RCA by the Marshall compactor during compaction.

The tensile strength of the mix containing RCA was found to be higher than that of the control mix as the internal friction of RCA was higher than that of natural limestone aggregates. Eventually, RCA was not recommended to be used in the wearing course due to RCA’s susceptibility to abrasion by vehicles.

Mills-Beale and You investigated the feasibility of using RCA for a low-volume traffic road in Michigan, with 25%, 35%, 50%, and 75% of virgin aggregates by the weight of total aggregates substituted with RCA. It was found that increasing the RCA’s content decreased the VMA and VFA of the mixes.

The laboratory test results indicated that all the four mixes containing RCA passed the minimum rutting specification of 0.32 inch rut depth. Dynamic modulus test results showed that the stiffness of the mixtures containing RCA was less than control mix, but using RCA in HMA mixtures reduced the energy needed for compaction. In terms of moisture susceptibility, all the mixes (except 75% RCA mix) passed the tensile strength ratio (TSR) of 80%.

Based on the literatures, limited studies have been carried out on the usage of RCA in dense-graded (DG) asphalt mixtures. However, due to the success obtained by using RCA in HMA, it appears that there is a need to evaluate the use of RCA in stone mastic asphalt (SMA) mixtures as well.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Marshall Tests - Density and Air Voids TestsFigure 3 displays the results of comparison between the influence of RCA on the density and VTM (voids in total mix) values of SMA and HMA specimens. The measured density values of SMA and HMA mixtures containing 100% virgin granite aggregates (VA) were 2.314 and 2.438 kg/cm3.

Test results indicated that the density values of SMA and HMA mixtures decreased with increasing RCA content due to the lower specific gravity and density of RCA (compared to granite), except 20 and 40% F-RCA-SMA in which density values slightly increased.

Figure 3: (a) Density of SMA specimens. (b) Air voids of SMA specimens. (c) Density of HMA specimens. (d) Air voids of HMA specimens.

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ASPHALT IN FOCUS

In terms of air voids, the SMA and HMA specimens were produced and compacted with the target of 4% VTM content.

The calculated VTM values indicated that, regardless of the RCA content in the SMA and HMA asphalt mixtures, the air voids could be easily controlled. SMA specimens containing 80% C-RCA and 80% M-RCA showed slightly higher VTM values compared to the other asphalt specimens which could be due to the breaking of the C-RCA during compaction.

Marshall Stability and Flow TestsRegardless of the amount of RCA content in asphalt mixtures, the Marshall stability (MS) values of the HMA specimens were found considerably higher than SMA specimens due to its dense gradation of the aggregates.

The calculated Marshall stability (MS) values for SMA and HMA mixtures containing 100% VA were 10.63 and 14.63 KN.

Figure 4 displays the MS and flow values of SMA and HMA mixtures containing different percentages of RCA content. Test results indicated that 20% and 40% F-RCA could increase the MS values of SMA mixtures up to 10.66 and 10.77 KN.

Flow values in both types of asphalt mixtures slightly increased with increasing RCA content, but at 80% C-RCA and M-RCA in the SMA, and 80% F-RCA and M-RCA in the HMA specimens the flow values increased significantly.

According to the Asphalt Institute (AI), the minimum stability values of SMA and HMA are expected to be 6.2 and 9 KN. The influence of F-RCA in SMA and C-RCA in HMA mixtures was not too much considerable, but as the amount of C-RCA and M-RCA in SMA mixtures increased to 80%, the stability values decreased to 5.23 and 5.77 KN which are below the AI specification.

In HMA mixtures, almost all the specimens performed the acceptable values in terms of stability except for 80% F-RCA and M-RCA in which the stability decreased to 7.91 and 8.4 KN, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSThis paper has presented some of the experimental results obtained from the influence of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) on the performance of stone mastic asphalt (SMA) and hot mix asphalt (HMA) and the following conclusions are obtained.

(i)The attached excessive cements to the surface of the RCA could increase the

bitumen absorption in the asphalt mixtures and reduce the adhesion between RCA and binder. During the experimental tests it was found that submerging and washing RCA before being utilized in the asphalt mixture could considerably increase the performance of the HMA and SMA mixtures.

(ii)RCA has a porous structure, with lower specific gravity and higher absorption in comparison with virgin aggregates. While the amounts of coarse aggregates are considerably higher in SMA mixtures, any replacement of VA coarse aggregates with C-RCA can highly affect the mixture performance due to lower density and C-RCA fracture under pressure.

Moreover, in HMA, due to higher amount of fines compared to coarse aggregates, any replacement of VA fines with F-RCA causes a higher demand of asphalt contents and reduces the density values of the mixtures, which affect the HMA performance.

(iii)The technical basis of SMA is a stone skeleton with stone-on-stone contact which resists the shear forces created by applied loads and results in higher resistance to rutting.

Regardless of the RCA sizes, the growth trend of rut depth and rut rate values in the asphalt mixtures containing 20 and 40% RCA is considerably lower than 60 and 80% and as the level of RCA increased up to 60 and 80%, the level of rut resistance reduction became more significant.

(iv)Even though utilizing RCA in asphalt mixtures could affect the volumetric and mechanical properties of the mixtures, but based on the demands of the project and traffic volume, using specific amounts of RCA in SMA and HMA mixtures can easily satisfy the standard requirements.

These findings can promote the reuse and recycling of waste materials, especially RCA, in pavement industries to generate economic and environmental benefits in the future.

Figure 4: (a) Stability of SMA specimens. (b) Flow of SMA specimens. (c) Stability of HMA specimens. (d) Flow of HMA specimens.

According to the Asphalt Institute (AI), the minimum stability values of SMA and HMA are expected to be 6.2 and 9 KN. The influence of F-RCA in SMA and C-RCA in HMA mixtures was not too much considerable, but as the amount of C-RCA and M-RCA in SMA mixtures increased to 80%, the stability values decreased to 5.23 and 5.77 KN which are below the AI specification.


Campbelltown City Council, in Adelaide’s north eastern suburbs, took the initiative to engage ARRB

Group when staff expressed concern that as the road network aged, simultaneous road failures could place significant pressure on the council’s limited works program.

For a number of years, the City of Campbelltown has been utilising its Pavement Management System (PMS) as part of the Infrastructure Asset Management Plan (IAMP) to determine its road renewal program.

This system utilises the surface modelling module to determine the condition and treatment based on visual assessment. A visual inspection is conducted every five years.

In 2012, the City of Campbelltown adopted the Structural Testing Evaluation of Pavements or STEP system as an additional tool in its PMS to refine the selection of maintenance treatment options for its local road network.

The same year, ARRB presented its Structural Testing Evaluation of Pavements (STEP) and the council decided to adopt the system as an additional tool in its PMS to refine the selection of maintenance treatment options for its local road network. As part of the adoption, council decided to go ahead with a trial on two of its residential roads.

The STEP SystemThe STEP system analyses data collected from a Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) to find out what condition the pavement is currently in, how it is likely to be affected by heat and moisture in different seasons, and gives an estimate of the asset’s remaining life based on known traffic volumes.

Another benefit of the STEP system is that it helps asset owners assess whether an existing road could carry extra traffic, should a diversion from another road be required.

“STEP delivers a ground breaking capability to distinguish the strength of the road using simplified images which give clear indications of which portions of the road are strong and which portions require structural work,” said ARRB Principal Research Engineer, Asset Management Jon Roberts.

“The road agency or council is then able to determine where to resurface a road and where to carry out a structural pavement treatment.”

The STEP system was developed on the NSW road network and, prior to the trial, had not been used on local roads to review treatment selection. Across Australia today, 14 local governments and two state road authorities currently use STEP.

The trialCampbelltown worked with ARRB to trial the STEP system on streets identified as part of the 2012/2013 Capital Renewal Program. The two roads, Melaleuca Drive and Clairville Road, were identified as requiring major road renewal and were assessed using the STEP system.

CLAIRVILLE ROADVisible: Significant evidence of rutting, crocodile cracking and some disintegration.STEP:• Overall base in good condition• CBR typically 70% • Isolated soft spot 40% • Remaining life: generally 50 years, except

for isolated spot where only two years left.Work carried out: Staff only used deep structural works at identified weak areas (between 26 to 126 and Chainage 225 to 375) and reshape and resurface with 50mm hot mix.Original budget: $405,000 Actual amount spent: $292,500

MALALEUCA DRIVEVisible: Evidence of crocodile cracking, rutting on the road surface. STEP:• Good CBR, typical 70%• Low modulus of less than 1000 MPA for

its asphalt surface• Remaining life: 75 yearsWork carried out: Originally staff had intended to remove up to 230mm of base material with 30mm of hot mix required, but following the STEP review, they changed the treatment to 50mm and re-laid the hot mix.

Original budget: $197,000Actual amount spent: $65,000

Council made a total saving of $244,500 on its roads as a result of the STEP trial. By integrating this work into its asset management plans, it has been able to maximise the use of limited budgets and therefore provide better value for money to the community.

In addition, by ensuring that a more accurate works program is developed, council has been able to reduce its risk and ensure that it is undertaking the right treatment at the right place at the right time. This will eventually allow staff to stretch the dollar further and improve council’s long-term asset sustainability levels.

Staff have now included STEP analysis as part of their IAMP practices and have completed the capital renewal program for the next three years in advance.

Excellence Awards 2014Campbelltown City Council won top prize in the ‘Asset Management Projects Category’ at IPWEA SA’s annual South Australian Excellence Awards in 2014 for the project.

Council’s General Manager of Infrastructure Services, Andrian Wiguna, praised the partnership with ARRB on the STEP project.

“The system has enabled the council to determine the best financial treatment of its ageing road network.This has led to cost savings, less interruption to the impacted residents and a reduction in C02 emissions.”

“Winning the IPWEA SA award demonstrated the effective teamwork of ARRB’s innovative technology with the forward-looking Campbelltown Council to produce practical cost saving solutions, using approaches which will be readily applicable for the benefit of the wider road-owning community,” said Roberts.

Article and photos courtesy of IPWEA

Campbelltown’s successful trial of ARRB’s STEP systemTrial leads to adoption by councils across South Australia and beyond.

BEFORE BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER


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PAVING ON THE WIDE-OPEN INTERSTATELONGITUDINAL JOINTS ELIMINATEDMaterials and trucks were in short supply on the paving of Interstate I-95 near Island Falls, a town of 600 in eastern Maine. Challenges were not.

The project featured:• wide-width paving to eliminate

longitudinal joints;• the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement

(RAP) as a structural layer;• a location so remote the job ended at the

Canadian border; and• a tight deadline, combined with the

second wettest summer in state history.But Lane Construction came through, in

part because of its plan or, rather, plans. “We had a plan A, a plan B and a plan C,” said Cecil Dillon, project superintendent. “There always was a backup plan.”

Preparation included equipment, training and staging. It also meant ensuring the right people were in place, a list that includes Mr Dillon, a lane paving specialist from North Carolina who temporarily relocated to Maine to oversee the project.

The ProjectThe work was ambitious, to say the least. A 16 kilometre (10 mile) stretch of the northbound interstate was closed for two months. Plans called for milling 228 mm (9 in.) of existing asphalt, fine-grading of the subgrade, and then placing and compacting 584 mm (23 in.) of dense-grade aggregate. Next came crushing and placing 76 mm (3 in.) of RAP, followed by a 76 mm (3 in.) lift of rich asphalt.

Two 51 mm (2 in.) lifts of asphalt with a stone size of 3 mm (1/8 in.) were placed on top, at a width of 7.6 m (25 ft.).

Logistical challenges that resulted from the remote location were further complicated by the weather, but Lane Construction still managed to finish 12 days ahead of schedule.

PavingLane is a large company – it does business in 20 states. Its knowledge, resources and staff were leveraged to ensure success.

“Planning started two months before the first shovel was put into the ground,” Mr Dillon said.

“It was a moving jigsaw puzzle, and we had the pieces. We had an excellent workforce, and we utilised a paver capable of pulling two travel lanes at once.”

The planning included adjustments, such as constant monitoring and communication about the weather, and implementation of a wide-width paver. Schedules also were thoroughly planned. The paving shift was 10 hours. Offset schedules for those doing prep work meant crew members were on-site for as much as 14 hours per day, six days per week.

Those hours had to be productive when it was time to pave.

“We were using the 1055E, a Cat paver with an extra wide, 25 ft. (7.6 m) screed, that would allow us to do two lanes at once,” said Ken Blakely, Lane’s mechanical supervisor for the state of Maine.

“We were going to be paving in an area where frost heaves cause a lot of damage, and the extra-wide screed on the 1055E would eliminate the central longitudinal seam where water seeps in.”


The Lane team was pleased with the Cat AP1055E and the way the machine proved itself on the job. “The performance of the wide, 25 ft. (7.6 m) paver; I believe there is a comfort level now that wasn’t previously there,” Mr Dillon said.

Other factors that had contributed to the project’s difficulty were the long distances to the asphalt plant and the remote location.

“Trucking was an issue,” Mr Dillon said. “There were not enough trucks available in that area so we brought them from all over, and there were no silos at the plant for storage so we had to plan the trucking perfectly to ensure we were able to keep the plant running while not having trucks waiting idle.”

The tight truck timing helped ensure mix was promptly placed, which in turn, helped prevent segregation. Continuous movement was another effort in the attempt to fight

segregation. “There was a constant flow of material,” said Mr Dillon.

RAP SuccessRAP is not commonly used as a lift on top of the dense-graded material.

“The DOT proposed it because it’s green and because it was available,” Mr Dillon said. Aggregate, like trucks, was in short supply because of the remote location. The RAP used on the Island Falls job was removed during milling, crushed to a 25 mm (1 in.) sieve size and then placed on the dense-graded material.

The RAP exceeded expectations. “After the first half mile we realised that it was going to work really well and, actually, we will propose the use of it on other jobs.”

For further enquiries go to trackpads.com.au or phone 1300 669 294.

“It was a moving jigsaw puzzle, and we had the pieces. We had an excellent workforce, and we utilised a paver capable of pulling two travel lanes at once.”

ASPHALT IN FOCUS


SMART DEVELOPMENTS IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION THE NEWEST ADVANCES IN TELEMATICSBy Jeff Winke

The road construction market is dynamic. It continues to evolve and change – due, in part, to technology.

Technology has become interwoven into the means of production and how road construction businesses are run. What technology has done is provide valuable information… real time information, which allows for better decisions to be made. Access to information benefits the road construction contractor in all areas from the heavy-equipment operator to the site superintendent, to the business owner. Large amounts of data can be filtered and selectively used by individuals in their jobs to help them be more effective, productive, and accountable.

The concept of telematics has become a catchall term for much of the information-based developments and systems in the marketplace.

In simple terms, telematics is any integrated use of telecommunications and ICT (information and communications technology). It is seen as the sending, receiving and storing of information via telecommunication devices. Typically, this is in conjunction with machine or device control. Telematics includes GPS (global positioning systems).

Even though the mere transmission of data can be impressive; it is the application of the information, which is truly impressive. The application is where the advances from telematics in construction are occurring. The application part is the software. The software uses the information collected to control production, monitor progress, alert to any problems, and help manage the machine, the project, and the business.

Innovative software has usurped engineered hardware as the definer of the edge in cutting edge. Behind all new remarkable products and machines is the software that operates them. Software development is where systems and solutions that help make the construction contractor more productive, more accurate, and more profitable.

Telematics offers contractors the ability to monitor where their fleet of equipment is currently located, which machines are running, and the level of productivity being achieved. With GPS and 3-D digital site models, machines can grade, compact, mill, and pave with astounding accuracies. Machines can “tell” owners when it’s time for scheduled maintenance and diagnose the cause of

mechanical and hydraulic issues.It’s in this area of diagnostic software where

cutting edge developments are occurring. Remote diagnostics can provide real time data, which can address a contractor’s worse nightmare: a stalled machine.

“We have developed a custom remote diagnostic system for our machines that can address a problem and correct it to maintain the contractor’s productivity,” stated Max Peters, Guardian account manager with Roadtec.

“Our Roadtec Guardian™ Telematics System consists of software, on-machine viewing screens, and wireless signal boosters to send and receive data from the machine.”

Numerous functions, such as engine data and fuel consumption, can be viewed at the machine or on a computer screen from a remote location.

With telematics, construction contractors have access to engine information – a lot of data that can make certain the machine’s engine keeps operating efficiently. The data can tell company personnel if an engine is faltering, how much fuel is being burned, if the engine is idle, how long it’s been idling, and where the engine, i.e., the machine, is located.

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With the emergence of telematics, contractors are experiencing the benefits of technology. Fleet management can help track assets and save time when a need emerges for a piece of heavy equipment that may be sitting idle on the other side of a jobsite or at another location.

Engine diagnostics can prevent costly workflow slow-downs or stoppages. A machine that’s dead on the site not only affects the workflow but can mess up a contractor’s timetable. Missing a deadline can incur penalties and affect the contractor’s ability to move quickly on to other jobs and opportunities.

The engine diagnostics feature of telematics has certainly helped contractors meet the demands of today’s expectations for shorter completion deadlines and slimmer margins. There is little room for errors.

There is a flaw in the most current evolution of the telematics engine diagnostics picture: the tremendous amount of data and benefits are there, if the engine is running. What happens when the engine has stopped?

“We’ve taken the next logical step with telematics and can diagnose why a machine’s engine has stopped. Telematics can tell the contractor that the engine has stopped, where our system tells why,” Mr Peters said.

This technology innovation promises to address the following:• Show why the engine won’t start, such as

a failed neutral switch on a propel joystick or possibly an E-Stop that isn’t activated because a wire is loose. Or perhaps a circuit breaker didn’t “pop”, but failed internally. Additionally, the contractor will be able to see what the battery voltage is when trying to crank the engine.

• Provide a visual guide – so the machine operator, technician, or machine owner can see where the voltage path stops in the circuit under test.

• Create customised fault codes for the machine, not just the engine. With this advance, a contractor can be notified when a steering or grade sensor fails and receive warnings when hydraulic pressures or temperatures are out of spec.

• Educate a new technician who is not familiar with the circuit/system by guiding them directly to the problem.

• Provide access to engine operating data in real time with fault code reporting. The fault codes are decoded and provide the fault description in text, not just an SPN number.Clearly, the ability to troubleshoot and

know why an engine has stopped can help technicians be better prepared to repair and restore a machine back to productivity. In this way, telematics is geared toward increasing jobsite productivity and up-time for business owners, and clearly reflects a continued evolution of the benefits of technology in construction today.

Telematics systems consist of software, on-machine viewing screens, and wireless signal boosters to send and receive data at the machine. Numerous functions such as engine data and fuel consumption can be viewed at the machine, on the owner’s computer screen from a remote location, and by a system provider’s support personnel.

“Let me give you an example of the benefits of having a contractor’s machine connected to our support,” said Mr Peters.

“Our support center received a notice from a milling machine working in Florida reporting that the signal from the left front pulse pickup was lost. A pulse pickup monitors the speed of the hydraulic motors that drive the tracks. On this particular machine, the left front track pulse pickup value showed zero and all other track pulse pickup values were normal.”

Mr Peters continued, “An engineer at our place logged into that machine in Florida and confirmed the condition. The engineer

called the owner of the milling machine and told them, and the customer quickly found a broken wire. The problem was corrected within 30 minutes of the time we received the notice.”

With telematics, it is possible to monitor and troubleshoot everything from the machine’s fuel consumption to engine codes; starting circuits to cutter circuits; and the machine’s propel functions, load controls, hydraulics, steering circuits, and grade and slope settings. Everything can be seen instantly, even the exact location of the machine via GPS.

Help from technical service is only a phone call away. With Roadtec’s Guardian, for instance, technicians are available 24/7. The support staff technicians can see the same machine circuits and systems as live schematics that the contractor sees and can guide them through a fix or do it for them remotely.

Telematics appears to be helping milling and paving customers stay ahead of the technology evolution occurring in road construction today. Telematics innovations appear to offer options that can help contractors control production, monitor progress, be alerted to any problems, and help manage the machine, the project, and their business.

Jeff Winke is a business and construction writer based

in Milwaukee, Wis. His portfolio can be seen at https://

jeffwinke.contently.com.

Astec Australia is a market leader and specialist in providing pavers, shuttle buggies and profiling equipment to the Australian asphalt and pavement industry. The Astec Response Service Promise provides availability of parts and 24/7 access to experienced people; determination to listen and understand a customer’s business; service that adds value to a business and parts pricing that doesn’t incur extra costs for customers. For further information, contact Astec Australia on 1300 278 322.

ASPHALT IN FOCUS


New transport laws to improve road safety

In what the Western Australian Government calls a “milestone for road safety”, it has introduced laws making everyone from company directors to packers and receivers responsible for the safe transport of goods.

The Chain of Responsibility law, which took effect on April 27, covers the transport by road of goods and freight, and will help reduce the number of items falling from moving vehicles.

“In the past, the onus has rested solely on the driver to secure the load,” State Transport Minister, Dean Nalder, said.

“The responsibility now extends to include everyone involved in transporting goods by road.

“When goods fall from a moving vehicle they can damage the road and create serious hazards for road users, so this reform should encourage more attention to securing loads.

“It should also create a more level playing field, making it difficult for those operating outside the law to gain a competitive advantage through overloading.”

The Minister encouraged all parties in the transport and logistics industries to satisfy themselves that their risk management compliance systems were sufficiently robust to meet their obligations under the new law.

“I encourage you to review existing procedures and identify areas that may need attention to prevent a breach of mass, dimension and load restraint requirements.”

The law does not distinguish between types of vehicles, and includes both heavy and light vehicles carrying loads. Consequences of road safety breaches can be far-reaching, with penalties including prosecution and fines.

Midland Highway 10-Year Action Plan

A $500 million plan spanning 10 years has been unveiled by the Federal and Tasmanian Governments to improve the safety of the Midland Highway – a key north-south corridor.

More than 20 (24) upgrades have been identified under the Midland Highway 10-Year Action Plan to improve the safety performance and economic capacity of the highway.

Federal Assistant Minister for Infrastructure, Jamie Briggs, and Tasmania’s Minister for Infrastructure, Rene Hidding,

said the joint investment in the highway was designed to ensure Tasmania’s primary industries could send their products to market more efficiently and take greater advantage of new global trade opportunities.

“Aiming to achieve a minimum 3 star AusRAP safety rating standard for the entire length of the highway will save lives and prevent crashes, which will deliver greater economic outcomes and more certainty for commuters and local business.”

Mr Hidding said while full duplication of the road link remained the long-term goal, the immediate priority was making the highway safer using the AusRAP methodology and known, cost-effective road safety treatments including:• installing successful flexible safety barriers;• introducing wider medians;• removing roadside hazards;• investing in junction upgrades;• widening lanes; and• adding additional overtaking opportunities.

“The first projects under our 10-year Plan have already been delivered,” Mr Briggs and Mr Hidding said.

“Public consultation is now underway for the biggest road project in the Northern Midlands region for many years, the duplication of the Midland Highway between Perth and Breadalbane, with construction programmed to start by the end of 2015.”

The Ministers said other priority projects to start within the next 12 months included:• Bagdad to Mangalore safety improvements

– road widening, property access improvements, extending sealed shoulders and junction upgrades.

• Kempton to Melton Mowbray – road widening to accommodate a flexible safety barrier, extending sealed shoulders and additional overtaking lanes.

• White Lagoon to Mona Vale – alignment upgrades, road widening, a flexible safety barrier, extending sealed shoulders and additional overtaking lanes, and South of Tunbridge Stage 2 – southbound

overtaking lane, road widening, flexible safety barrier and extending sealed shoulders.

Roads to Recovery improves safety on key Brisbane roads

Works are set to commence on the Seventeen Mile Rocks Road project and Stapylton Road upgrade in Brisbane under the $2.1 billion Roads to Recovery program.

The projects will bring about major improvements to Brisbane’s congested traffic network; each day, Seventeen Mile Rocks Road and Stapylton Road handle 23,000 and 16,500 vehicles respectively.

With strong traffic growth expected in coming years, their ability to safely and efficiently move passengers and goods across the city will be essential for Brisbane’s continued economic success.

The intersection of Seventeen Mile Rocks Road and Duporth Road will be widened and have improved road signals installed in a $12.4 million upgrade, removing the dangerous right turn currently at the intersection.

The upgrade will help reduce delays, with local motorists now waiting at the intersection for up to four minutes during peak hour.

The Stapylton Road project will upgrade a 920-metre length of the corridor to four lanes ensuring motorists heading for the Logan Motorway have a clear and efficient run.

Stapylton Road is only two lanes and unable to handle current capacity, let alone any substantial growth in traffic. The upgrade, along with new pedestrian footpaths and on-road cycling lanes, will mean commuters can spend less time in traffic.

Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Graham Quirk, said the extensive upgrades would benefit residents, with both projects set to improve productivity and road safety.

The $16.6 million Stapylton Road project is jointly funded by the Federal Government and Brisbane City Council, with $7.5 million and $9 million committed respectively.

Canberra has committed $5.6 million to the Seventeen Mile Rocks Road upgrade, with the Brisbane City Council committing $6.8 million.

Community consultation on road safety strategy

Victorians have taken part in a community consultation initiative to share their thoughts on key road safety issues to help reduce road trauma and shape a new Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan.

Six community consultation sessions were held across Victoria from 2 June to 21 June to share knowledge about where road trauma was happening and to tap into local knowledge about what is likely to be most effective in reducing death and serious injury.

Minister for Road Safety, Luke Donnellan, said while safety initiatives had reduced road deaths from 1,061 in 1970 to 249 in 2014,

ROAD SAFETY


Ambulance image courtesy of Michael Marston, Department of Community Services

Inviting parties

Don’t miss ARSC2015 - the premier road safety conference for Australia,

New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region.

ARSC2015 combines the Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) Conference, and the Australasian Road Safety Research, Policing and Education Conference (RSRPE) into one event, bringing together over 400 of the region’s leading road safety researchers, practitioners, students and policy makers.

With a theme of Taking Action Together, the conference will feature a strong program of national and international keynote speakers, and oral, poster and symposia presentations, addressing the road safety issues identified in the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety - Road Safety Management, Infrastructure, Safe Vehicles, User Behaviour, and Post-Crash Care – and showcase the latest research, programs and developments in the field.

Who should attend?

ARSC2015 will be an opportunity for all working toward reducing the incidence of road trauma to come together to share knowledge and ideas, and to form networks and new partnerships. The Conference Organising Committee welcomes those from a wide variety of areas including the behavioural sciences, education and training, emergency services, engineering and technology, health and rehabilitation, policing, justice and law enforcement, local, state and federal governments, traffic management and vehicle safety industries.

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Victoria’s position had slipped in recent years when compared with other nations.

Mr Donnellan said in terms of road deaths per 100,000 population, Victoria was behind countries such as Sweden, the United Kingdom and The Netherlands.

“Victoria has been a leader in road safety for decades, but we’re now falling behind. We need to search the world, and our own backyard, for the best ways to reduce road trauma.”

The consultation sessions allowed those taking part to share their thoughts on key focus areas including road features, vulnerable road users and risk taking behaviours, which account for 95 per cent of road deaths in Victoria.

“Locals know best,” Mr Donnellan said. “We want Victorians to tell us what they think about key road safety issues and how we reach our goal of zero deaths and serious injuries.”

Road safety strategy to focus on tourists

The Tasmanian Government will support the development of an evidence-based road safety strategy aimed at international and interstate tourists to improve the state’s reputation as a safer place to visit.

The strategy will be developed by the Road Safety Advisory Council. It will be informed by the council’s report, Investigation of Tourists as Drivers and Motorcycle Riders in Tasmania and Road Safety Interventions.

The strategy is expected to be completed by the end of this year, and will involve awareness campaigns focusing on risk factors.

The council found international and interstate tourists were involved in 131, or about 10 per cent, of the 1249 serious casualty crashes on Tasmanian roads between 2010 and 2014.

State Infrastructure Minister, Rene Hidding, said while the council did not classify this as a road safety problem, it rightly stated that the safety of tourists was important if Tasmania was to be regarded as a safe destination.

Mr Hidding said the report found that tourist crash statistics were different to those for local motorists, with only three per cent involving alcohol as a crash factor compared to 18 per cent of serious injury crashes involving all motorists.

“For international tourists, inexperience, distraction and inattention were listed as crash factors, while for interstate tourists, the

common causes also included excessive speed for the conditions and animals on the road.

“This is why we need to develop an evidence-based road safety strategy in consultation with stakeholders that is aimed at international and interstate tourists, and uses messages that are relevant to the analysis of key crash causes.

“The strategy will build on existing campaigns, such as a prominent billboard recently secured at the gateway to the Launceston Airport that will be used to target tourists and promote safe driving in Tasmania.”

The government is also assessing the most effective and efficient way of delivering traffic signal maintenance services throughout the state. Previous governments outsourced road works, including upgrades and routine maintenance, to the civil construction industry, with government predominantly only providing infrastructure planning and project management.

In 2104, the government received an unsolicited proposal from the Downer Group, a

major provider of infrastructure maintenance services, seeking to contract to deliver traffic signal maintenance services.

Minister Hidding said the Department of State Growth had considered an alternative model of external contracting for delivery of such services, which included consultation with its counterparts across the country.

Traffic signals maintenance is successfully delivered under contract in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

Following its assessment, Mr Hidding said, the department recommended an external contract model of service delivery be pursued through a tender process.

“I accepted that recommendation in-principle, subject to consultation with employees and endorsement by government. A final decision is pending.”

Mr Hidding said the department would provide him with further advice on the matter, including the results of employee consultation, by about the end of June.

Rock netting for iconic Great Ocean Road

Work is being undertaken in south west Victoria to prevent rocks from falling on to the Great Ocean Road between Fairhaven and Lorne.

The work, which is expected to be completed by the end of July, involves clearing existing loose rocks from the cliff face between the two centres and installing wire netting to prevent future rock falls endangering drivers and cyclists.

The work is part of the Federal Government’s commitment to upgrade the Great Ocean Road, which is a major

drawcard for thousands of visitors each year.

Those visitors use the road to visit the region’s beaches and national parks, as well as attractions such as the Twelve Apostles.

The upgrade represents an economic investment. Rock falls can close the Great Ocean Road at times, impacting local businesses as well as residents.

The Federal and Victorian Governments have each committed $25 million towards a package of works on the road.


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CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE IN ROAD SAFETY ENTRIES CLOSE 1 AUGUST: 3M-ACRS ROAD SAFETY AWARD 2015

The 3M-ACRS Diamond Road Safety Award is Australasia’s premier road safety award, recognising exemplary innovation and effectiveness to save lives and injuries on roads.

Last year’s winners were presented by the Governor-General of Australia, His Excellency Sir Peter Cosgrove, and 2015 is set to be an even bigger event.

Now in its 5th year, the award calls for any road safety practitioner from the public or private sectors (including, but not limited to, road engineers, contractors, road safety officers, road safety equipment manufacturers, asset managers, town planners etc.) to submit innovative, cost-effective road safety initiatives/programs which they have recently developed.

The initiatives/programs should stand out from normal practice and deliver significant improvements in road safety for the community.

Road safety affects us all, and 3M is pleased to partner with the Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) which has created an environment where innovative ideas can come together.

Those ideas can be shared, celebrated and, most importantly, replicated in other regions or capacities to make a much bigger impact on road safety.

Since 3M pioneered the world’s first retro-reflective sheeting 75 years ago, it has remained at the leading edge of traffic safety innovation worldwide. This commitment to improving, protecting and saving lives extends beyond its products and technologies.

The grand prizeA team leader from the winning project will receive a trip to the USA to attend the 46th ATSSA Annual Convention & Traffic Expo in Virginia in February 2016. They will then travel to 3M’s Headquarters in St Paul, Minnesota, and visit the company’s Global Innovation Center to learn more about how 3M science is applied to life.

How to enter Visit www.theaustralasianroadsafetyawards.com.au and download your entry form. Entries close 1 August 2015 and winners will be announced at the premier Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC2015) to be held at the Gold Coast from 14-16 October.

The 2014 WinnersIn 2014, the award received a record number of high quality road safety programs that have ultimately made our roads safer.

Judges considered the specific features of the many projects submitted, particularly in terms of innovative thinking and technology, problem-solving and the real benefits in reducing trauma. Cost-effectiveness and transferability to other areas were also key criteria.

Over 250 of Australasia’s foremost road safety professionals and advocates were present to hear the Governor-General make an introductory speech emphasising his support for the work of the College and our supporters and members, in particular, commending us all on our commitment to ending this ‘innocent war on our roads’.

Finalists for the award came from many areas. These included: • new ideas and actions from local and state

government groups; • collaborative programs led by local and

regional police groups; • individuals pursuing specific projects to

reduce risk; • industry associations and transport

companies implementing programs with targets to ensure safe operations;

• news programs; and • specific education for specialist groups.

These are a few examples of the successful projects awarded as Finalists (18 in total) and Highly Commended (3) winners this year.

The winning program was the Amy Gillet Foundation (AGF) which developed a safe cycling environment in Australia through strong community collaborations.

ACRS President, Lauchlan McIntosh AM,

said: “the winner this year, like our previous winners, demonstrates an effective and innovative approach to a complex issue – cycling safety.

“The AGF offers collaborative solutions, with a concept which can be used by other road users. Reducing unnecessary road trauma needs many solutions such as those offered so competently by the AGF. The 3M-ACRS Diamond Awards recognise so many features of such solutions.”

Tracey Gaudry, CEO of the Foundation, said: “it is an honour for the Amy Gillett Foundation to be recognised with the 3M-ACRS Diamond Road Safety Award 2014.

“We are delighted to accept this award for innovation in road safety for Cycle Safe Communities; our online resource that provides bike rider safety campaigns to the community.

“In Australia, we need direct action to improve safety for everyone when they ride their bike; greater awareness and education about how to share roads with people riding bikes can make a tangible difference.

“The recognition of 3M Global and the Australasian College of Road Safety is confirmation that the safety of our community that is embracing bike riding for transport, fitness and leisure, is an important priority,” Ms Gaudry said.

“The 3M-ACRS Diamond Road Safety Award 2014 provides us with an opportunity to share the Amy Gillett Foundation’s work in support of our collective vision for zero road fatalities.”

The team leader from the winning project will travel to the USA to attend and present its project at America’s largest road safety conference in Tampa, Florida, and 3M Headquarters in Minnesota to learn about the company’s innovation in road safety.

Watch the Governor General speech at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJkyQyyJllI

For further information, visit www.australasianroadsafetyconference.com.au or contact the ACRS on (02) 6290 2509.

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ENTER & GET RECOGNISED!Have you or a colleague recently developed a road safety treatment/initiative that stands out beyond traditional activities and delivered improved road safety? You could be the winner! We are looking for entries from any road safety practitioner who works within the Australian private or public sector. Don’t miss out on your chance to win and be recognised!

WHO WILL JUDGE ENTRIESAll entries will be judged by an independent committee of industry representatives, established by the ACRS specifically for this award.

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theaustralasianroadsafetyawards.com.auEntries open 1st May 2015 and close 5pm (EST), 1st August 2015.

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DIAMOND AWARDThe individual Team Leader from the winning project will

RECEIVE a trip to the USA to attend the 46th ATSSA Annual Convention & Traffic Expo at Virginia, USA between the 29th January and 2nd February, 2016 You will also visit 3M head office. This individual will

also present on their winning entry and international trip at the

following ACRS Road Safety Conference in 2016.

ENTRIES OPEN

1st May 2015

Work is almost complete on a series of road safety upgrades along Victoria’s South Gippsland Highway from Todds Road to Ameys Track, Foster.

VicRoads Acting Regional Director, Harvey Dinelli, said the $7.13 million project, which stretches over 33 kilometres of the highway, aimed to reduce the risk and severity of run-off-road crashes.

“Between 2004 and 2010 there were 54 run-off-road crashes on this section of highway, including four fatalities,” Mr Dinelli said.

Works included the removal of hazardous trees that were too close to the road and, over the next twelve months, will include the installation of wire rope safety barriers and new guard fences.

The project will also include upgrades to existing guard fences, signs and line-marking, road shoulder widening and drainage improvement works.

Design of the project coincided with the introduction of the Ezy-Guard Smart guardrail system into the Victoria safety barrier market.

Due to its proven high performance characteristics compared to some of the dated systems on the market, this MASH Test Level 3 system was chosen to mitigate many of the associated safety hazards from such a busy freeway.

Installations included median and verge applications to prevent run off-road vehicles from impacting rigid road side hazards or entering non-recoverable

embankments. These verge installations typically used the energy absorbing ET2000 Plus end-treatments.

Installation was carried out by Fowlers Asphalting Pty. Ltd., one of the leading dedicated installers of road safety barriers in Victoria. Working with the designers, head contractor and installer, Ingal Civil Products, provided the type of quality products and service the industry has come to rely on from Australia’s number one supplier of road safety barriers.

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Brown Hill Keswick Creek Stormwater Project

Government and TasWater to upgrade services

The latest phase of a major stormwater project involving five Adelaide councils was open to community consultation from mid-May until late June.

Members of the public had an opportunity to learn more about and comment on proposed flood mitigation measures for upper Brown Hill Creek during the consultation process.

The Brown Hill Keswick Creek (BHKC) Stormwater Project is a collaborative effort between the catchment councils of Adelaide, Burnside, Mitcham, Unley and West Torrens to mitigate serious flood risks and help safeguard properties across the catchment of Brown Hill and Keswick Creeks.

A Stormwater Management Plan (SMP) to reduce the impact of major flooding across the catchment was developed by the catchment councils and the final (2012) plan,

endorsed by each of the five councils, was approved by the Stormwater Management Authority in February 2013.

A supplementary report (Part B Report), focusing on upper Brown Hill Creek was released in September 2014.

The community consultation focused on the project’s “Part B Report” for upper Brown Hill Creek, which investigated eight flood mitigation options aimed at improving flood protection for homes and properties across the catchment.

All options involve two types of work along upper Brown Hill Creek to reduce the risk of flooding during high stormwater flows:• creek capacity upgrade works in critical

sections to increase the capacity of the creek so it can carry more water; and

• creek rehabilitation works along its full length to assist the flow of water along the

creek and improve its biodiversity.Three of the eight options (Options B1,

B2 and D) were analysed in more detail as these were seen as the most viable and cost effective options.

Of these, the “Creek Capacity Upgrade (Option D)” was identified as the preferred option as it was the most cost effective way of achieving the necessary flood mitigation, and did not require the construction of a dam in upper Brown Hill Creek or high flow bypass culverts through suburban streets, which would be required in the other seven options.

Outcomes of the community consultation process will be reported to the five catchment councils.

Each council will then determine its position and a final recommendation on Part B works will be made to the Stormwater Management Authority.

The Tasmanian Government is working with TasWater to improve water and sewerage services in Tasmania, which are squarely the responsibility of local government, according to Treasurer, Peter Gutwein.

“We have consistently said we believe that TasWater has the capacity to do more to fix the unacceptable problems in our water and sewerage infrastructure.”

Mr Gutwein said TasWater’s balance sheet was strong and could work harder.

“That was the whole reason that a large commercial entity was established in the first place.

“The government expects TasWater will continue to maintain and invest in its assets to ensure that the planned and necessary outcomes in respect to the quality of services are delivered.

“The government’s door is open, however, and we are prepared to discuss any proposal made in good faith to bring forward projects that are of strategic benefit to the state.”

Mr Gutwein said the government had made clear to local government that it was prepared to work with the sector and TasWater to secure Federal funding for key long-term projects where that approach was appropriate.

“The government is committed to continuing to work with TasWater and local government to improve water and sewerage infrastructure and services.”

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PIPE, CULVERT AND TUNNEL MAINTENANCE:REPLACE, REHABILITATE OR DO NOTHING?

Why replace when you can renew? This is a fundamental question facing our utilities, asset owners and transport infrastructure providers as our ageing infrastructure is starting to show signs of stress.

Infrastructure is being put to ever greater demands and critical planned maintenance programs are sidelined in the continual drive for economies, cost savings and budget restrictions.

All pipes, culverts, tunnels and sub-surface access conduits are prone to damage and degradation.

And with the addition of today’s traffic and loading; factors that were never conceived at the time of the original design, planned maintenance programs need to be developed if these assets are to remain intact and serviceable in the years to come.

Regardless of how these structures were originally constructed, like the highway or rail infrastructure they sit under, as much attention needs to be paid to the infrastructure below the surface as above. Regular work is required and, from time to time, major upgrading will be necessary.

The costs of replacing these assets are high. Inevitably new construction causes large scale disruption and interruption to water flow and traffic service, and often carries an unacceptably high carbon footprint which impacts on the environment and community.

Several remedial systems exist in today’s market - they are designed for the small-bore non-man entry market. These are generally classified as flexible linings, but are frequently offered as proxy structural solutions for larger profile culvert and tunnel repairs.

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ITS Pipetech Pty – which operates nationally via offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth – specialises in pipe renewal and culvert renovation throughout Australia and offers several ‘best practice’ technologies to address these issues.

These remediation solutions achieve an acceptable stand-alone structural lining and avoid an open cut replacement option which bypasses many of the conventional issues such as cost, impact on the community, asset uptime and the environment.

ITS Pipetech offers a Cured in Place Pipe relining solution for pipes and culverts up to 1500mm (Berolina) and the reinforced steel and concrete ‘Tunneline’ solution which is designed in accordance with AS5100.2 and has been used extensively under road, rail and under a broad array of general infrastructure.

ITS has been proposing and installing Tunneline as a solution to the ever increasing problem of degenerating and ageing infrastructure issues.

The Tunneline wayTunneline is an innovative reinforced concrete lining technology developed in the UK and used extensively to upgrade and maintain crossings under roads, rail tracks and waterways, as well as for drainage remediation for the past 30 years.

Tunneline is a one pass operation and requires little or no pre-works to stabilise the existing host condition. It is able to line most existing profiles (circular, box, ovoid etc) and will also accommodate vertical and horizontal bends, as well as size and shape transitions within the existing host structures.

It can be used to line all known culvert materials in a size range from 1200 to 9000mm. Tunneline can be designed as a stand-alone structure or as a composite form, where a factor of the existing host tunnel is taken into consideration in the final design.

It is designed to withstand the external ground loading and traffic loads from both road and rail under limit state conditions to AS5100, and can also be designed to cater for internal pressure loading up to 64 Bar where the conduit is used as a transit for pressurised liquids.

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In terms of a comparison to conventional methodology [GRP or PVC/PE systems] Tunneline is a one stage operation and compliant with AS5100 offering quicker, stronger, and more cost effective solutions.

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Agreement signed to widen Citylink-Tulla

An agreement signed between Transurban and the Victorian Government to deliver the CityLink-Tulla Widening Project will save businesses thousands of hours a month in travel time and reduce peak hour travel for families, according to State Roads Minister, Luke Donnellan.

The CityLink-Tullamarine corridor is one of the most heavily congested roads in Melbourne with 210,000 vehicles using it each day.

The $1.3 billion, 24 kilometre upgrade will stretch from Power Street in Southbank to Melbourne Airport.

“We’re widening this congested freeway from the foot of the CBD to the front door of the terminal,” Mr Donnellan said.

The project includes a new bridge over the freeway at Bell Street, major improvements to the English Street interchange and the widening of the entry ramp from the Bolte Bridge to the West Gate Freeway.

The project will be delivered in two sections, with Melbourne Airport to Bulla Road managed by VicRoads and Bulla Road to Power Street managed by Transurban.

The agreement between the government and Transurban will mean less disruption for motorists, with major works confined to night periods. The project is expected to create 1400 direct and indirect jobs.

“On average, drivers will save 16 minutes in the morning peak and 17 minutes in the afternoon peak,” Mr Donnellan said.

“If you’re flying interstate for business in the morning and coming back in the evening, our upgrade will save you over half-an-hour on the road.”

Since the agreement was signed, the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments have called for expressions of interest for the airport end of the project – an eight kilometre section from Bulla Road to the airport.

The process will shortlist suitable, experienced construction companies ahead of the formal tender process expected to commence mid-year.

The work will add new traffic lanes, upgrade key interchanges and introduce a freeway management system including ramp signalling and variable messaging signs.

The Australian Government is contributing $200 million and the Victorian Government is contributing $72.8 million towards the widening of the Tullamarine Freeway.

Major construction is due to start in October 2015 and is scheduled for completion in 2018.

Toowoomba Second Range Crossing on track

An announcement is due to be made shortly on the preferred bidder for the $1.6 billion Toowoomba Second Range Crossing project, funded on an 80:20 basis by the Federal and Queensland Governments.

The Federal Government’s funding commitment is the largest single contribution to a Queensland road project since Federation.

The successful bidder will construct, operate and maintain the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing in a 25-year public-private partnership.

Bids from the three shortlisted consortia – Nexus, RangeConnect and RangeLink – have been evaluated by specialists from Queensland Treasury and Transport and Main Roads.

Preparatory works are underway along the corridor of the Second Range Crossing, with some fencing and cultural heritage assessments already underway.

Once completed, the project will provide commercial and heavy vehicles with an alternative crossing of the range to the north of Toowoomba. It will reduce travel times and remove heavy vehicles from the city streets, and will generate 1,800 direct jobs during the three-year construction period.

Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss, said the “game-changing” project was a vital piece of infrastructure which would support the Australian economy and the development of regional Queensland.

“This project will deliver significant economic benefits to the region and the wider state economy, as well as improve safety and efficiency for all motorists, including heavy vehicles,” Mr Truss said.

Funding to complete M80 upgrade

The upgrade of Melbourne’s M80 Ring Road will be completed following the decision of the Federal Government to commit $150 million to the project.

The funding – announced on 29 May – matches $150 million allocated for the upgrade by the Victorian Government.

The M80 Ring Road is Melbourne’s second busiest freeway – more than 330 people have been injured on the M80 in the past five years.

Victoria’s Premier, Daniel Andrews, said the Ring Road was at breaking point, causing delays, hassle and congestion for motorists in Melbourne’s West.

“This project will ease congestion and cut travel times for the 160,000 drivers using the freeway every day.

“The Victorian Government will continue to work cooperatively with the Commonwealth to deliver infrastructure projects that Victorians need.”

The focus of the upgrade will be on the M80 between the EJ Whitten Bridge and the Calder Freeway. It will widen the road and install traffic management equipment, which will ease congestion and improve safety along the 1.2 kilometre section of freeway.

As part of the work, the EJ Whitten Bridge will be widened, creating extra traffic lanes across the bridge, while the existing structures will be upgraded and strengthened.

The Sunshine Avenue interchange will be improved and widened to allow more traffic to enter and exit the freeway. Ramp signals on the Greensborough-bound entry ramp will be installed to allow traffic to merge safely.

The works will remove the bottleneck at Sunshine Avenue, where the lanes currently merge from four lanes into two, improving travel times and reliability for motorists.

The project will include installation of permanent safety barriers on the bridge. The shared user path along the bridge will also be upgraded to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

Planning activities for the works from the Sunshine Avenue interchange to the Calder Freeway interchange have already been completed and VicRoads will soon be inviting industry to tender.

In announcing the Federal contribution, Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, said the M80 project was shovel-ready, was endorsed by Infrastructure Australia, and was essential to the future operation and linkage to the proposed Western Distributor project or the East West Link.

MAJOR PROJECTS


“On the matter of the Western Distributor proposal, there have been productive discussions between the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments in assessing the merits of this project. It is clear the project has some potential.

Mr Abbott said the Federal Government had asked the Victorian Government to allow Transurban to provide its project proposal and financial business plan to Infrastructure Australia for immediate evaluation.

“This will help both governments make timely and informed decisions on the next steps to ensure we keep building Victoria’s productive capacity.”

The Prime Minister said his government was concerned the Western Distributor proposal was likely to cost motorists in Melbourne’s east to build a road in the city’s west through the extension of current tolls on CityLink and the Monash Freeway.

He said Canberra could not support the proposal without significant benefits to the entire network.

“We would also require a direct financial contribution from the Victorian Government before committing any federal funds.

“Despite the Victorian Government’s disastrous decision to cancel the East West

Link project, the Commonwealth Government stands ready to fund credible, shovel-ready infrastructure proposals in Victoria so we can create jobs and drive economic growth.”

Sydney light rail construction fast approaching

Construction on Sydney’s light rail begins in the second half of 2015 under a plan designed to minimise disruption to commuters, motorists and businesses.

New South Wales Minister for Roads, Duncan Gay, said light rail would transform the city with fast, reliable journeys from Circular Quay through the CBD to south east Sydney’s sporting and entertainment precincts, medical facilities, education and business areas.

Mr Gay said major construction would start at Moore Park in September, with construction beginning on George Street between King and Market Streets in late October.

Measures to help reduce the impact of construction work include:

• staggered construction on a “get-in, get-out” basis to minimise disruption to businesses and residents;

• staged construction across 31 zones with no one zone affected for the entire period; and

• individual CBD construction zones impacted for between eight and 13 months before being handed back for public use.Mr Gay said the government would do

everything possible to alleviate pressure on the city.

“We’re appointing a central body, putting work on hold where we can carry out supporting road upgrades before construction starts,” Mr Gay said.

“We know this is going to be a difficult period of change but we’re Sydney and we’re used to rising to the challenge – I know light rail will be no exception.”

Major construction means excavation works, rebuilding roads and laying tracks. Work will continue on technical fit-out and the construction of individual platforms after this time, but will be confined to narrower corridors and will be significantly less intrusive.

Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout construction as will local vehicle

and emergency vehicle access. East-West crossings of the CBD will also be maintained.

Key dates in the construction timetable: • September 2015, construction access for

Moore Park West Corridor;• October 2015, CBD works start;• January 2016, start of Randwick branch;• February 2016, start of Kingsford branch;• August 2016, start of work in Surry Hills;• September 2016, completion of first

pedestrian zone block in George Street;• May 2017, completion of final pedestrian

zone block in George Street;• September 2017, start of final work zone

along the route (Elizabeth St to Chalmers St);

• September 2017, arrival of light rail vehicles;

• April 2018, completion of major civil construction; ongoing works continue to finalise the installation of electronic systems and construction of platforms; and

• June 2018, testing commences.

Forrestfield-Airport Link shortlist

Three consortia have been shortlisted to go to the next stage of the tender process to design and construct Perth’s $2 billion Forrestfield-Airport Link rail project.

The consortia – JHL JV (John Holland and Leighton Contractors); SI-NRW JV (Salini Impregilo and NRW) and Forrestfield Connect (ACCIONA Infrastructure, BAM International and Ferrovial Agroman) will now have to develop fully costed proposals.

The 8.5 kilometre rail extension will branch off the Midland Line, just east of Bayswater Station. It will feature three stations, Airport West, Consolidated Airport and Forrestfield.

Western Australia’s Transport Minister, Dean Nalder, said the Public Transport Authority (PTA) evaluated five proposals.

“The level of interest in designing and constructing this transformational rail line to Perth’s foothills via the Perth Airport has been high,” Mr Nalder said.

“The five proposals that were submitted were from leading national and international contractors, but only a maximum of three respondents can progress to the next stage.”

A contract will be awarded to the successful bidder in mid-2016, detailed design will begin soon after and construction will start in late 2016.

The first train will operate along the line in 2020.

M1 Motorway upgrade tenders invited

Tenders have been invited for detailed design work on the M1 Pacific Motorway upgrade between the Kariong and Somersby interchanges on the New South Wales Central Coast.

The call for tenders follows completion of the review of environmental factors (REF) for the upgrade – the release of the REF submissions report is another step in delivering the major upgrade.

Members of local communities can access the REF submissions report. The submissions received focused on noise mitigation, design, construction staging and air quality.

The submissions report also highlights additional investigation work and mitigation measures to be carried out by Roads and Maritime Services in future stages of the project.

The eight kilometre section of M1 Pacific Motorway between the Kariong and Somersby interchanges is currently two lanes in each direction.

It is used by through traffic, including long-range freight, as well as traffic accessing the Central Coast.

The proposed upgrade would cater for the expected increase in traffic forecast as a result of predicted growth in the Central Coast, Hunter Region and North Coast, along with greater freight demand.

Detailed design on the project is expected to be completed in late 2016, with the overall upgrade due for completion in 2019.

The motorway is being upgraded under the M1 Productivity Package, which is designed to reduce travel times, improve road freight efficiency and provide for the expected growth of tourism, commuter and freight traffic between Sydney and Newcastle.

Key planks of the package are:• widening the M1 from four lanes to six

between the Kariong and Somersby interchanges;

• upgrading three of the four ramps at the Kariong interchange;

• widening the M1 from four to six lanes between the Tuggerah and Doyalson interchanges; and

• upgrading the M1 Weakleys Drive and John Renshaw Drive intersection.The M1 Productivity Package is valued

at about $400 million and is jointly funded by the Federal and New South Wales governments – the federal contribution is capped at $195.8 million.

Design released for M4 East tunnels

The preferred design has been announced for the M4 East tunnels to run under Parramatta Road - the major east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney.

In addition, the consortium to build the twin tunnels and related connections has been announced. The consortium, comprising Leighton Contractors, Samsung C&T and John Holland, was selected after a five-month tender assessment process.

Motorists driving from Western Sydney will have the option to enter a tunnel east of Homebush Bay Drive emerging near the Bunnings Warehouse on Parramatta Road or on Wattle Street at Haberfield.

Removing thousands of cars and 3,000 trucks off Parramatta Road each day from Homebush to Wattle Street will help to reduce congestion on the historic road corridor.

Traffic congestion is currently costing Sydney $5 billion each year in time delays and lost productivity

The design also includes entry and exit points for the twin tunnels at Concord Road, North Strathfield, allowing local traffic to access the motorway.

New South Wales Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight, Duncan Gay, said with an extra 1.6 million people to call Sydney home within 20 years, WestConnex was desperately needed so the city didn’t come to a grinding halt.

“WestConnex will help provide relief for hundreds of thousands of motorists stuck in gridlock on the M4 and M5 each day,” Mr Gay said.

“We are investing historic levels of funding to build public transport like the $8.3 billion North West Rail Link, but upgrading Sydney’s existing motorway network is vital.

Where possible, WestConnex is being built underground or in reserved road corridors to minimise property acquisitions.

Widening of the M4 between Parramatta and Homebush is underway, with construction on the new M4 East expected to commence

Mid-point for the WestConnex M4 East tunnel - a hockey field in Concord.

MAJOR PROJECTS


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mid-2016. The preferred M4 East design is subject to planning approval with the project due for completion by 2019.

Key design features of the new M4 East and related connections:• Twin tunnels with three lanes in each direction, spanning 5.5

kilometres in length at a height of 5.3 metres.• Motorists can enter and exit the M4 East tunnels at the M4

Motorway at Homebush, Concord Road at North Strathfield, Parramatta Road at Haberfield (near Bunnings Warehouse) and City West Link at Haberfield.

• Significant surface road improvements for local residents at Patterson Street, Concord and Wattle Street, Haberfield, including a new right turn from Wattle Street into Ramsay Street.

• Future proofing with the provision for Stage 3 (Haberfield to St Peters) ramps on Wattle Street, reducing additional long term construction impacts.

• No impact on the heritage listed Yasmar or Ashfield Park.The construction mid-point for the WestConnex M4 East tunnel

project is a hockey field at Concord in Sydney’s inner west – Cintra Park hockey field was chosen as the mid-point because it would reduce residential impact and allow tunnelling in both directions from one location.

It will also eliminate residential property acquisition and provide direct access to Parramatta Road for spoil removal to ensure local streets won’t be affected.

Mr Gay said the field was selected to be the most suitable across all shortlisted tenders.

“The mid-point allows tunnelling work to be carried out in two directions from the one location, towards the M4 Widening at Homebush Bay Drive and towards the end of the M4 East tunnel at Haberfield.”

Work at the midway tunnelling point will occur around 35 metres below the road surface, also limiting impact on nearby residents.

Construction stages for WestConnex are:• Stage one: Widen the M4 from Church Street at Parramatta to

Homebush Bay Drive and extend the M4 via a tunnel under the Parramatta Road corridor to Parramatta Road and City West Link, Haberfield.

• Stage two: Deliver a new M5 that runs from the existing M5 East corridor at Beverly Hills via the tunnel to St Peters.

• Stage three: Join the M4 and M5 corridors in the middle to deliver a motorway tunnel with three lanes in each direction that joins the first two stages.

Early start to Mitchell Freeway extension

The first sod was turned on work for the Mitchell Freeway extension on 20 May – six months earlier than planned.

The $261.4 million project – from Burns Beach Road to Hester Avenue – is part of the Federal Government’s special $499.1 million funding commitment to Western Australia.

Canberra will provide $209.1 million towards the construction. The Western Australian Government will fund the remaining $52.3 million for the project, with construction set to finish in mid-2017.

Leighton Contractors is designing and building the extension. The work includes:• six kilometres of dual lane freeway from Burns Beach Road to

Hester Avenue for north and southbound traffic, with space for an extra lane each way when required;

• extension of Neerabup Road eastwards from Connolly Drive to Wanneroo Road;

• duplication of Hester Avenue from Hidden Valley Retreat to Wanneroo Road;

• interchanges at Burns Beach Road, Neerabup Road and Hester Avenue;

• a path for pedestrians and cyclists, including an overpass at Burns Beach Road;

• pedestrian underpasses at Neerabup Road, Hester Avenue and Currambine train station; and

• works at the Flynn Drive/Wanneroo Road/Neerabup Road intersection.The extension will allow for continued commercial and residential

growth in Perth’s northern suburbs, and support Western Australia’s economy more broadly. It will create more than 100 jobs at the peak of construction.

The Mitchell Freeway links directly to major traffic routes such as Kwinana Freeway, and indirectly to major interstate roads such as the Great Eastern Highway. Upgrading the road will support the efficient movement of goods and people across the city.

The freeway extension will also improve the safety of local roads in suburbs such as Kinross and Currambine, as it will become the better option for traffic from the northern suburbs.

MAJOR PROJECTSMAJOR PROJECTS


Progress on Perth Busport tracked by video

Excavation of the new Perth Busport was 70 per cent complete in early May, with the roof of the complex already installed.

Construction of the $209 million Western Australian Government project is on track for completion in 2016 and a video of the underground project has been made to provide what Transport Minister, Dean Nalder, describes as “an insider’s view” of the busport in Wellington Street.

“This video reveals the progress taking place beneath the city to ensure our public transport system is well placed to cater for demand in the future,” Mr Nalder said.

More than 42,000 cubic metres of soil have been removed from the Perth Busport site and fit-out of the passenger lounge will begin later this year.

Mr Nalder said the project was a key part of the government’s integrated approach to transport planning and had been designed to cater to demand for at least the next 30 years.

“By 2031, there will be 38,500 passenger movements at the busport and it will be used by more than 200 buses an hour at peak - that’s hundreds, if not thousands, of cars off our roads.”

By the time it opens, a project to install real-time tracking software in every Transperth bus will also be complete, meaning passengers will be able to use the Transperth website or app to see exactly when their service will arrive.

“This Government is investing heavily and using modern technology to make public transport more reliable and more attractive now and in the future,” Mr Nalder said.

“Our transport is also getting smarter - the installation of an airport-style Dynamic Stand Management System will allow the new busport to accommodate 50 per cent more bus movements than the old Wellington Street Bus Station.

“As each bus approaches, the system allocates it a stand which is or will soon be vacated. Screens at each entrance and throughout the facility will notify passengers where they can board the newly arrived service.”

North West Rail link tunnelling well on track

Tunnelling on Sydney’s North West Rail Link was more than a third complete in the last week of May as the first of the project’s four tunnel boring machines broke through into the new Showground Station site.

The tunnel boring machines are creating 30 kilometres of tunnels that will deliver the link’s eight new train stations.

When one of the machines, Elizabeth, broke through into the new Showground Station, which is being built underground

Artist’s impression of Showground Station.

MAJOR PROJECTS


at Castle Hill, New South Wales Premier, Mike Baird, and Transport Minister, Andrew Constance, revealed the station’s design.

The station platform will be about 20-25 metres below street level and it will be located next to its namesake, Castle Hill Showground. The location will provide better access to rapid transit services by train for people living, working and visiting the area.

Mr Constance said the North West Rail Link would provide a significant boost to capacity across the rail network.

“From the end of the project at Chatswood, rapid transit services will continue under Sydney Harbour, through new stations in the CBD and west to Bankstown,” Mr Constance said.

The North West Rail Link is ahead of schedule with services to start in the first half of 2019, delivering a train every four minutes in the peak.

Key features of the link: • Tunnelling work involves 30 kilometres of tunnels to be cut by

four tunnel boring machines – it includes twin 15 kilometre tunnels from Bella Vista to Epping, which will be Australia’s longest railway tunnels.

• Eight new stations at Cherrybrook, Castle Hill, Showground, Norwest, Bella Vista, Kellyville, Rouse Hill and Cudgegong Road.

• Existing stations on the Epping to Chatswood Rail Link will remain at Epping, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park and North Ryde, and will be upgraded to rapid transit standard.

• Stations will meet the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, bus and taxi users and provide easy access for people with a disability.

Additional Federal investment in WA road infrastructure

A GST shortfall to be experienced by Western Australia in the 2015-16 financial year has resulted in the Federal Government investing an additional $499 million in key road infrastructure in the state.

Federal Finance Minister, Mathias Cormann, said on 6 May that Western Australia was facing particular challenges at present and the government was committed to ensuring the state could continue to build the infrastructure of the future to boost jobs and growth.

“Our investment will help the people of Western Australia continue to foster the wealth, strength and dynamism upon which our country critically depends,” Senator Cormann said.

The Commonwealth will contribute new funds to the following projects:• Mitchell Freeway upgrade from Burns Beach Road to Hester

Avenue;• Kwinana Freeway – Roe Highway to Russell Road – Widening South

Bound;• NorthLink WA – Swan Valley Bypass Section;• NorthLink WA – Tonkin Highway Grade Separation;• Reid Highway – Malaga Drive Intersection Grade Separation;• Roe Highway – Berkshire Road Grade Separation;• Aubin Grove Train Station Precinct – Traffic Congestion Solution;• Traffic Congestion Management Program; and• Great Eastern Highway – Bilgoman Road to Mundaring.

Senator Cormann said that during discussions about the additional investment, Canberra had encouraged the Western Australian Government to pursue further micro-economic reforms.

“These should include progressing further privatisations, including in relation to ports, the TAB and poles and wires; the abolition of the Potato Marketing Corporation; and further deregulation of trading hours.

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“Western Australia will be able to access significant federal incentive payments towards further investment in job creating economic infrastructure, when re-investing the proceeds of any privatisations into such infrastructure projects,” Senator Cormann said.

Upgrade to Sydney’s rail network eliminates bottleneck

Australia’s freight network has received a major boost with the opening of the $400 million North Strathfield Rail Underpass as part of the Northern Sydney Freight Corridor project.

New South Wales Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Andrew Constance, said the underpass project would play an important role in the growth of Sydney.

Mr Constance said the Main North Line had been identified as a significant bottleneck to freight movements, with delays costing businesses time and money, and the underpass would play a key role in eliminating the delays.

He said investment in the underpass – which opened on 10 June – would allow goods to reach domestic and international markets in a faster and more reliable way, and improve Australia’s competitiveness.

“The New South Wales rail network has a number of significant capacity challenges in coming years, and this project forms part of our investment in ensuring Sydney and Central Coast residents have a fast and reliable rail service.

“It will reduce congestion by grade separating the location at which freight trains cross the path of passenger trains on the Main North Line at Concord West.

“Through the delivery of a grade separated rail line – including a tunnel almost 150 metres long and 3.2 kilometres of new track – this project will provide welcome relief for commuters and motorists alike,” Mr Constance said.

“Within the next 15 years, more than 200,000 yearly heavy vehicle trips will be removed from local roads. It will also have slashed greenhouse gas emissions and reduced the use of diesel fuel by almost 40 million litres each year.”

The $400 million project was jointly funded by the Federal and New South Wales governments, with $316 million and $84 million contributed respectively.

Report card on Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan

Major infrastructure projects across western Sydney are on-track to boost the economy and provide the region with quicker travel times for commuters, according to a progress report on the Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan.

The “report card” covering the first three months of major work undertaken as part of the $3.6 billion plan was released in mid-June by the Federal and New South Wales Governments.

The 10-year Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan will deliver major road infrastructure upgrades to support an integrated transport solution for the region and capitalise on the economic benefits from developing the proposed western Sydney airport at Badgerys Creek.

It provides for improved road transport capacity ahead of future traffic demand, as planned residential and employment development comes online in western and south western Sydney growth centre precincts, and the Broader Western Sydney Employment Area.

Western Sydney is Australia’s third largest economy and, in its own right, would be Australia’s fourth largest city. During the next 20 years, the region is expected to grow from two-to-three million people.

The plan includes:• upgrading The Northern Road

in four stages to a minimum of four lanes between Narellan and the M4 Motorway, South Penrith;

• constructing a new east-west motorway to the proposed airport between the M7 Motorway and The Northern Road, Luddenham;

• upgrading Bringelly Road to a minimum of four lanes between The Northern Road and Camden Valley Way – construction started in January 2015;

• building the Werrington Arterial Road by upgrading Kent Road and Gipps Street to four lanes between the Great Western Highway and at the M4 Motorway,

including two new east facing ramps on the M4 Motorway – construction started March 2015

• a $200 million package for local roads upgrades (Federally funded).

The plan will create over 4,000 jobs for the western Sydney community.

The report card updates the community on the progress of each project and includes detailed maps, construction start-and-end dates, major project milestones and upcoming projects.

Information on public consultation areas such as the environment, health and safety, and employment are also included.

Western Distributor negotiations move forward

The Western Distributor proposal submitted to the Victorian Government by Transurban would boost liveability in Melbourne’s inner west, tackle congestion, drive the economy and support one of the country’s fastest expanding growth corridors, according to company CEO, Scott Charlton.

“Transurban was founded in Melbourne and we are tremendously excited about the possibility of building and operating new, city-shaping infrastructure here,” Mr Charlton said.

The Western Distributor proposal is currently expected to cost between $5 billion and $5.5 billion, with an independently verified benefit cost ratio of 1.6 and more than 2.0 when wider economic benefits are included.

Mr Charlton said Transurban welcomed the government’s decision to progress the proposal to deliver a new Melbourne motorway that would provide an alternative route to the West Gate Bridge and move trucks off local roads in the city’s inner west.

He said while the announcement did not commit the parties to a project, the government and Transurban would develop a detailed proposal, investment case and procurement plan designed to significantly improve travel times and reliability as well as providing a new, direct freight route to the Port of Melbourne.

“Transurban will now work with government through Stage 3 of the process, which is expected to take up to six months and also commence discussions with the community and stakeholders.

“Our proposal minimises impacts on local communities, removes the need to acquire any homes and supports motorists and trucks looking for alternative connections to the city,” said Mr Charlton.

MAJOR PROJECTS


The proposal would deliver 3,500 construction jobs and 4,500 indirect jobs, and incorporate three key sections: • Western Distributor – a proposed tunnel and elevated motorway

that connects the West Gate Freeway with the Port of Melbourne, CityLink and the CBD, providing an alternate river crossing and easing pressure on the West Gate Bridge. This is estimated to increase the river crossing capacity by 60 per cent.

• West Gate Freeway widening – two additional lanes from the M80 Ring Road to the West Gate Bridge, boosting capacity of the corridor by approximately 50 per cent.

• Webb Dock access improvements – upgrade Cook Street and the West Gate Freeway to Bolte Bridge ramp to complement works already underway and improve safety and access from Webb Dock. The proposal includes the roll out of a freeway management system

to manage the flow and entry of vehicles on the motorway, such as overhead lane use signs, electronic on-road message boards, ramp metering, CCTV and automatic incident detection systems.

This would complement existing managed motorways along the M1 corridor in the south east and the M80 corridor in the west.

It’s estimated the Western Distributor would nearly halve travel times for trips to the city from the M80-West Gate Freeway interchange during the morning peak and help wipe around 15 minutes off trips to the city from Geelong and Ballarat.

Truck trips into the Port of Melbourne would be up to three times faster and the proposal would take up to 50 per cent of trucks off local roads in the inner west, improving liveability, according to Transurban.

Mr Charlton said the proposed funding structure for the project did not require any direct funding from the state and would likely include tolls for motorists using the new tunnel, tolls for heavy vehicles using the upgraded West Gate Freeway/new tunnel corridor and an extension of the current CityLink Concession Deed.

“No State funds are required, freeing up investment for other vital infrastructure projects, including new public transport connections.”

Subject to negotiations and approvals processes, Mr Charlton said some early works could start this year and it was anticipated all works could be completed by late 2020.

Melbourne Metro Rail ramps up

Geotechnical investigations are taking place in the heart of Melbourne in the initial phase of the massive Melbourne Metro Rail Project.

Victoria’s Minister for Public Transport, Jacinta Allan, joined Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle, at the first geotechnical site on 3 June to mark the beginning of the investigations.

Over the coming months, investigations will take place along the Swanston Street alignment that will carry turn-up-and-go train services under the heart of the city.

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Ms Allen said the investigations would provide critical information about ground conditions and soil quality, which would inform the precise alignment, depth and design of the new rail tunnels and underground stations.

“If we don’t build Melbourne Metro Rail, our city will eventually grind to a halt. This project unlocks our rail network and unblocks the City Loop, allowing 20,000 more people to catch the train at the busiest times.

“We’re getting on with it, starting geotech investigations on Swanston Street and ramping up community engagement.”

Melbourne Metro Rail Authority is stepping up its engagement activities, with its Twitter account up and running (@mmrailproject) and its new website: www.mmrailproject.vic.gov.au

Authority staff members were stationed at various locations in the CBD in the first week of June speaking to people about the benefits of the project and what it means for commuters and the local community.

In addition, the government confirmed that an Environment Effects Statement process would be sought for assessment and approval of the Melbourne Metro Rail Project.

Major train stabling project for south east Queensland

A $116 million project to construct new train stabling facilities in four locations across south east Queensland is set to create 700 jobs.

Leightons has been selected as the preferred contractor to design and construct new stabling facilities to house 75 new six-car trains at Woombye, Elimbah, Banyo and Robina from mid-2016.

It won the construction contract as part of a competitive tender process. Design work on the project was due to commence from mid-May 2015 and construction was expected to take place between July 2015 and early-2017.

State Transport Minister, Jackie Trad, said the project was part of a $4.4 billion New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) project to deliver 75 new trains for Queensland commuters.

“We’ll see additional train services coming online from mid-2016 and, just as importantly, the project will create more jobs in the local construction industry.”

Treasurer, Curtis Pitt, said the project was another sign of the Palaszczuk Government’s strong economic development agenda.

“These projects are creating over 2,500 jobs in the coming years for manufacturers, maintenance workers and train drivers from the Sunshine Coast down to the Gold Coast and out to Ipswich,” he said.

“They come on the back of other Labor Government initiated rail projects such as the Gold Coast Light Rail, Springfield rail connection and the Moreton Bay Rail Link.”

Ms Trad said the construction of new train stabling facilities marked an exciting new stage in the $4.4 billion rollingstock project.

“At the peak of the project, we expect around 700 construction and manufacturing jobs across a number of trades will be created. Approximately 85 per cent of all materials for the project will be sourced from local suppliers.”

Ms Trad said the new stabling facilities would ensure Queensland Rail’s network could house the 75 new trains overnight or when not in use.

“The NGR project will increase the network’s passenger train capacity by 30 per cent, but it needs to be matched with appropriate stabling capacity.

“By providing additional rail stabling in more strategic locations, Queensland Rail’s network will also operate more efficiently, improving services and reducing costs.”

North South Corridor Planning Study sent to IA

The final report of the North South Corridor Planning Study has been sent for assessment to Infrastructure Australia by Federal Assistant Minister for Infrastructure, Jamie Briggs.

Mr Briggs said on 19 May that he had sent the report to the key infrastructure body for its advice on what sections of the corridor should be prioritised for funding.

The North–South Connector will link Adelaide’s southern suburb of Old Noarlunga to Nurioopta, north of the South Australian capital, a distance of over 100 kilometres through the metropolitan area without a single stop by 2030.

Mr Briggs said the Federal Government was committed to delivering the North South Corridor and he looked forward to working with SA Transport Minister, Stephen Mullighan, to plan a strategy on how best to deliver the upgrade once Infrastructure Australia had completed the work.

“We are investing half-a-billion dollars more in the corridor than the former Rudd/Gillard Government committed. Almost $200

million will be delivered next financial year, which will see the two priority sections of the corridor, the Torrens to Torrens and Darlington upgrade, underway.

“Indeed if the State Government can deliver the project quicker than currently scheduled, the Federal Government will bring forward payments,” Mr Briggs said.

“Our commitment to upgrade the entire corridor is ambitious, but one that must be met if we are to boost South Australia’s productive capacity and grow the economy.”

Companies shortlisted for NorthLink WA contract

Four companies were shortlisted in the first week of June to prepare detailed proposals for the Tonkin Highway upgrade as part of the $1.12 billion NorthLink WA initiative.

The four companies involved are:• Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd;• Georgiou Group Pty Ltd and York Civil Pty

Ltd as Georgiou York Joint Venture;• John Holland Pty Ltd; and• McConnell Dowell Constructors.

The successful contractor is expected to be announced before the end of 2015 and construction of the upgrade will get underway in early 2016.

It will involve new interchanges at the intersections of Collier Road and Morley Drive, a flyover at Benara Road and an upgraded section of the Tonkin Highway, north of Guildford Road.

The Tonkin Highway provides a key link for regional traffic movements to commercial and industrial areas such as Malaga, Kewdale, Perth Airport and the Perth CBD.

The other component of the NorthLink WA initiative, the Swan Valley Bypass, will extend this route to connect with the Brand Highway and Great Northern Highway at Muchea, providing a major route to the state’s north west.

The objectives of NorthLink WA are to:• improve freight capacity, efficiency and

productivity;• reduce urban congestion now and into the

future;• improve road safety in line with the state’s

‘Towards Zero’ policy;• maximise sustainability through economic,

social and environmental responsibility; and• improve amenity for the community,

tourists and road users.The Federal Government has committed

more than $894 million and the Western Australian Government more than $223 million to the project.

MAJOR PROJECTS


TCA NEWS

TCA News TCA ANNOUNCED AS OFFICIAL DEMONSTRATIONS PARTNER OF THE 23RD ITS WORLD CONGRESSTransport Certification Australia (TCA) has been announced as the Official Demonstrations Partner for next year’s Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress in Melbourne.

“TCA is delighted to be continuing a fruitful relationship with ITS Australia, putting the future of this technical enabling capability on the national agenda,” said TCA Chief Executive Officer, Chris Koniditsiotis.

“ITS Australia is pleased to be partnering with TCA for the demonstrations component of the World Congress. This exciting part of the program provides a great opportunity for delegates to experience the latest mobility technologies,” said ITS Australia Chief Executive Officer, Susan Harris.

“As a national government body supporting the growing use of telematics and related intelligent technologies, TCA is uniquely positioned to coordinate practical, real-world demonstrations for the Congress,” said Mr Koniditsiotis.

“Demonstrations of Co-operative ITS (C-ITS) applications and autonomous vehicles are an important way to demonstrate their potential value.”

“Technical demonstrations and tours that showcase applications of the latest ITS technology – such as driverless and autonomous cars – will provide an opportunity for policy makers, practitioners, researchers

and ITS providers to share information on social needs, opinions and technical developments.”

ITS Australia released a statement in February 2015 calling for interested parties to participate in the 2016 World Congress demonstration program.

“We anticipate that the calibre of demonstrations at the Congress will achieve the desired impact of informing and convincing government, decision makers, general public and media of the benefits of ITS,” said Mr Koniditsiotis.

“It has been six months since the official call for demonstrations and TCA is encouraged by the innovation and diversity in response. This coincides with the Industry Framework for Trialling Road Freight ITS and Associated Technologies that is being led by TCA and VicRoads and we hope to see this Victorian ingenuity showcased at the Congress.”

“Melbourne’s hard earned reputation as the most liveable city in the world makes it the ideal host for the 23rd ITS World Congress, which will have the theme of ITS – Enhancing Liveable Cities and Communities.”

“We look forward to welcoming the ITS community to our home in October 2016,” said Mr Koniditsiotis.

Chris Koniditsiotis is a Director of ITS Australia and Chair of the Demonstrations Sub-Committee for the 23rd ITS World Congress.

Further information about demonstrating at the Congress or the Industry Framework can be obtained by contacting Graham Taylor at [email protected] or 03 8601 4600.

TYPE-APPROVED TELEMATICS IVUS – ENSURING RELIABILITY, ACCURACY, INTEGRITY AND SECURITY OF DATATransport Certification Australia (TCA) is reminding stakeholders of the benefits of being an informed consumer when it comes to purchasing telematics hardware.

“One thing common to all commercial and regulatory uses is the need to have functional and technical requirements for Telematics In-Vehicle Units (IVUs), which provide minimum levels of reliability, accuracy, integrity and security,” said TCA Chief Executive Officer, Chris Koniditsiotis.

“In a crowded marketplace, it is in the interests of all consumers and end-users to demand the highest quality.”

“For those in the process of making procurement decisions, or plan to move towards new in-vehicle systems in the near-term, it’s important to be an informed customer.”

“The Telematics IVU Functional and Technical Specification provides the foundations for collecting, storing and transferring data - irrespective of the purpose. Getting the hardware right ensures that end-use objectives can be reliably managed.”

“I’m pleased to report that since TCA started accepting applications for Telematics IVU type-approval, a number of telematics providers have come forward.”

“The granting of type-approval for a Telematics IVU means that it satisfies the functional and technical requirements of the Specification.”

“We anticipate that, over time, a selection of TCA type-approved IVUs will become available in the marketplace,” said Mr Koniditsiotis.

Further details about Telematics IVU type-approval, including access to download the Specification can be found by visiting the website: www.tca.gov.au or by contacting TCA on (03) 8601 4600 or [email protected]


Asset Management Systems Review

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Want to learn more?Join us for a webinar on the 17th of July at 1pm AEST. To register or view the recording of the webinar go to arrb.com.au/amsr

As a service to its members and Local Government, ARRB identifi ed a need for a comparative and independent technical review of Asset Management Systems commonly used within Australia. Download your copy at arrb.com.au/amsr.

SPECIAL FEATURE

Key features of road infrastructure spending in the 2015 Federal Budget include provisions to fully fund the duplication of the Pacific Highway, improve the safety and reliability of the Bruce Highway and a continued commitment to Melbourne’s East West Link.

The budget also includes a doubling of funding for the long-running Roads to Recovery Program and on-going investment in the Black Spot and Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program.

The budget shows the duplication of the Pacific Highway is fully funded and will be completed by the end of this decade.

Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss, said completion of the upgrade, providing a four-lane highway from Hexham to the Queensland border, was within sight.

“Our $5.64 billion investment over the five years to 2018-19 is making the dream a reality, with $542 million being pumped into projects in 2015-16 alone. Come 2019-20, funds are not required because the duplication will be complete.

“We have driven progress by working constructively with New South Wales and restoring the 80:20 funding split with the Federal Government providing the lion’s share.

“In April, we announced the preferred delivery partner for the 155 kilometre Woolgoolga to Ballina upgrade, the largest and last piece of the puzzle.”

Mr Truss said 397 kilometres of road was already a four-lane divided highway and with the start of major works in May on the Woolgoolga to Ballina upgrade, the remaining 278 kilometres of the Pacific Highway duplication would be underway.

He said productivity benefits of finishing the Pacific Highway would return a major dividend to the Australian and New South Wales economies on the government’s $5.64 billion investment.

“Previous analysis has shown that every dollar spent on the highway upgrade is expected to provide a return of over three-times the initial investment.”

Mr Truss said the budget delivered on the government’s $6.7 billion commitment

to provide a better standard Bruce Highway – a highway which is “the backbone of Queensland’s economy”, supporting the movement of goods and people across the state.

“Under the Budget, the coming 2015-16 financial year will see major work commence on Section C of the Cooroy to Curra upgrade between Traveston Road and Woondum Road south of Gympie. The government will invest $499 million to build a new four-lane divided highway.

“Work will also start on the Sandy Gully Bridge upgrade, with $46 million in funding to enable this section of the Bruce Highway to be flood-proofed, keeping the local coal and agricultural businesses connected to the Abbot Point Port.”

Minister Truss said detailed design work commenced in May on that project, with Aurecon Australasia named as the preferred tenderer.

“The Tinana Interchange upgrade will also begin construction in early-2016, with the government committing $30 million. The upgrade will see the interchange realigned, delivering a safer and more efficient road for local motorists and heavy freight vehicles.

Other major works on the Bruce Highway starting next financial year include the duplication of the Boundary Road interchange – $84 million; the upgrade at Yellow Gin Creek south of Ayr – $36 million; and a range of safety packages and overtaking lane projects along the length of the highway – $632.4 million.

Mr Truss said planning would continue on a range of projects, including the Caloundra to Sunshine Motorway upgrade, Cattle and Francis Creek upgrade, Mackay Ring Road, Haughton River and Pink Lily Lagoon upgrade, and the Cairns Southern Access Corridor – Stage 2 projects.

Jamie Briggs, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, said the government had reaffirmed its commitment to the construction of Melbourne’s East West Link, despite the Victorian Government tearing up the project contract.

To this end, Mr Briggs said, the government had revised the forward estimates, including the return of $1.5 billion of unspent funding from the Victorian Government, consistent with obligations under the Memorandum

of Understanding between Victoria and the Commonwealth.

“The Commonwealth Government’s commitment to providing $3 billion to build East West Link has been formalised as a Contingent Liability in Statement 8 of the 2015-16 Budget Papers.

“The Commonwealth wants to invest in major infrastructure projects of national significance in Victoria should the Victorian Government come forward with credible options.”

Mr Briggs said the government regarded the East West Link as a project of national significance that would create thousands of jobs and reduce congestion for Victorians.

“It will provide $3 billion to the first Victorian Government willing to build the East West Link and is, therefore, recording this commitment as a Contingent Liability in the Federal Budget.

“Clearly, the Victorian Government has abandoned responsible governance and created sovereign risk, which means the East West Link is being mothballed – delayed but not dead.”

The budget provided for a doubling of payments to local governments under the Roads to Recovery Program.

Mr Truss said that in the 2015-16 financial year Canberra would double Roads to Recovery funding from $350 million to $700 million.

“These additional funds mean each and every council will receive a double payment to accelerate local delivery of vital road maintenance projects.

“Since the program began in early 2001, councils have used the funding provided to repair and upgrade more than 45,000 local streets and road locations, making it the largest investment in Australia’s local roads ever undertaken.”

Local governments will be paid Roads to Recovery funding quarterly, in advance, based on their forecast expenditure, enabling decisions on local road investment to be made at the local level.

Mr Truss said the Black Spot Program would continue to reduce road crashes with $60 million allocated annually to target dangerous areas where accidents were occurring.

“We are almost tripling Black Spot funding for the next two years with an extra $100 million being allocated in 2015-16 and 2016-17 to accelerate road safety improvements.”

2015 Federal Budget Spending on the nation’s road infrastructure


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NORTHERN TERRITORY• Northern Territory Roads Package:

$77.0 million with $35.4 million provided in 2015-16.

• Regional Roads Productivity Package: $90.0 million with $49.1 million provided in 2015-16.

• Tiger Brennan Drive Duplication (Dinah Beach Road to Berrimah Road): $70.0 million with $22.1 million provided in 2015-16.

PROJECT FUNDING BY STATE AND TERRITORYQUEENSLAND• Bruce Highway: up to $6.7 billion with $500 million provided in 2015-16.• Gateway Motorway North: up to $929.6 million with $50 million provided in 2015-16.• Toowoomba Second Range Crossing: up to $1.285 billion with $316.65 million provided in 2015-

16.• Warrego Highway: $508 million with $101.5 million provided in 2015-16.• Cape York Region Package: $208.4 million with $48 million provided in 2015-16.• Moreton Bay Rail Link: $518.4 million with $102 million provided in 2015-16

VICTORIA• Western Highway – Ballarat to Stawell Duplication:

$501.3 million with $73.1 million provided in 2015-16.• Tullamarine Freeway Widening (Section 1): $200

million with $19.7 million provided in 2015-16.• Princes Highway West – Winchelsea to Colac

Duplication: $185.5 million with $20.7 million provided in 2015-16.

• St Albans Road Rail Level Crossing: $151 million with $110.9 million provided in 2015-16.

• Princes Highway East – Traralgon to Sale Duplication: $210 million with $20 million provided in 2015-16.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA• North-South Corridor –

Darlington interchange: $496 million with $82 million provided in 2015-16.

• North-South Corridor – Torrens Road to River Torrens: $448 million with $80 million in 2015-16.

• Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands: $85 million with $20 million provided in 2015-16.

TASMANIA• Midland Highway: $400 million with $57.1 million provided in 2015-16.• Freight Rail Revitalisation: $ 59.8 million with $16.5 million provided in 2015-16.• Brooker Highway (Elwick-Goodwood to Howard Road): $25.6 million with $8.9

million provided in 2015-16.

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY• Majura Parkway: $111.1 million

with $6.9 million provided in 2015-16.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA• Perth Freight Link: $925 million with

$87.9 million provided in 2015-16.• Gateway WA Perth Airport: $675

million with $139.46 million provided in 2015-16.

• NorthLink WA – Swan Valley Bypass: $615 million with $66.4 million in 2015-16.

• NorthLink WA – Tonkin Highway Grade Separations: $141 million with $42 million provided in 2015-16.

• Great Northern Highway (Muchea to Wubin): $307.8 million with $77.1 million provided in 2015-16.

• North West Coastal Highway (Minilya to Barradale): $172.7 million with $51.3 million provided in 2015-16.An additional $499.1 million has been

allocated for road infrastructure to assist Western Australia as a result of a GST revenue shortfall in 2015-16.

NEW SOUTH WALES• Western Sydney Infrastructure

Plan: $2.9 billion with $209.7 million provided in 2015-16.

• Pacific Highway duplication: $5.6 billion with $542.5 million provided in 2015-16.

• WestConnex: $1.5 billion plus a concessional loan of up to $2 billion to accelerate the New M5 section with $450.0 million provided in 2015-16.

• Northern Sydney Freight Corridor: $691.6 million with $100.9 million provided in 2015-16.

• NorthConnex: $405 million with $143.0 million provided in 2015-16.

• M1 Productivity Package: $195.8 million with $11.0 million provided in 2015-16.

SPECIAL FEATURE


state for the future while providing thousands of jobs now,” Premier Colin Barnett said.

“Just one example of this is the $1 billion Gateway WA project due for completion in 2016 which, over the course of its life, will create 7,000 jobs.”

Work on major road projects includes the Perth Freight Link; Gateway WA project; NorthLink WA Swan Valley; Great Northern Highway; Mitchell Freeway Extension from Burns Beach Road to Hester Avenue; and North West Coastal Highway which will account for $609 million in 2015-16.

After spending $101.6 million on cycling networks across the state over the past six years, resulting in 221 kilometres of off-road shared paths and 71 kilometres of on-road bike lanes, the government has included further cycle path spending of $72.1 million over the next four years in this budget.

A $40 million package to improve the management of traffic across Perth’s road network is also a feature of the budget.

The package forms part of Main Roads’ wider traffic congestion management program. Initiatives which are already being delivered include the review of traffic signal timings along key routes and enhanced traffic incident response management to improve travel reliability.

Traffic management initiatives include:• modifications at the intersection of Graham

Farmer Freeway and East Parade;• modifications along Marmion Avenue at

the intersections of Hepburn and Whitfords avenues;

• modifications at the Tonkin Highway intersection with Kelvin Road in Maddington;

• enhancements to existing markings on all freeway on-ramps to improve traffic merging;

• inclusion of an additional lane on Mitchell Freeway (northbound) between Cedric Street and Karrinyup Road off-ramps;

• installation of additional Variable Message Signs at key locations to provide improved travel information; and

• expanding the hours of the Incident Response Service and increasing the geographical coverage.

Premier Barnett said the decision to pursue a sensible program of further asset sales would enable the government to build new infrastructure to support future growth without putting further pressure on the State’s finances.

Announcing a forecast net operating balance deficit for 2015-16 of $2.7 billion and a net debt projection of $31 billion by June 30, 2016, Mr Barnett said the government had decided to sell Fremantle Port to continue the rebuilding task.

As well as Fremantle Port, the government planned to sell the State-owned TAB after consultation with the racing codes, along with the Forest Products Commission and other Government assets.

TRANCHE 2 ASSET SALES• Fremantle Port and Kwinana Bulk Terminal;• TAB;• Forest Products Commission;• Portfolio of Government Regional Officer

Housing (GROH);• Securitisation of Keystart loan book;• State Fleet (sale and lease back);• Some Government office buildings (sale

and lease back);• Specific LandCorp land holdings; and• Individual generation assets of Horizon

Power and Synergy and non-core assets of Western Power

Victorian road spend of $600MMore than $600 million has been allocated in the 2015-16 Victorian budget to upgrade congested roads.

A key focus of the funding is the Metropolitan Ring Road, which Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Luke Donnellan, said was at breaking point, causing delays for motorists in Melbourne’s West.

Mr Donnellan said the budget provided $150 million to undertake the next stage of the M80 Upgrade to widen the road and install traffic management equipment from EJ Whitten Bridge to Sunshine Avenue.

The Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program would continue, Minister Truss said, to fund infrastructure projects to improve the productivity and safety outcomes of heavy vehicle operations.

“It will do this by enhancing the capacity of existing roads, improving connections to freight networks and through projects such as rest stops and decoupling bays. The Commonwealth Government has committed an additional $200 million over five years (2014-15 to 2018-19).”

Mr Truss said Inland Rail remained a key commitment to boost national productivity.

He said the Australian Rail Track Corporation was continuing pre-construction work and the final business case, with the delivery plan expected mid-2015.

“This will enable the government to schedule further construction funding to deliver the project over the next decade, in addition to our existing $300 million commitment.

“Our ongoing $50 million commitment to ARTC’s implementation of the Advanced Train Management System is also contributing to a safer and more productive national freight rail network.

The Bridges Renewal Program would, according to Mr Truss, improve the economic capacity of bridges by investing $300 million over four years from 2015-16 to renewing dilapidated bridges structures.

Applications for Round Two of the program would open in coming months – $60 million would be allocated in 2015-16.

More spending on ‘big ticket items’ in WA budget

Spending on roads and public transport totals $1.6 billion in the 2015-16 Western Australian budget as part of an overarching plan to invest $15.1 billion in the two sectors between 2008-09 and 2018-19.

And the budget also provides for a second tranche of public asset sales designed to retire debt and fund new infrastructure projects. The sale, through long-term lease of Fremantle Port is one of the key sales planned by the government.

The investment in roads and public transport includes $5 million to plan for 300 new C-series railcars to double the state’s rail fleet over the decade from 2019 at a cost of $1.2 billion.

“Transport is a key focus of this government. We are investing in infrastructure to grow the

“We are almost tripling Black Spot funding for the next two years with an extra $100 million being allocated in 2015-16 and 2016-17 to accelerate road safety improvements.”

SPECIAL FEATURE


SPECIAL FEATURE

The upgrade will also include safety barriers on the bridge.

When the budget was delivered on 5 May, Mr Donnellan said the government would seek a further $150 million in Federal funding to complete the section of the M80 between the EJ Whitten Bridge and the Calder Freeway.

Canberra subsequently allocated that money – the spending was announced on 29 May.

The budget provides $110 million to upgrade the Chandler Highway Bridge over Melbourne’s Yarra River, easing congestion for the thousands of motorists who use it daily. In 2014, the bridge was rated Melbourne’s number one congestion point in the RACV’s Redspot Survey.

Spending of $40 million will deliver works this year to widen Whitehall Street and strengthen and widen Shepherd Bridge in Footscray, including dedicated pedestrian and cycling lanes.

Mr Donnellan said the government had entered into detailed negotiations with Transurban about its market-led proposal, the Western Distributor; however the Whitehall Street and Shepherd Bridge works would proceed regardless of the outcome.

A further $76 million is provided for 23 projects on key freight corridors so heavy vehicles can take more direct routes to farms and towns.

The budget invests $90 million for a package of projects to address congestion and optimise the performance of the road network.

The package will install and trial smart signalling at key intersections along congested city roads; resurface unsafe, deteriorating road surfaces in regional Victoria, reduce local congestion in outer suburban areas and begin planning to upgrade the congested Swan Street Bridge over the Yarra River.

The budget allocates $86.7 million to resurface unsafe, deteriorating roads around the state.

Funding of $31.4 million will be provided through the Road Minor Works package to upgrade roundabouts, pedestrian crossings, noise barriers and bad intersections.

The budget provides $20.5 million to commence the duplication of two congested sections of Thompsons Road in Cranbourne; between Frankston-Dandenong Road and the South Gippsland Highway, and between Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road and Clyde Road. About 24,000 vehicles use these sections of the road every day.

The budget contains $20 billion of investment in public transport infrastructure.

It commits up to $2.4 billion to kick start the removal of 50 of Victoria’s most dangerous and congested level crossings and $1.5 billion

for planning, design and significant early works on the Melbourne Metro Rail Project.

$2 billion will go towards new trains, trams and jobs for Victoria including:• $1.3 billion for 37 new, high-capacity

metropolitan trains with a 50 per cent local content requirement;

• $274 million for 20 new E-Class trams to be built in Dandenong and associated network upgrades;

• $257 million for 21 new VLocity regional carriages also to be built in Dandenong;

• $90 million for the five new X’Trapolis trains to be built in Ballarat;

• $75 million to extend the life of more than 70 Comeng trains in the existing metropolitan fleet; and

• $21 million to commence the refurbishment of the B-Class Tram fleet.Funding of $55.6 million is provided

for Stage 1 of Victoria’s first trial of High-Capacity Signalling, which will roll out on the Sandringham train line.

The budget includes $50 million to trial Homesafe – a plan for all-night public transport on weekends, to begin on 1 January next year, that will get shift workers and late night travellers home safely.

Catching a bus around Melbourne will be easier and more convenient, with $100 million in the budget for bus upgrades.

Freight corridors for heavy vehicle operators will be upgraded with a budget allocation of more than $4 million.

The funding will see upgrades to four bridges across metropolitan Melbourne, improving freight efficiency and building on the $35.8 million Stronger Country Bridges program announced last February.

The government has provided the matching state contribution required to complete the Federal Government’s Bridge Renewal Program, and includes the following bridges:• Wallen Road Bridge, Burnley – $1.9 million;• Melton Main Road Bridge, Melton – $1.2

million;• Wantirna Road Bridge , Ringwood –

$533,000; and• Seaford Road Bridge, Seaford – $433,000

Major SA roads stimulus package The 2015-16 South Australian Budget includes $165 million over four years for a road infrastructure stimulus package to boost productivity, improve safety on regional and suburban roads, and support more than 400 construction jobs.

Key planks in the stimulus package include $70 million to improve critical road infrastructure, $55 million for a new 2.8 kilometre road in Gawler East and $40 million to improve the safety of roads.

In handing down the budget on 18 June, Treasurer, Tom Koutsantonis, said the additional funding for critical road maintenance and road safety works would deliver more than 185 projects across the state, and many of them would start immediately.

Mr Koutsantonis said the extra $70 million over four years for critical road infrastructure was on top of the more than $330 million already budgeted for maintenance works over the forward estimates.

“Roads are the arteries of our economy, which is why we are embarking on a targeted approach to rehabilitate key roads to maximise economic and safety benefits for communities across the state.

“This is in addition to a joint state and Commonwealth $1.5 billion investment to build both the Torrens Road to River Torrens upgrade and the Darlington Interchange.”

Mr Koutsantonis said $40 million would be spent over the next four years on road safety improvements, including shoulder sealing and audio tactile line-marking on high-speed roads to save lives, enhance transport networks and create jobs in regional areas.

It adds to the $74 million already budgeted over the forward estimates for road safety works, such as shoulder sealing and Black Spot funding.

“Run-off road crashes and head-on crashes account for 72 per cent of all fatal and serious injury crashes in rural areas.

“Sealing the shoulders of the high-speed roads can make a huge difference in preventing a driver from losing control of their vehicle when it strays off the road,” Mr Koutsantonis said.

“Audio tactile line marking is another effective safety measure that creates noise and vibrations when a motorist veers out of a lane, often because of fatigue or poor visibility.”

More than 35 road sections across the state will be targeted for both shoulder sealing and audio tactile line marking treatments.

Already more than 1200 kilometres of road shoulders have been sealed under the program of works

Transport and Infrastructure Minister, Stephen Mullighan, said a further $5 million for road safety works would be invested in upgrades to the Sturt Highway as part of a joint $25 million Federal and state program. Projects would include bridge widening and barrier upgrades.

“New overtaking lanes will also be installed and there will be shoulder sealing around the Berri bypass,” he said.


“The Sturt Highway forms part of Australia’s key national highway network, providing links between South Australia and the eastern states.

“The project will also help remove limits on the use of higher productivity freight vehicles along this vital interstate connection.”

The project will commence in 2015-16 and is expected to be completed during 2018-19.

The budget includes a $55 million investment over three years to build a new Gawler East Collector Link Road, linking Potts Road and the Springwood development.

“Building this 2.8 kilometre local road will allow for the further expansion of residential development across Gawler East,” Mr Mullighan said.

In addition, the government is delivering a safer, more reliable public transport system with a $16 million investment over four years in station security, amenity upgrades and a modern signalling and communications system for the rail network.

Mr Koutsantonis said the Budget provided an additional $4 million over four years for safety, security and access initiatives at railway stations and tram stops.

“The government is further enhancing its efforts to crack down on crime and anti-social behaviour on the rail network. CCTV and improved lighting play a critical role in these efforts,” Mr Koutsantonis said.

The Budget also includes $12 million over two years for a modern signalling and communication system to improve safety, reduce faults and maximise service reliability.

Infrastructure spend to deliver safer Tasmanian roads and rail

More than $700 million of the 2015-16 Tasmanian budget set aside for investment in infrastructure has been allocated to roads.

The Hodgman Government’s second budget features a $1.8 billion investment to deliver infrastructure, which Rene Hidding – State Infrastructure Minister – said was needed to drive economic growth and create jobs.

“Jobs are this government’s number one priority, and such an investment in our hospitals, schools, and roads will give our construction industries a major boost,” said Mr Hidding.

“The Department of State Growth will account for more than 40 per cent of our infrastructure spend, with $787 million over the Forward Estimates.

“Of this, about $728 million is allocated to improving the State’s road and bridges.”

Mr Hidding said the budget provided $228 million over the forward estimates to fund projects under the recently launched 10-Year Action Plan for a safer, more efficient Midland Highway – the state’s most important road project.

Jointly funded by the Federal and Tasmanian governments, the project is aimed at upgrading the Midland Highway to a minimum 3-star AusRAP rating along its entire length to prevent crashes and save lives.

Another project demonstrating the value of working cooperatively with the Federal Government, according to the Minister, was Tasmania’s Freight Rail Revitalisation Program.

“In this Budget we have committed $59.8 million over the next two years to match dollar-for-dollar the funding allocated in the Federal budget.

“This will see substantial work on upgrading TasRail’s freight rail network, including concrete and steel re-sleepering, upgrading old rail and bridges, culvert strengthening, drainage and formation work.”

Other major commitments in this Budget and over the forward estimates to upgrade Tasmania’s transport infrastructure include:• $270 million over the next four years to

maintain existing road infrastructure, including resealing and line-marking;

• $32 million to begin construction on the Brooker Highway, Elwick Road, Goodwood Road and Howard Road intersections;

• $21.9 million for continued development of the Huon Highway/ Summerleas Road Project;

• the remaining $8 million of the $15 million to complete Stage 2 of the South Arm Highway/Rokeby Main Road works;

• $12 million to complete the construction of the Tasman Ramps project;

• $13 million for safety and capacity upgrades on the Esk Main Road;

• $10 million for further bridge strengthening on the Esk and Tasman highways;

• $7 million to complete an upgrade of the West Coast’s Murchison Highway; and

• $8 million to improve traffic safety on the Huon Highway at Glendevie.In addition, $5 million will be spent over the

next four years to improve safety along popular cycling routes on the state’s roads.

Premier, Will Hodgman, said improving road safety was a key priority for the government and the initiative to improve safety along cycling routes would start with Channel Highway at Bonnet Hill, near Hobart.

“We are absolutely committed to a safer road for all road users at Bonnet Hill, so we will invest over $1 million to extend a widened

sealed shoulder, with new line markings, to the left hand side of the uphill sections of the Channel Highway for the 4.5 kilometre section from Proctors Road to Baringa Road.

“Works are expected to commence this summer.

“While these works will create a ‘safer space’ for cyclists using the road around Bonnet Hill, they will also improve the overall functionality of the road and reduce crash risk for all road users.

“By delivering cost-effective road improvements such as road widening, sealed shoulders and better line marking to existing popular cycling routes, we will build on the momentum and the gains we have already made in cycling safety, across Tasmania.”

NT Budget focus on transport infrastructure

Budget 2015 commits investment of $587.1 million to transport infrastructure in the Northern Territory.

Minister for Transport, Peter Chandler, said the record investment was aimed at connecting people and creating jobs, while making life simper, safer and smarter for all Territorians.

“The program has been framed to develop the Northern Territory through job creation and economic development, with particular focus on tourism, cattle supply and urban regional transport,” Mr Chandler said.

Budget highlights for roads infrastructure, fully funded by the Northern Territory Government, include:• $28.5 million for Litchfield Park Road;• $25 million to complete the seal for the

Mereenie Inner Loop - Larapinta Drive• $11.5 million for the duplication of Vanderlin

Drive;• $5 million for Wollogorang Road - Robinson

and Calvert crossings;• $5 million to upgrade transport access at

Gapuwiyak, Galiwinku, Maningrida and Ramingining and

• $2.5 million to seal Lajamanu Road.An estimated additional 219 kilometres of

new sealed roads will be constructed as a result of the 2015 budget.

“Transport infrastructure supports the community and facilitates economic development,” Mr Chandler said.

“The record spend recognises the importance of transport infrastructure to the development of Northern Australia to unlock the potential opportunities in our remote and regional areas.”

SPECIAL FEATURE


INDUSTRY NEWS

Pledge to meet northern Australia’s infrastructure needs

The Federal Government has pledged to develop a pipeline of critical infrastructure projects, including roads, rail, water, electricity, ports and communications, to cater for the growing population of northern Australia and deliver economic growth to the region.

Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, and Federal Infrastructure Minister, Warren Truss, committed to working with northern jurisdictions to put in place the infrastructure when they released on 8 May the first Infrastructure Australia audit of northern Australia’s infrastructure.

The audit outlines the region’s current infrastructure asset base and its potential long-term needs.

On the same day as the audit was released, Mr Truss also announced the government would invest $100 million improving roads that were critical to the beef industry in the north.

He said a new Northern Australia Beef Roads Fund would make targeted upgrades to key roads necessary for transporting cattle – this would underpin the future viability of the cattle industry which had long been a pillar of the northern economy.

Mr Abbott and Mr Truss said the findings of the audit affirmed the government’s objective to further develop the north and to encourage greater levels of private sector investment in infrastructure in northern Australia.

The audit found the population of northern Australia was projected to grow more quickly than Australia as a whole; at 1.8 per cent a

year, compared to 1.6 per cent in the broader population.

“At this growth rate, northern Australia will be home to around 1.77 million people by 2031, while upper estimates place up to 2.1 million people in our north,” they said.

“The right mix of infrastructure investment, delivered in the right place at the right time will be critical to providing a strong future for northern Australia.”

Mr Abbott and Mr Truss said reforms being undertaken to improve infrastructure planning, project appraisal and selection would complement the work of the audit.

“This work will assist in allocating funding to infrastructure projects that return the highest benefits to communities for a stronger and more prosperous northern Australia.”

On the issue of the Northern Australia Beef Roads Fund, Mr Truss said it would improve the productivity and resilience of cattle supply chains in northern Australia.

He said the fund would rely on the CSIRO’s state-of-the-art logistics modelling, which for the first time looked at the whole cattle supply chain – every farm, road, stopover, port and processing facility in the country.

“The modelling allows analysts to test different scenarios, such as how sealing a road will influence transport times and costs. Using this approach, targeted upgrades that improve one road ‘link’ can strengthen the entire supply chain.

“These improvements will also benefit other road users, boost regional communities and improve the profitability of a range of businesses – including pastoralists, livestock transporters, processors, and live exporters.”

Mr Truss said the government expected northern jurisdictions wanting to benefit from the fund would contribute to the funding and consider deregulation options to benefit the industry.

Agreement reached for Moorebank Intermodal Terminal

The Federal Government and the private sector have signed an agreement to develop the Moorebank Intermodal Terminal in Sydney – a facility with an estimated cost of nearly $1.9 billion.

The agreement was signed on 4 June between the government’s Moorebank Intermodal Company (MIC) and the Sydney Intermodal Terminal Alliance (SIMTA), a consortium representing two of Australia’s largest logistics companies, Qube Holdings and Aurizon Holdings.

The agreement will see SIMTA develop and operate an intermodal freight terminal and warehousing across Commonwealth and SIMTA-owned land.

The development will have direct rail access to Port Botany via the Southern Sydney Freight Line. Combining the site into a single development will optimise the outcomes and minimise taxpayer exposure, according to Federal Finance Minister, Mathias Cormann.

The facility will include an import-export terminal with ultimate capacity to handle up to 1.05 million containers a year and an interstate terminal that will ultimately have capacity for up to 500,000 containers a year.

SIMTA will provide up to $1.5 billion in private investment for the project.

Senator Cormann said leveraging that significant private sector investment meant the Commonwealth’s commitment, through MIC, would be limited to around $370 million.

“This new, major interstate terminal will get more freight off our highways and onto rail, driving significant improvements in national productivity.

“There will be open access for rail operators and other users of the Moorebank facility to promote competition,” said Senator Cormann.

“The total economic benefits of the project are estimated at close to $9 billion, including relieving traffic congestion on Sydney’s roads, reducing costs to business and better environmental outcomes.”

Over 1,300 jobs will be created during the construction phase, with up to 7,700 jobs created mainly in South-West Sydney once the intermodal terminal precinct is fully developed.

Senator Cormann said environmental and planning approvals were being sought for the combined precinct, to address community concerns and minimise any potential adverse


INDUSTRY NEWS

impacts on local residents and businesses.The planning process will require the

project to contribute over time to local traffic intersections where the project will add pressure.

It will also require environmental offset investment in green corridors around the facility to enhance the biodiversity and ensure conservation of important vegetation.

Subject to the approvals by the Commonwealth and state planning and environment authorities, work on the project will begin this year and the terminal is planned to be operational from late 2017.

Infrastructure investment critical to cities

Australia’s first comprehensive infrastructure audit highlighted the urgent need for attention to providing the right infrastructure for Australia’s major cities, according to the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors (CCCLM).

The report, released on 22 May, estimated the cost of delays on roads in Australia’s six largest capitals would spiral to $53.3 billion in 2031 without the implementation of strategies, including integrating land use and transport planning, new road construction, additional public transport and the introduction of demand management measures.

“This report highlights that cities matter and infrastructure investment in them should be a priority,” said CCCLM Chair and Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Martin Haese.

Lord Mayor Haese said with almost nine in ten Australians living in urban Australia, and 80 per cent of all goods and services produced in cities, our future as a strong, secure and sustainable country was at risk

and would largely be determined by the ability for our cities to operative effectively.

“It is unsatisfactory to allow the unchecked and continued growth of this level of congestion in our cities.”

The report showed car travel times in the most gridlocked parts of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra were expected to jump by at least 20 per cent unless measures were implemented to boost capacity or curb demand.

“Our growing population and the nation’s economy deserve the support of an effective and efficient transport system, which provides choice to commuters.

“The CCCLM called on the Federal Government for investment in infrastructure in 2007; the problems identified then still exist, are still not being effectively addressed and are clearly still growing,” Lord Mayor Haese said.

The CCCLM said it looked forward to participating and providing contribution to the 15-year infrastructure plan.

Another $135 million to councils under Roads to Recovery Program

The final 2014-15 quarterly instalment of the Federal Government’s $2.1 billion Roads to Recovery program was paid to 354 local governments across Australia on 19 May.

Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss, said payments totalling more than $135 million under Roads to Recovery would deliver much-needed local road construction and street maintenance.

“The latest payments bring the amount paid to local governments in 2014–15 under the program to $321.7 million,” Mr Truss said.

“Over the full five years of the program, local road and street works will receive $2.1 billion under the program, which is a vital for local councils.

“And, this coming 2015–16 financial year, councils will each receive a double allocation boosting the program from $350 million to $700 million.

“Our Roads to Recovery Program allows councils across Australia to direct road construction and maintenance funding to where it is needed most, ensuring that local needs and knowledge choose the best local roads.

“The Roads to Recovery payments come hot on the heels of our $575 million payment to local governments through the Financial

Assistance Grants program, which has provided $2.3 billion nationwide over this financial year.

“Our Financial Assistance Grants allow local governments to prioritise funding according to local needs, with the untied grant funding being used to deliver infrastructure, health, recreation, environment and employment projects across Australia.

“Programmes like Roads to Recovery and the Financial Assistance Grants are important because they enable decisions about local works to be made at the local level,” Mr Truss said.

“Councils are already planning for their double Roads to Recovery payment in the first quarter of the new financial year – doubling the benefits and creating more jobs in local communities across Australia.”

Tackling black spots in SA and Tasmania

Nearly $21 million has been allocated to fund the eradication of 72 black spots on roads in South Australia and Tasmania.

The funding has been made available under the national Black Spot Program. Eligibility criteria has been broadened by the Federal Government for project applications in 2015–16 and 2016–17 to ensure communities have greater access to the $200 million in additional funding for road safety upgrades.

An evaluation of the program has found that fatal and casualty crashes are reduced at treated sites by 30 per cent, equalling one life per year for every 84 projects.

Projects also return almost $7.00 for every $1 invested by reducing the number and cost of crashes.

In South Australia, $16.5 million will be invested to tackle 37 black spots.

Member for Grey and Chair of the South Australian Black Spot Consultative Panel, Rowan Ramsey, said the investment in black spot projects would deliver safer roads through targeted upgrades proven to deliver results.

The South Australian panel which reviews priorities for the program includes representatives from the Royal Automobile Association of SA, Motor Accident Commission, Local Government Association of SA, South Australian Road Transport Association, SA Freight Council, Bicycle SA and the SA Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure.

In Tasmania, 35 black spots will be addressed with funding of $4.37 million.


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Member for Lyons and Chair of the Tasmanian Black Spot Consultative Panel, Eric Hutchinson, said black spot projects targeted dangerous roads to save lives and reduce road trauma, ensuring Australia’s roads were made safer and more productive for all road users.

The Tasmanian panel which reviews priorities for the program includes representatives from the Tasmania Police, Tasmanian Motorcycle Council, Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania and state and local government.

Work to begin on West Gate Distributor

Seven construction companies have been shortlisted by the Victorian Government to build the West Gate Distributor Stage 1.

The Expressions of Interest process closed late February, with submissions received from a strong field, and the government is expected to award the contract shortly.

Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Luke Donnellan, said investigations and planning of Stage 1 were complete the project was ready to be delivered.

The West Gate Distributor Stage 1 will widen Moreland Street, signalise the intersection at Footscray Road and Moreland Street, and widen and strengthen Shepherd Bridge over the Maribyrnong River.

Upgrading Shepherd Bridge and Footscray Road, Mr Donnellan said, would address a traffic bottleneck, saving travel time and improving freight productivity and efficiency.

“We’re taking the first steps to reduce truck traffic on local streets in the inner west.

“Stage 1 works will cut travel times, reduce congestion and make the commute in Melbourne’s inner west more reliable.”

Guiding Queensland’s infrastructure development

Applications for board positions on the newly created independent infrastructure advisory body, Building Queensland, are being assessed by the State Government.

Expressions of interest for the eight-person board, which will guide and shape the future of Queensland’s infrastructure program, closed on 25 May.

Minister for Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, Jackie Trad,

said Building Queensland would provide independent, expert advice to the government on infrastructure priorities based on rigorous business cases, including cost-benefit analyses and community benefits.

Ms Trad said the advisory body had been established within her department and she expected it to be operating as an independent statutory body by the end of 2015 following Parliamentary approval.

“Establishing Building Queensland to create a pipeline of projects for consideration is a key priority for this government, and shows that we’re serious about delivering projects and jobs that will grow the economy.

“Industry, investors and communities deserve to know how and when the state’s infrastructure needs will be determined and delivered,” Ms Trad said.

“Building Queensland will ensure a consistent framework across government for prioritising and assessing costs and benefits of competing projects, increase opportunities for leveraging Commonwealth funding, and develop a pipeline of projects for the government to consider.”

The Board of Building Queensland will meet a minimum of three times a year.

Transport strategy for Remote and Regional Australia

The Northern Territory Government has the lead role in developing a national strategy to improve transport infrastructure opportunities in remote and regional areas.

The draft National Remote and Regional Transport Strategy is open for public consultation, following its release by the Transport and Infrastructure Council.

“The strategy will aim to improve services to allow for better access to employment, education, health services and economic opportunities across remote and regional areas,” NT Transport Minister,” Peter Chandler, said.

“It will also provide a nationally coordinated approach for addressing service delivery and regulation constraints that directly affect people living in remote and regional Australia.

“The Northern Territory is leading the way on these reforms by working closely with jurisdictions experiencing remote and regional transport challenges; in particular Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and the Commonwealth.”

Mr Chandler said Territorians and stakeholders across Australia could provide input into the draft strategy until 31 July.

“We want the focus to be on reducing costs for transport operators by improving roads through reforms to national funding arrangements.

“Changing the regulatory settings to establish consistency across borders for transport operators is a key objective, along with tax reform and better targeting of aerodrome security requirements,” he said.

“Local communities are set to benefit from the strategy as employment and economic benefits are unlocked.”

A final strategy is expected to be considered by the Transport and Infrastructure Council in November 2015 along with an implementation plan that supports the strategy’s delivery.

Vital upgrades complete on Great Eastern Highway

Upgrades to the Great Eastern Highway between Bullabulling and Coolgardie – more than 500 kilometres east of Perth – will improve conditions for freight haulage on the key artery.

The $47 million upgrades were completed in late May – the Federal Government committed $29.6 million and the Western Australian Government $17.5 million to the works.

Three overtaking lanes, each 1.5 kilometres long, were constructed to help reduce travel times and improve efficiency for freight movements.

The Great Eastern Highway is a major freight route linking Western Australia to the eastern states and a major road linking Perth to the Wheatbelt and Goldfields-Esperance regions.

It averages around 1,100 vehicles each day and 40 per cent of those are heavy vehicles.

Western Australian Transport Minister, Dean Nalder, commended the contractors for,


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as much as possible, locally sourcing plant, equipment and supplies.

“The project also provided employment and training opportunities for about 80 local people, including sub-contractors, over the past 10 months. At the peak of the project, this number reached 140 people.

Mr Nalder said the works between Bullabulling and Coolgardie represented the highest priority sections of the highway that needed upgrading.

Road and rail initiatives in Northern Territory

More than $7 million is being invested by the Northern Territory Government to improve the freight carrying capacity of the Tablelands Highway and to assess the feasibility of a major rail project.

The bulk of the money – $6.25 million – will be used to upgrade a number of bridges on the highway, while $1 million will be invested over two years into feasibility studies for a rail project linking Tennant Creek to Mt Isa in Queensland.

The Federal Government has allocated matching funds for the bridges upgrades.

NT Minister for Transport, Peter Chandler, said the Bridges Renewal Program would strengthen six of 11 bridges on the Tablelands Highway between the Barkly Highway and the Barkly Stock Route.

Mr Chandler said strengthening bridges at Playford River, Boree Creek, Whitehole Creek, Brunette Creek South, Brunette Creek North and Creswell Creek would enable permanent load restrictions to be removed, improving key freight network opportunities and productivity.

Tablelands Highway connects the Barkly Highway and Carpentaria Highway, and is a vital rural arterial road that provides services to the cattle industry, pastoralists, communities and tourists.

“The Tablelands Highway supports a significant number of cattle movements in the Northern Territory with 100,000 plus head of cattle moving every year,” Mr Chandler said.

“The Transport Network Strategic Investment Tool (TRANSIT) has identified the Tablelands Highway as being an important link for the cattle industry in Northern Australia.”

Construction is proposed to start in early 2016 with completion due the same year.

NT Chief Minister, Adam Giles, said the proposed 600 kilometre rail project

linking Tennant Creek and Mt Isa had the potential to provide enormous economic opportunities, particularly in the resources industry.

“This rail connection would provide a standard gauge rail link to the Port of Darwin from north western Queensland via the AustralAsia line, at the same time as opening up access to a broad new area of the NT.

“Previous investigations indicated a number of mining companies in the Mt Isa area had an interest in shifting their exports of bulk materials through the Port of Darwin, instead of Townsville, if the cost of transport was right.

“We’re investing $1 million to investigate the possible corridor acquisition and construction of the rail spur. This business case is expected to take two years to complete,” Mr Giles said.

“The corridor has the potential to include a railway link, pipelines and telecommunications infrastructure. There are significant potential cost savings by focusing on a multi-purpose corridor rather than treating these as individual projects.

“This would be a long term project with a price tag in excess of a billion dollars but its benefits would be exponential to the Territory and I’m keen to explore whether it’s economically viable.”

Removing Sydney bottleneck 18 months early

Work will begin 18 months early on eliminating one of Sydney’s worst pinch-points – the King Georges Road Interchange.

The upgrade, scheduled to get underway within weeks, is part of Stage 2 of WestConnex which will link the interchange with the newly widened M5. It will be undertaken by Fulton Hogan Construction.

Construction work will include widening and extending the eastbound on-ramp and westbound off-ramp between King Georges Road and the M5 East.

The on-ramp extension will see cars move onto the M5 East faster and reduce the current traffic delays that occur at King Georges Road.

The upgrade will create over 100 jobs during construction and is the forerunner to the delivery of a new M5, which will provide a tunnel from Beverly Hills to St Peters and widened lanes in each direction.

New South Wales Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight, Duncan Gay, said of the 100,000 motorists that sit on the M5 every day, more than 40,000 are stuck waiting at King Georges Road interchange.

Mr Gay said the upgrade would cut travel times at the intersection alone by up to 50 per cent.

Another step towards removing Victoria’s worst level crossings

Legislation which is an integral part of Victorian Government plans to remove the state’s 50 worst level crossings is before Parliament.

The Delivering Victorian Infrastructure (Port of Melbourne Lease Transaction) Bill 2015 will enable the lease of the Port and proceeds from the lease will go towards the cost of removing the level crossings.

The proceeds, to be paid up front, will go into the Victorian Transport Fund (VTF). The VTF will support the removal of the crossings and the building of Melbourne Metro, the West Gate Distributor and other important transport initiatives.

“Leasing the port means we can pay for the removal of our 50 worst level crossings and still protect our AAA credit rating,” Premier Daniel Andrews said.

“Removing level crossings will create thousands of jobs and get Victorians home safer and sooner.”

Only the port’s commercial operations will be leased. The State and Federal Governments will retain responsibility for regulating the port’s safety, security and environmental functions.

The leaseholder will be responsible for maintaining and improving the port’s operations, delivering efficiencies, boosting competitiveness and ensuring future port development is not compromised.

The lease will make Victoria eligible for a 15 per cent payment from Canberra to be invested in new infrastructure projects such as Melbourne Metro.

Victoria’s independent economic regulator, the Essential Services Commission, will oversee an enhanced pricing structure


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for port users. Annual tariff increases will be capped at CPI to protect Victorian producers, manufacturers, other exporters and importers, and consumers.

Once legislation has passed, the lease transaction’s Joint Financial Advisers, Morgan Stanley and Flagstaff, will call for expressions of interest on behalf of the state.

In other developments related to the removal of level crossings, the government released in the last week of May the Expression of Interest for the Caulfield to Dandenong package on the Cranbourne-Pakenham line.

The EOI relates to getting rid of nine level crossings, rebuilding stations at Carnegie, Murrumbeena, Clayton and Hughesdale, and rolling out power and signalling upgrades.

The Cranbourne-Pakenham line is Melbourne’s busiest, serving some of Victoria’s most important economic centres, the Gippsland rail corridor, and thousands of homes in Melbourne’s booming south east.

These level crossings are also some of Melbourne’s worst, with boom gates down for up to 87 minutes across the two hour peak.

The EOI was due to close in late June 2015

– the Level Crossing Removal Authority would then evaluate the submissions and shortlist two bidders to continue through the process.

Work on removing the level crossings is expected to commence in 2016, and to be completed by 2018.

Two bridges part of Reid Highway make-over

Four lanes of traffic on Reid Highway in the City of Swan will flow across two bridges over Malaga Drive in 2016 once an $84 million road project is completed.

Earthworks are underway at the interchange between the highway and Malaga Drive as a forerunner to construction of the project, which will improve safety and traffic flow at the intersection.

The current intersection was constructed in 1992 and, since that time, traffic volumes and congestion have increased with the growth in residential and commercial development.

About 75,000 vehicles use the interchange each weekday.

The interchange upgrade involves:• about 1.3 kilometres of four lane dual

carriageway and 1.3 kilometres of on-and-off-ramps;

• two new two-lane bridges along Reid Highway over Malaga Drive with sealed shoulders to provide safe on-road cycling;

• a path for pedestrians and cyclists which ties into existing paths;

• realigning pedestrian and cyclist facilities on the east side of Malaga Drive;

• a wider Malaga Drive to provide bus lanes both directions through two sets of traffic lights;

• an optic fibre communication network, vehicle detection systems and security cameras; and

• street lighting, landscaping and safety and noise barriers.The development is part of a much larger

$108 million project which includes the duplication of the Reid Highway from Duffy Road to Erindale Road, and the widening of the highway from Marmion Avenue to Duffy Road.


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