The 20th International Conference of the Australian Flexible Pavement Association (AfPA) united national and international delegates to address emerging challenges and explore the opportunities driving the future of the flexible pavements sector.
Held on October 28-30 at the Adelaide Convention Centre, the three-day event featured more than 50 speakers, 40 exhibitors and over 400 delegates. The program delivered keynote plenaries, technical sessions, a poster exhibition, exhibitor presentations, and networking events, each focused-on capability, collaboration and innovation across the industry. The event’s title, ‘Future Ready Roads’, served as the core theme, and one that drove the majority of conversations, reflecting the sector’s collective commitment to delivering a resilient, sustainable, cost-effective and high-performing road network.
The first day of the conference program featured two major forums, focused on safety, and sustainability. The National Safety Forum aimed to address critical challenges, specifically bitumen fume monitoring, exclusion zones, AI-driven safety innovations and more, to increase national road worker safety. Likewise, the National Sustainability Forum discussed points of action and collaboration required to further support Australia’s mission towards achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Day two kicked off with the AfPA Young Leaders Breakfast Networking Forum, sponsored by Boral, connecting emerging professionals with senior industry representatives. This forum provided a platform for the sectors next generation to build the necessary connections and gain valuable insights into flexible pavement career pathways from established industry leaders.
Jon Whelan, Chief Executive, Department for Infrastructure and Transport, delivered the conference welcome on day two, noting the importance of the ongoing partnership between industry and government, a theme continued by Mia Barnard, Transport Decarbonisation Lead at GHD who reframed procurement as the single greatest lever for progress and change. Throughout her address, Barnard showcased examples of how Roads Australia and industry partners are embedding carbon reduction targets into the procurement process to accelerate progress toward net zero.
Another major theme of the conference was encapsulated by Neil Scales OBE, Former Director-General of Transport and Main Roads Queensland, who reinforced the criticality of maintaining Australia’s largest public asset. Scales’ message to delegates was unequivocal: deferred maintenance is not a saving; it is a cost multiplier.
In his session, Scales presented a compelling case as to why preventative maintenance must become a national priority to avoid reactive, high-cost fixes and extend network life. As Scales demonstrated why a shift in approach is imperative, Associate Professor at the University of Palermo, Davide Lo Presti, turned to how industry can achieve it in practice. In a technically rich session, Lo Presti examined decarbonisation pathways through digitisation, lifecycle assessment and sustainability rating systems. He challenged delegates to assess sustainability and resilience in terms of both economic performance and social impact. Lo Presti also demonstrated how connected vehicles can operate as a distributed sensing system to monitor network condition, support predictive maintenance and inform future investment decisions.
These insights provided a strong foundation as the program transitioned into the first of 32 technical presentations, each offering a deeper look at the projects, innovations and policy work shaping the sector. These technical sessions were complemented by an engaging poster Q&A, featuring 24 posters highlighting recent industry innovations, including the AfPA State Industry Safety and Innovation Award winners.
The Asphalt Arena was co-located within the main exhibition hall which hosted 42 exhibitors, showcasing the latest machinery, bitumen additive and infrastructure providers from a around the world. This included Viva Energy Australia, Downer, Fulton Hogan, SAMI Bitumen Technologies, ASTEC, Wirtgen Group, PFX Group, iNFORCE, Tyrecycle, and Altus just to name a few.
Additional to the technical sessions and exhibitions, the three-day conference ensured delegates had ample opportunities to connect and engage across industry.
From afternoon drinks and live music by the Torrens River, to the AfPA Young Leaders Networking Forum and the engaging Poster Sip & Learn session, every event was designed to foster collaboration and community. So was the launch of the Bitumen Bolt – a five kilometre fun run around the River Torrens, raising money for the Little Heroes Foundation and proudly supported by CarbonBind.
AfPA National Gala Dinner and Industry Awards
The event concluded with the AfPA National Gala Dinner and Industry Awards, sponsored by Viva Energy Australia, at Adelaide Oval’s William Magarey Room. The evening recognised and celebrated outstanding industry projects, innovations and individuals and was attended by nearly 400 guests, including the Hon. Emily Bourke, MLC, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, and Minister for Autism; Jon Whelan, Chief Executive, Department for Infrastructure and Transport; Madeleine McManus OAM, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Pavement Engineering Education; and Michael Caltabiano, Chief Executive Officer, NTRO, just to name a few.
This article was originally published in the December edition of our magazine. To read the magazine, click here.
