Austroads has published a report which proposes a nationally consistent approach to assessing the impact of Performance Based Standards (PBS) vehicles on pavements, a process that will improve access for PBS vehicles and provide support for local government assessors.
The report presents a seven-step pavement assessment review process, including a checklist which has been designed to prompt road managers to consider common concerns associated with determining access on local government roads.
The process would allow for most PBS access applications to be approved based on the information contained in the application, understanding that most PBS vehicles cause no more pavement wear than traditional heavy vehicles. Road managers can still choose to complete a pavement impact comparison, but this is likely to be for the minority of PBS applications.
The PBS scheme was implemented as an alternative heavy vehicle regulatory scheme in 2008. Despite the scheme being in operation for more than a decade, there is still widespread misunderstanding about PBS vehicles and how their access to the road network should be assessed.
The report highlights key findings to compliment the proposed pavement assessment review process and further support road managers, particularly those working in local government.
Download the report: Investigation of Pavement Assessment Methodologies for Performance Based Standards Access
Related stories:
- Austroads recommends major changes to traffic management guide
- Austroads proposes new crumb rubber binder specifications
- Austroads updates future vehicles forecast