The roads and infrastructure sectors are taking strides in road resilience, recycling and rehabilitation. Despite these developments, there’s still a long path to improvement ahead. Roads & Infrastructure Magazine hears from four key decision makers on the importance of the next steps ahead.
Australia’s road network is one of the largest in the world, estimated to be larger than 877,000 kilometres (Roads Australia).
The size of the existing road network, paired with rapid expansion caused by Federal and state government investment, means Australia’s road network will face even greater expansion.
Roads Australia predicts that to 2024-25, the estimated spend on road construction activity will be equal to $106 billion. And yet annual maintenance budgets are in the order of $7 billion.
While such a large focus has been placed on future development, maintaining existing road infrastructure cannot be overlooked, Jim Appleby, Chief Operating Officer – Hiway Group says.
“Particularly in a country as geographically spread as Australia. If you don’t have a well maintained and resilient road network you have disconnection and disruption” he says.
“That disconnection has not just an economic cost, but a social cost as well. As soon as you lose your road network, then commerce and community are directly affected. Having those connections are critical to the success of the nation.”
One of the core components of maintaining the existing network is road resiliency. This relates to suitable infrastructure that can endure current and future hazards, such as severe weather events, high traffic volumes and changing infrastructure environments.
Dr. Michael Moffatt, Chief Technology Leader and Discipline Leader: Pavements, Safer Smarter Infrastructure – NTRO
(formally ARRB), says Australia’s reliance on road travel places an even greater need
on road resilience.
“In terms of surfacing, the vast majority or two-thirds of Australia’s roads are unsealed, and road travel is the most popular mode of transport,” he says.
“Roads are also responsible for carrying around 65 per cent of all freight. Essentially our communities are linked by the existence of the road network. If the road network isn’t resilient, then communities are not connected. People don’t have the same access to family, social groups, food, medical services and more.”
Daniel Orriss, Executive General Manager, Stabilised Pavements of Australia, says the opportunity to provide better performing assets is in the interests of both the public and asset owners.
He says the floods in Queensland are an important example of evaluating the resiliency of an infrastructure network.
“Queensland experienced significant rainfall events around 10 years ago and the Queensland Government has subsequently taken time to really learn what had been the biggest impacts to those assets,” Orriss says. “The end damage bill was above $5 billion to repair and rehabilitate the network after those events.
“Rather than just accept that outcome, the QLD State Government looked and evaluated ‘how we could prevent this outcome from occurring again in the future?”
“These learnings weren’t only in designing for asset life, or traffic loads on the road network, but they also incorporated the impacts that can occur from a weather perspective, to make sure that design outcomes encompass elements that are going to increase road resiliency.”
Orriss says that understanding these impacts, not only just for roads, but also other components of the state’s infrastructure, helped to give an indication of what needs to be incorporated to limit any network failures from occurring in the future.
“It requires asset owners to be more aware of what options they have, as well as the benefits of each option. For example, utilising pavement materials that are less susceptible to moisture is a really good option,” he says.
He says this includes considerations such as moisture ingress and materials that have reduced moisture sensitivity properties.
Greener and greater
On top of future-proofing and creating a more reliable road network, increased road resiliency can also provide a suit of benefits in terms of sustainability, says Appleby.
“I can only applaud that sustainability is now a primary consideration,” he says. “Now more than ever there’s a big push towards sustainability and reducing our carbon impact, and rightfully so.”
Appleby adds that increased sustainability doesn’t come at a cost to quality.
“I’m sure we all want to leave a positive legacy for our children. Sustainability should be at the forefront, but it doesn’t mean it has to come with a technical compromise. The technology is already available, such as in-situ stabilising, where we are reusing what were previously raw materials. We reuse and recycle, to bring these materials back to their former glory,” he says.
“Confidence in recycled materials has definitely grown. With the technical depth and engineering capabilities available in Australia, we’re now talking about achieving the same pavement quality, but in a different way,” Appleby says.
Recycling and re-use doesn’t only help to reduce carbon emissions as well as the reliance on virgin materials, but can also reduce pressures surrounding the financial aspects of infrastructure development.
“We have to be honest. There isn’t a bottomless pit of available funds for road construction and maintenance,” Appleby says. “We have to be thrifty in the road building world. We don’t need to have a gold-plated network, we need a network that’s resilient and fit for purpose.
“The reality is that it’s cheaper to recycle a road than dig out and put in a new one. It just makes commercial and environmental sense.
“Australia’s in a position to impress the world if we fully embrace road recycling.”
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Quality leads to safety
Appleby believes increased road resiliency, and therefore increased road quality, can also play an “essential role” in tackling one of Australia’s biggest safety issues.
The Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics says Australia’s annual road death toll in 2022 was 1194, an increase of five per cent on 2021.
“We’re clearly fighting a mounting death toll on Australian roads,” Appleby says. “Investment into the road network can increase the safety of roads. These safety elements should never be forgotten, because ultimately, we’re talking about people’s lives.”
Simon Abrahams, General Manager, National Specialised Pavements & Projects Division – Downer Group, says any technical innovations and efficiencies that lead to enhanced road resilience and subsequently to driver safety must be considered.
“Road safety and in recent years the increasing death toll is currently a huge concern for all Australians,” Abrahams says.
“The advantage of road stabilisation works, and the road resiliency that comes with these recycled pavements, is that if you have a bound and stabilised pavement surface, it is far more robust and reduces the likelihood of future pavement failures. Furthermore, recycled pavements often offer a more sustainable and cost effective solution which means more improvement work can be done with limited funding.”
The to do list
To support increased road resiliency, as well as a higher adoption of sustainable road construction methods and material use, Downer’s Abrahams says an appropriate and mature procurement process is the first step.
“A lot of times, it is assumed that virgin material will deliver a better result in comparison to recycled and stabilised options because it’s new. This traditional method of road design and specifications is evolving as communities demand a more sustainable approach,” he says.
Abrahams adds that changing this way of thinking will not only support increased sustainability, but also overall cost efficiency and final road quality.
“You get the best results when you have a process that creates collaboration between the asset owner, designers and expert construction contractors with a deep knowledge of pavement recycling,” he says.
“There are three key factors to making the collaboration successful and achieving sustainable, resilient, and optimum project outcomes.
“Firstly, set clear expectations upfront with designers, that input from contractors will be sought on pavement recycling options to allow the designer to consider this in their approach.
“Secondly, allow sufficient time in the procurement process for pavement investigation and testing and providing contractors the geotechnical investigation data early in the process, to consider and recommend genuine alternatives.
“Thirdly and finally, it’s important to ensure that risk is allocated to the parties that can most effectively manage it. Tenderers can then develop better, and more innovative solutions based on reliable information and lower project costs and risks accordingly.”
Stabilised Pavements of Australia’s Orriss says another key driver of a sustainable and resilient road network will be education.
“Education and awareness is one of the biggest challenges. Often what you already know, or what you have been doing for years becomes the first option. It’s important to be educated and remain aware of other options that are out there,” he says.
“Due to the nature of the industry, people are transient and move around roles. That’s where you can lose that inherent knowledge, as it’s not easily transferred, and it takes time to build up that knowledge.”
Education isn’t the only issue.
“The other challenge is what you could consider risk management. When asset owners utilise third-party designers, there’s often a disconnect between options that are selected based on the risk to the designer, as opposed to engineering fit for purpose solutions that fit in within the asset owners needs,” Orriss says.
“There’s a great opportunity for asset owners where they’re devoid of that internal experience to leverage off what the industry can provide. Particularly organisations like Stabilised Pavements of Australia, which can support them through a documented design process to achieve better outcomes.”
A like-minded partner
Despite being competitors, Hiway Group, Stabilised Pavements of Australia and Downer are all united by their vision of a more sustainable, resilient and effective domestic road network.
These organisations also share another common denominator – the support of Wirtgen Group Machinery for their equipment needs.
Appleby says both Hiway Group and Wirtgen are united by both companies push for continual improvement and technological development for the betterment of the industry.
“It’s great to have a partner that is willing to collaborate with us to drive improvement,” Appleby says. “Just like us, Wirtgen isn’t happy with what we do today, we’re constantly challenging ourselves for tomorrow.”
Orriss believes it’s the manufacturer’s passion and commitment that differentiates Wirtgen from others in the market.
“They’ve partnered with organisations such as ourselves to enable them to use subject matter experts to develop products to be fit for purpose,” he says.
Abrahams says Downer has shared a more than 20 year professional relationship.
“The majority of our frontline specialist recycling equipment is Wirtgen machinery, not just because Wirtgen Australia support the pavement recycling industry, but because they provide some of the most advanced equipment that’s currently available anywhere in the world,” he says.
This article was originally published in the July edition of our magazine. To read the magazine, click here.