Roads Magazine February/March 2012

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February/March 2012

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REGULAR FEATURES


APRIL• IntelligentTransportSystems• StormwaterandErosionControl• RoadSafety• Bridges• AustStabSegment• EquipmentReview:Dozers,Loaders&Graders

JUNE• SurveyGear• Roads&TunnelLighting• RoadSafety• SafetyBarrierSystems• Excavators&Attachments• AAPAAsphaltReview• EquipmentReview:Paversandprofilers

UPCOMING FEATURES

ROAD CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY TO FALL SHARPLY Forecast by BIS Shrapnel 2

STUDY ASSESSES BARRIERS TO EFFICIENCY IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION Research by Queensland University of Technology 6PACIFIC HIGHWAY UPGRADE Includes Site Of Urunga Fatality 8

COUNCIL MANAGEMENT OF BRIDGES UNDER SCRUTINY BY AUDITOR–GENERAL Councils need to address weaknesses in their bridge management 10

AsphaltReview

Ceo’s Report 26Chairman’s Report 28Austroads PMB Trial 33Walter Holtrop Retiring 36Robert Busutill Joins AAPA 38Typical Causes And Solutions To Bleeding Seal Coats 40Asphalt Pavement Solutions For Life Implementation Project Update 44Vale — Ken Mackenzie 47Teamwork The Key In Efficient Preservation Of Sydney Icon 48Aapa 2012 Study Tour To Europe 49Training Course Program 50

PROJECT UPDATE 12 NEWS BRIEFING 16



1613 48

FEATURES


Road construction activity to fall sharply

In turn, the weak roads outlook will be a drag on Australia’s booming engineering construction sector, constraining overall growth in the market through to the middle of the decade.

“Will act as a drag on rising engineering construction work, with tight public finances and delays to next round of PPP projects to blame”

“Primarily, we will eventually see sharp declines in privately funded road work as major toll road projects such as the Airport Link in Brisbane move to completion — with the next round of toll road projects still several years away due to financing constraints and issues around the traditional Public Private Partnership (PPP) model of infrastructure delivery.

“According to the new report, privately funded road construction activity is expected to fall from $5.3 billion in 2010/11 to $4 billion in 2014/15 (in constant 2009/10 prices) given the absence of new PPP–style toll road projects.

“This is despite a pick–up in other private road segments such as housing subdivisions, mining access roads and airport runways and aprons,” Mr Hart said.

“Secondly, in the wake of the global financial crisis, we accelerated work on many of the publicly–funded road projects which underpinned the current five year Nation Building Program, formerly known as AusLink. “While the next five year funding program is due to begin in 2013/14, we are yet to see the federal and state governments finalise a list of new major roads projects and bring them to the market for development.”

According to Mr Hart, recent changes in state governments combined with a general mood back towards fiscal consolidation will also dampen public investment in new roads over the next few years, despite funding promised for flood–related reconstruction in Queensland.

“Governments at the state and federal level have significantly increased funding for road construction over the past five years. Public sector funded work is now double what it was in 2005, mostly focused in large new highways and arterials projects. But this spike in work is unsustainable,” he said.

“State governments have now committed to improving their budget bottom lines and, in the case of the Federal Government, achieving a budget surplus by 2012/13. Some states are focusing on alternative transport projects, such as rail. This will make it difficult to maintain very high funding for roads projects.”

According to the report, public funding for road construction is expected to fall from a peak of $11.6 billion in 2011/12 — mainly

Road construction, which has long been the largest infrastructure sector in Australia, is forecast to decline sharply after 2011/12, according to industry analyst and economic forecaster BIS Shrapnel.

According to BIS Shrapnel’s recently released report, Road Construction in Australia 2011 to 2026, total road construction activity across Australia rebounded 11% in real terms through 2010/11 to $16 billion. While activity is expected to remain near this level through 2011/12, the report forecasts a 20% decline in road construction activity through the next three years to 2014/15.

This contrasts with a 30% increase in non–road engineering construction activity across Australia forecast for the same period, driven primarily by mining and energy projects.

“Road construction faces a sharp squeeze on two fronts,” explained Adrian Hart, study leader and senior manager of the Infrastructure and Mining Unit at BIS Shrapnel.

Source: ABS data, BIS Shrapnel forecasts

Road Construction Activity by Funding Source

$Billion, 2009/10 Prices


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driven by flood reconstruction works — to $8.5 billion in 2014/15 as works under the current Nation Building Program move to completion and new projects get underway. However, this is still substantially higher than the previous trough of $4.9 billion in 2003/04.

Extent of decline can be avoidedOverall, road construction activity is forecast to decline 20% from the 2011/12 peak over the three years to 2014/15, before recovering. However, the report acknowledges that the extent and duration of the decline could be reduced if work were to start earlier than anticipated on the next round of public and private sector funded major roads projects.

“Ideally, work on the next round of projects will come through quicker than we have forecast in the report,” Mr Hart said.

“However, this will require more urgent action on the behalf of federal and state governments to establish the next set of Nation Building Program projects, as well as actively engaging with the private sector to encourage their involvement in their delivery.”

Long term need for private and public sector road infrastructureIn the longer term, BIS Shrapnel believes Australia will need to return to higher levels of road construction activity to fund major upgrades of the road network to handle ever–increasing freight demands and heavier axle loads, and to deal with chronic urban congestion issues in capital cities.

While Mr Hart acknowledges that freight demands and congestion should be tackled primarily through a combination of higher investment in alternative transport systems including rail, as well as roads pricing initiatives, there will also be a requirement to invest in new road infrastructure in capital cities, including the completion of the orbital network in Sydney and new linking projects in Melbourne and Brisbane.

“Over the next few years, growth in Australia’s infrastructure investment will be dominated by what is going on in the mining sector. By its nature, much of this work will be in the mining regions themselves, with relatively few developments in our capital cities.

“However, congestion and constraints to our freight transport systems in our cities will continue to get worse until new investment in capacity comes through. Given the size of the investment required, we will need to tap into the resources of both the public and private sectors to deliver effective solutions,” Mr Hart said.

“Australia has seen large spikes in road construction activity in the past when the private sector has made a strong contribution — particularly in building large toll roads in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane over the past two decades.

“BIS Shrapnel expects that the next wave of urban toll road projects will need a mixture of public and private sector financing to go ahead, but only once existing disincentives for private investment are removed.”

“BIS Shrapnel expects that the next wave of urban toll road projects will need a mixture of public and private sector financing to go ahead, but only once existing disincentives for private investment are removed.”

New South WalesActivity rebounded 36% in 2010/11 to $4.5 billion as public spending on roads in New South Wales ramped up from already elevated levels. But activity is set to contract after 2011/12 due to the peaking of work on the M2 expansion and the completion of several major public projects. Another strong upswing is expected from 2015/16, underpinned by new private projects such as the M4 East and the F3–M2 Link.

VictoriaRoad construction in Victoria posted sharp gains in 2010/11 with total construction rebounding to $2.6 billion. The jump in activity stemmed predominantly from further large state and federally–funded projects designed to alleviate congestion around Melbourne’s urban centres. BIS Shrapnel is forecasting road construction activity to remain high in 2011/12 before falling back over the two years to 2013/14, as a dearth of new projects prevails and weaker private sector involvement continues in the absence of major toll road projects.

QueenslandIn 2010/11, work done contracted to $4.9 billion despite strong fundamentals, as widespread flooding and Cyclone Yasi impacted negatively on the December 2010 and March 2011 road construction quarterly results. Following a flood–reconstruction boost in 2011/12, activity is tipped to contract sharply over the three years to 2014/15 as flood money dissipates, the Airport Link concludes and major publicly–funded projects begin to wind down.

Western AustraliaThe completion of the Perth to Bunbury Highway, combined with an easing of the private sector outlook, suggests that the historically high levels of work done in 2008/09 was unsustainable, and it will be a number of years before this peak is reached again. However, reasonably strong subdivision activity will help keep overall road construction around the $2 billion mark, which is still a strong level of activity for Western Australia.

South Australia Activity moved higher in 2010/11 to $1.1 billion, driven mainly by the new South Road/Superway works. Road construction activity should remain elevated over the next two years, as the Southern Expressway duplication and Olympic Dam expansion–related works join the Superway activity, offsetting falling subdivision works. Declines are then expected through to the middle of the decade.

TasmaniaRoads construction in Tasmania is expected to fall back sharply in 2011/12, following a spike in National Building Program works through 2010/11. Activity should continue to soften over the three years to 2014/15.

Northern Territory/Australian Capital TerritoryRoad construction in the Northern Territory is expected to trend lower — but remain at a high level in historical terms — over the next five years. The Northern Territory Government remains committed to historically high levels of infrastructure expenditure to support employment and the general economy until the private sector recovers from its current lethargy. Meanwhile, work levels in the Australian Capital Territory will strengthen when the $288 million Majura Parkway project moves into a construction phase.

State–by–state outlook

FEATURES


Restrictive tender processes and disagreements about risk allocation are hampering efficiency in the construction of Australia’s roads, according to a new study by the Queensland University of Technology.

The Innovative Road Products Survey — the largest and most comprehensive ever undertaken — questioned over 200 construction industry participants about the development of new products for use on Australia’s roads to improve the efficiency of their construction and performance over time.

Project Manager, Dr Tim Rose from QUT, said although two–thirds of participants had introduced, or facilitated the introduction, of new products over the last three years, 77% had difficulties due to a range of obstacles, including the tender process.

“Despite recent moves away from cost–dominated selection towards performance and ability, data showed innovation in the construction industry is still hampered by the restrictive nature of the tender process.

“In turn, contractors and manufacturers — who were nominated as the two groups most important in generating new product ideas — were less motivated to do so if they knew they were competing to undertake a construction project based only on their competitive price,” Dr Rose said. “On large complex construction projects, this situation can result in less willingness to align with a ‘best–for–project’ culture, and may induce an individualist, protectionist stance that discourages open dialogue about the potential use of innovative products.

“This means that the industry is stuck using old ideas and potential efficiency gains are not realised, which increases the cost of our roads.

“There is an estimated $96 billion worth of investment in the pipeline at the moment to deliver Australia’s engineering and construction program, which is over ten times that of a decade ago.

“Innovation in the operation and delivery of infrastructure projects could lead to higher returns on tax–payer funded projects and could help us achieve this program at lower cost,” Dr Rose contended.

The survey covered industry participants in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria in all stages of the supply chain, comprising suppliers (manufacturers and distributors), consultants (engineering consultants), contractors (head and subcontractors) and clients (state government road agencies).

Lead Investigator, Dr Karen Manley from QUT, said low learning capacity by the industry also hampered its participants from developing new ways to overcome their problems.

Study assesses barriers to efficiency in road construction

“Of the industry groups surveyed, suppliers were shown to have the best learning capacity. Consultants showed the lowest, which means they are not in a good position to ensure implementation of ideas on road projects.”

“Nearly one in five construction organisations had low learning capacity and thus poor learning processes,” Dr Manley said.

“This was measured by their ability to acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit knowledge from their environment.

“Each link in the supply chain must learn from the others and develop stronger relationships to improve innovation and become more efficient and effective,” she said.

The survey found that organisations with high levels of experience in relationship–based types of construction contracts were significantly less likely to have difficulties implementing innovations.

“Collaborative inter–organisational relationships showed a significant positive effect on innovation on construction projects,” Dr Manley said.

“This is a very important result, proving that relationship–based contracts, such as Alliances and Early Contractor Involvement Contracts really do improve innovation, and thereby efficiency in the construction of Australia’s roads.

“This finding refutes any doubts about the value proposition of relationship–based contracts, such as those raised by various treasury departments,” she said.

The research project is a collaboration between QUT, the Federal Government, the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, the Construction Industry Institute of Australia (CIIA) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW). The full Innovative Products Survey 2011 results are published online at: www.bee.qut.edu.au/research/projects/innovativeproducts/outputs.jsp


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Construction companies had until February 23 to register their interest in designing and upgrading a section of the Pacific Highway where two people, one of them an 11–year–old boy, were killed on January 8.

The upgrade relates to the Nambucca Heads to Urunga section of the highway — the 22 kilometre section is part of the larger 42 kilometre Warrell Creek to Urunga project.

The accident occurred at Urunga when a truck collided with a utility, careered out of control and ploughed into a house. The driver of the utility was killed in the collision and the boy died when the truck hit the house.

Pacific Highway Upgrade includes site of Urunga fatality

Once completed in 2016, the Nambucca Heads to Urunga upgrade will deliver improved driving conditions for the 15,000 motorists and truck drivers who use the section of highway each day.

A shortlist of applicants will be chosen for the project in May and will be invited to submit tenders. In the meantime, Roads and Marine Services (RMS) will continue acquiring land to prepare the section for the start of major construction in early 2013.

NSW Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, said the fatality at Urunga highlighted the importance of upgrading the highway.

Mr Gay said the NSW Government strongly supported the Federal Government’s commitment to complete duplication of the Pacific Highway by 2016.

“Planning and pre–construction activities are currently proceeding on the Nambucca to Urunga project to prepare it for major work. Upgrading this section of road, which includes a bypass of the Urunga township, is a priority for the NSW Government.”

Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, said both sides of politics had let down the Urunga community by not investing sufficient funds in duplicating the highway.

Mr Albanese told Channel Seven’s Sunrise Program the day after the accident: “Governments haven’t invested in it (the duplication).

“One of the problems that you have with infrastructure in general is that it’s very easy to put it off until tomorrow. Because

Concrete paving of the Ballina bypass Image courtesy www.rta.nsw.gov.au

Pacific Highway upgrade at Bonville Image courtesy www.rta.nsw.gov.au


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when you plan a road — for example, the planning taking place to fix this section of road — you can’t actually duplicate it overnight.

“The planning hasn’t been done. Governments have let the community down — both sides of politics and both levels,” Mr Albanese said. He said nearly 60% of the highway between Sydney and Brisbane was now dual carriageway.

“We’re doing it in partnership with the NSW Government. We’ve committed $4.1 billion to the highway and they’ve committed $1 billion.”

Mr Albanese said, however, that level of funding wasn’t enough.

“And what we’ve said is that both governments need to do more. We’ve said let’s end the politics; let’s have 50–50 funding, NSW–Federal; let’s get it done by 2016. That’s an objective the New Government shares.”

Mr Gay said the Urunga crash occurred about 800 metres from a speed camera site which had been turned off following the Auditor–General’s 2011 speed camera audit.

He said the speed camera at Urunga was one of 38 locations identified in the Auditor–General’s audit as not delivering the desired road safety benefit.

“Transport NSW is carrying out a safety review of all the camera locations, which were switched off last year. The review of all 38 locations is due to be completed by the end of March 2012.”

Mr Gay said he had asked Transport for NSW and Roads and Marine Services (RMS) to speed–up implementation of alternative road safety treatments at the Urunga site.

“These measures will include the installation of flashing illuminated speed limit signs to ensure motorists are aware of the changed speed zone, improved road markings and additional signage warning drivers of approaching curves.

“I have also asked RMS to activate the speed camera in warning mode so that speeding motorists receive a warning notice while the success of these alternative treatments can be assessed,” Mr Gay said.

“Some experts and the community have also expressed concern that the speed camera was not in the right location to slow heavy vehicles through the Urunga township.

“They have suggested a better mechanism would be point–to–point speed enforcement across a longer stretch of highway through Urunga, which would slow heavy vehicles through the whole town, helping to eliminate

Image courtesy www.abc.net.au

Urunga crash site where a truck and ute collided and crashed into a house

the occurrence of heavy vehicles slowing at the site of the fixed speed camera and then accelerating afterwards.

“I have asked Transport for NSW to immediately assess this option and, if the appropriate criteria are met, to install a point–to–point heavy vehicle speed camera along this stretch,” Mr Gay said.

FEATURES


“If bridges are not properly maintained or fail to keep up with increasing demands, they become pinch points that prevent the free and efficient movement of people and freight.”

Council management of bridges under scrutiny by Auditor–General

Victorian councils need to improve the quality of their management of road bridges and major culverts, according to an audit carried out by the State’s Auditor–General.

The Management of Road Bridges audit by Des Pearson looked at the performance of VicRoads and councils in managing the assets.

VicRoads is responsible for about 6,000 bridges and major culverts while the five councils examined as part of the audit — Bendigo, East Gippsland, Hume, Pyrenees and Strathbogie manage another 1,000 of the structures.

Mr Pearson said in his audit report that bridges were critical links in the road network because they carried traffic over natural and man–made obstacles.

“If bridges are not properly maintained or fail to keep up with increasing demands, they become pinch points that prevent the free and efficient movement of people and freight.”

The report said road users had expectations about the level of service provided when they travelled across bridges — expectations included the safety, speed, reliability, comfort and cost of travel.

It said the road industry needed bridges that allowed the flexibility to use larger, more efficient trucks on direct routes.

Mr Pearson said in his report that effective asset management meant applying plans that delivered the services the community required cost–effectively over the lives of the assets by:• Setting clear and comprehensive target levels of service;

20%increase in overall vehicle kilometres

Figure 3D from Management of Road Bridges auditCondition of bridges and major culverts by council

Pyrenees Strathbogie Bendigo East Gippsland Hume

0

100

300

400

500

600

200

Poor–very poor ExcellentVery goodGoodFair

5%

24%

52%

Source: Victorian Auditor–General’s Office Over the past decade the volume of traffic and road freight has increased sharply with:

41%increase in the weight of goods carried by road

2% 3% 7%12%

16%

3%

15%

8%

31%

41%

50%34%

41%

34%

38%

17%

6%

9%

52%

Number


• Forming long–term plans and annual priorities to make the most efficient use of available funding; and

• Regularly measuring performance and forecasting how current decisions and agencies’ long–term plans were likely to affect levels of service.Mr Pearson found the councils’ management of the bridges and

culverts had been partly effective.He said the structures had been safe for road users, but councils

needed to address weaknesses in their management of the assets to be fully assured about their future safe use.

Mr Pearson said councils had to tackle the completeness, reliability and use of asset information which applied to all councils in varying degrees. All councils had gaps in their documented processes; for example, none had adequately documented how they managed high–risk structures.

“In terms of performance management, local communities do not have access to information that allows them to understand how well councils have managed bridges and culverts,” he noted in the report.

The Auditor–General contended that councils had not measured bridge performance as experienced by road users. Mr Pearson said much of the relevant technical information they held had not been made public — this included budgeted and actual expenditure for creating, maintaining and renewing the assets, the rate at which bridges depreciated and ratings of bridge condition.

He said councils needed to:• Define levels of service that were meaningful to road users;• Set targets that took account of community expectations; and• Publish information that measured past achievements and the

expected implications of future levels of resourcing.Mr Pearson made a number of recommendations in his report

concerning councils. He said they should:• Define bridge levels of service that capture outcomes which are

important to road users and incorporate associated targets and measures in their plans;

• Publish information that will allow the community to understand councils’ performance in terms of the past and forecast costs and service outcomes; and

• Address the information and process weaknesses identified in the audit report.

The full report into the Management of Road Bridges, including comments by Mr Pearson relating to VicRoads, can be accessed from the home page of Auditor–General’s website at www.audit.vic.gov.au


MAJOR PROJECTS

Airport Link vision close to becoming reality

One of the longest and largest infrastructure projects ever built in Australia is only months away from completion.

The Airport Link project, including construction of the Northern Busway Windsor to Kedron, remains on schedule to be finished by 30 June 2012.

In mid–January, the complex project was more than 95% complete with 25 million hours worked since construction began in late 2008.

At Toombul, the focus was on the rehabilitation of Kalinga Park.

The massive acoustic shed built for the Airport Link’s Tunnel Boring Machine assembly and tunnelling was being dismantled and the final precast beams were being lowered to complete the Airport Link tunnel roof between Kalinga Park West and Sandgate Road.

Underground, the mechanical and electrical fit out of the tunnels was well underway, while on the surface, support facilities were being removed to make way for landscaping.

Since November 2008 the project has:• Spent $3.75 billion building Airport Link,

the Northern Busway (Windsor to Kedron) and the Airport Roundabout Upgrade;

• Created 4,500 jobs at peak with more than 3,300 people still employed;

• Bored and lined 15 kilometres of tunnel and ramps;

• Constructed 25 bridges;• Poured more than 800,000 cubic metres

of concrete;

• Upgraded hundreds of kilometres of water, power and sewer services;

• Distributed more than one million notifications to local residents and businesses; and

• Provided more than 500 individual mitigation treatments for nearby residents.CEO of BrisConnections, Ray Wilson, said

Airport Link would revolutionise the way motorists travelled in Brisbane.

“Airport Link will bridge a missing link in Brisbane’s road network, saving people up to half an hour of travel every day,” Dr Wilson said.

“Airport Link will add six lanes of new roadway under Lutwyche Road and four extra lanes between Kedron and Toombul.

“When it opens, it will allow motorists to drive between Bowen Hills and Toombul in less than five minutes, avoiding 18 sets of traffic lights along the way.”

Thiess John Holland Project Director Gordon Ralph said thousands of men and women had worked incredibly hard over the past three years and 3,300 people were still working to complete the massive project by June 30.

Treasurer, Andrew Fraser, said what has been an engineering feat was now taking shape as an iconic feature of the city of Brisbane. Mr Fraser thanked local residents for their patience saying that the new toll road would significantly ease congestion for commuters.

“Importantly Airport Link will reduce traffic on the local roads, as well as our main arterials, by providing divers with the option of a quick and efficient trip to and from the CBD and the Airport.”

Airport Link, which is being designed and constructed by Thiess John Holland, along with the Northern Busway (Windsor to Kedron) and the Airport Roundabout Upgrade, is part of a $4.8 billion infrastructure investment on Brisbane’s northside.

Thirteen kilometres of new and upgraded cycle and pathways are also being delivered as part of the project, and more than three hectares of new parkland will be provided to the community at completion.

Launching truss set to create SA’s elevated superway project

A 140 metre launching truss will start work in March on raising massive segments into place on South Australia’s first elevated road — the $812 million South Road Superway project.

The truss has been described by state Transport and Infrastructure Minister, Patrick Conlon, as “the impressive structure dominating the Regency Park skyline”.

It will be lifting up to eight segments a day as the 2,200 segment jigsaw starts taking

shape between the Port River Expressway and Regency Road.

“The sheer scale of works being undertaken on this stretch of road is certainly impressive, not to mention the logistics behind the works with many different construction activities underway and countless tradies working hard,” Mr Conlon said.

“We have now successfully placed 23 segments and we will move to full construction using the launching truss.

“Sixty–eight piers, made on location using formwork to create their curved structure, will hold the roadway’s segments in place and elevate the new roadway up to 17 metres above the existing South Road.”

Mr Conlon said each pier could weigh up to 464 tonnes and was made of about 35 truckloads of concrete and 47 tonnes of steel.

“It’s an enormous project and last November we achieved a significant safety milestone with the team reaching one million construction hours without a lost time injury,” he said.

“This is a fantastic achievement and further evidence of this project’s successful implementation of Occupational Health Safety and Welfare policies.”

When complete in December 2013, the project will deliver a 2.8 kilometre elevated roadway, providing benefits for freight and commuter traffic with excellent connections to the existing road network and a reduction in travel times of up to seven minutes.

The construction work is part of the Federal and South Australian Governments’ joint investment in the South Road Superway.

Roads Magazine February/March 2012

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Transcript of Roads Magazine February/March 2012