For decades, Austroads Guide to Road Design (AGRD) has served as a critical resource for practitioners involved in road planning, design and engineering. Austroads recently completed a strategic review of road design guidance, identifying strategies to sustainably maintain the AGRD as the pre-eminent road design guide in Australia and New Zealand. Through an online survey and face-to-face interviews, the project team identified opinions and possible strategic actions from users of the AGRD, stakeholders in road design practice and international experts. This webinar describes what the review learned, and the nature of actions proposed to realise identified opportunities. Webinar presenters, Andrew Somers and Dr Rod Troutbeck, report on the findings of the engagement with the AGRD’s users and non-users. Provided feedback identified that road design must be context-sensitive and Austroads’ road design guidance needs to cover the range of contexts and the application of judgement is a critical part of context-sensitive designs and solutions. The presenters also explore how changes to structure and content might allow the AGRD to: better cover urban environments integrate guidance for planning and design more effectively promote context-sensitive design practices establish clearer links to supporting evidence.

The Department of Transport Western Australia has been working with Western Australian local governments to develop, trial and evaluate ‘safe active streets’ to encourage more people to walk, wheel and ride in their communities. The pilot program trialled and adapted common local area traffic management treatments to create 30 km/h environments with unique designs created that reflect local community needs and context. This webinar explores the origins of the program, how and why it started, it will share high-level insights from the evaluation, including what worked, what didn’t and what was learnt along the way. It also shares ‘where to next’ for the program and how this work will be used to inform guidelines to support the delivery of safe active street infrastructure by local government into the future. The webinar is presented by Caroline Elliott and Helen Ginbey, moderated by Sam Bolton. This webinar is part of the Cycling and Walking Australia and New Zealand (CWANZ) webinar series. CWANZ is the Australasian lead reference group for walking and bike riding on transport and recreation networks. For further information please visit www.cwanz.com.au

Moisture damage in asphalt (also known as stripping) can significantly reduce the durability and strength of asphalt pavements, often resulting in expensive repairs. Hydrated lime is widely used in Australia to reduce the moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixes in service; however, potentially more sustainable additives (such as liquid anti-stripping agents) are also widely used internationally to reduce the risk of moisture damage in asphalt pavements. Austroads has completed a project that investigated the use of alternative anti-stripping additives (other than hydrated lime) to reduce the moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixes in service. An interim laboratory assessment protocol was developed to assess the effectiveness of different anti-stripping additives. This webinar with Joe Grobler, Dr Chrysoula Pandelidi and Sean Dorahy presents: important factors affecting the moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixes commonly used moisture susceptibility test methods the main benefits and disadvantages of using hydrated lime or liquid anti-stripping agents an interim Austroads laboratory assessment protocol to evaluate the effectiveness of different anti-stripping additives.

The National Walking and Cycling Participation Survey is a survey of the Australian community to understand their participation in walking and cycling. The survey has been run every two years since 2011. Until 2019 the survey was managed by Austroads. In 2021, Cycling and Walking Australia and New Zealand (CWANZ) took over the coordination of the survey, adding walking to get a baseline on the level of participation for walking across Australia. In this webinar, CWANZ presented the 2023 National Walking and Cycling Participation Survey, covered its methodology and provided a high-level overview of the results. Presenters also spoke about how the data is used in different states. Speakers were Cameron Munro, CDM Research, Fiona Goodbody, Department of Transport, Western Australia and Dr Tepi Mclaughlin from University of Western Australia.

Austroads has completed a project to replace the obsolete gyratory compactors used in design and quality control testing of asphalt mixes and update its Guide to Pavement Technology Part 4B: Asphalt. Austroads asphalt mix design procedure currently relies on Gyropac compaction for volumetric mix design. The discontinuation of the Gyropac compactor has resulted in a significant gap in the Austroads asphalt mix design procedure and created a need for a replacement. The Austroads Asphalt Research Technical Group has identified the Superpave™ gyratory compactor as the most likely replacement for this gap. The project team undertook a comprehensive literature review and testing of asphalt mixes to understand the relationship between compaction in Gyropac, Servopac (setup to AS/NZS) and Superpave™ gyratory compactors to allow the adoption of the Superpave™ standard gyratory settings in the Austroads mix design procedure. This webinar, presented by Dr Bevan Sullivan and Sean Dorahy, provided a detailed overview of the project, including the findings of the literature review and test data. There were question and answer opportunities during the session.

Austroads has completed its update of Section 3: Inspection, Testing, Monitoring and Reporting of the Guide to Bridge Technology Part 7: Maintenance and Management of Existing Bridges. The project involved taking a fresh look at the inspection process to provide a flexible framework from which users of the Guide can develop and improve their own inspection processes. The project team undertook an assessment of Australian and New Zealand jurisdictions, as well as some international organisations. The assessment included reviewing the processes and practices and the uses of inspection data collected at each inspection level. This was followed up with a workshop with each individual jurisdiction. Practices varied across the jurisdictions from basic to advanced levels in terms of programming, data collection, and inspection processes. Similar observations were also made of the international practices assessed. The current practices were also assessed against the existing documentation to quantify gaps within the existing documentation. With the current range of complexities in systems, data requirements and processes, coupled with the intention of some jurisdictions to change existing practices, it was concluded that a flexible approach is needed within the revised inspection framework to enable varying jurisdictional needs to be accommodated. The fundamentals such as defining inspection types, components and component numbering are documented as a single approach, whilst for other sections, a risk-based framework will be adopted to allow flexibility, such as in assigning inspection timings. Key updates to the Guide include: Condition rating vs defect mapping, allowing flexibility to adopt positions between the two processes. Standardisation of bridge and culvert definition. A ‘Rosetta stone’ of bridge componentisation, describing the nuances of the different jurisdictions. Standardisation of component rating descriptors. Reaffirming and refining inspection levels and inspection frequencies. Audit, quality control and inspector training. The webinar will be presented by Andy Ng and Paul Cannons.

This webinar presents the work involved in developing a standardised comparative risk assessment method for assessing life safety risk of dangerous goods being routed through the tunnel or via an alternative surface route. The project was conceived to focus on new road tunnel projects, but the methodology developed could also be used for comparative assessment of alternative surface routes. Dangerous goods are a wide variety of substances and objects that pose acute risks to people, property, and the environment due to their chemical or physical characteristics. The transport by road of such goods is necessary to achieve broad societal benefits, yet such transport has inherent risk of significant events adversely affecting people (road users, adjacent populations, and responders) and the environment. The webinar describes the proposed methodology as well as providing a case study application of the methodology to aid practitioners. The session provides a summary of the legal context for undertaking such assessments and the responsibilities that lie with the various stakeholder parties. The authors also present the broader context in which the life safety assessment results should be considered and the other decision-making factors that should be applied. The webinar is presented by Dr Conrad Stacey and Nigel Casey.

This webinar is hosted with the Digital Atlas of Australia Team and Geoscience Australia. In this session we explore how the Digital Atlas is transforming the way we access and use location data. The team discusses the National Roads dataset – a comprehensive dataset on Australia’s roads, now freely accessible to the public. The team also talks about the value and insights driven by integrating a national, reliable view of Australia's road networks with other trusted location data.

Over the last decade there has been a trend by a number of governments to invest more heavily in transport infrastructure and systems, and to accelerate programs of work. This has been a response to various ‘burning platforms’ including transport congestion in our major urban areas, fast growing populations, extreme events like flooding, bushfires and earthquakes, and job creation to support economic growth. While there is an extensive range of advice on project management, there is little written up on how to successfully set-up and accelerate programs of work using the best of project management and governance techniques, particularly in the context of Australian and New Zealand. The Austroads recently complete project aimed to fill this gap by highlighting key things to consider for programs generally up to $500 million from the experience of over 50 experts. A number of case studies are presented to illustrate best practice. This also includes how best practice can be amplified and a culture of continuous improvement can be best established and maintained. Not surprisingly, the report outlines how successful delivery of accelerated programs is underpinned by sound initial planning, strong governance and leadership, role clarity and an understanding across the team of the importance of the work. Particularly in pressure situations to make ‘things happen’, these things can be forgotten about or not given enough thought and resource. The case studies demonstrate how programs can be accelerated and robust prioritisation, approval and procurement process can still be followed. It just takes a clear focus on the desired outcomes and a strong mandate. This webinar is presented by Duminda Wijayasinghe, David Silvester and Ray Paterson.

This webinar presents the results of the Austroads project that developed guidelines for incident response vehicles and truck-mounted attenuators. The project was a collaboration between Austroads, iMOVE, Queensland University of Technology and Deakin University. Two sets of guidelines have been developed as part of the project. The first set provides information on models/types and design specifications of incident response vehicles. The guidance focuses on three vehicle types: tow trucks, truck-mounted attenuators (TMAs) and utility vehicles. In general, the design considerations are separated into three stages: determining models and general specifications, determining additional features and equipment, and determining markings, signs and other identification measures to ensure visibility and identifiability of the incident response vehicles. The second set provides guidance on when and how TMAs and other attenuator vehicles should be used in incident response scenarios. The use of TMAs for incident response often requires departures from the established guidelines for TMA use, which are generally developed around planned operations (i.e. roadworks and maintenance activities). These issues are addressed alongside related considerations around broader temporary traffic management pertaining to incident response specifically. In the webinar, presenters Narelle Haworth, Ashim Debnath and Drew Gaynor, provide an overview of the project, including the findings of the literature review, results of the stakeholder consultations and guideline development.

The United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 has set the ambitious global target to halve road traffic fatalities and injuries by 2030. Some jurisdictions have set even more ambitious targets by setting a date for achieving zero road trauma, such as by 2050. While there is a growing body of evidence around what initiatives are effective in reducing road crashes and injuries, what is missing is how to prioritise these measures and a lack of tangible planning frameworks to assist countries to link near- and long-term targets with day-to-day operations. This webinar explores how to use backcasting, a vision-based planning approach, to determine what the metrics of a safe road system should look like in order to achieve zero road trauma and how the current road system is tracking towards this desired state and how jurisdictions can utilise this approach to develop strategies to achieve their near- and long-term targets. The webinar is presented by Jessica Truong, the winner of the Women in Road Safety Award presented by Austroads at the 2023 Australasian Road Safety Conference.

Driver licensing legislation and regulation is the responsibility of each of Australia’s 8 states and territories. However, there is a commitment by all jurisdictional regulators to harmonised practices with minimum licensing standards. Under the Austroads registration and licensing taskforce, states and territories agree periodic programs of work to improve licensing practice which recognises emerging research and trends and supports movement towards increasing road safety. To guide the development of licensing practice in Australia all states and territories have agreed to the five principles of aspirational intent to guide and inform their licensing policy and work programs. This webinar outlines these five principles and describes some of the work currently underway in support of these principles. The webinar is presented by Judy Oswin who has worked on driver licensing policy as both a state regulator and consultant for over 20 years.

Australia’s Transport Ministers have agreed in-principle to an improved, nationally‑consistent approach to the training and licence progression of heavy vehicle drivers, that improves road safety and productivity. The in-principle changes were approved by infrastructure and transport ministers in December 2023 through the agreement by the Infrastructure and Transport Ministers Meeting (ITMM) to endorse the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework Decision Regulation Impact Statement (Decision RIS). The changes are designed to increase the safety and job‑readiness of heavy vehicle drivers. Austroads will develop best-practice standards and training material to support consistent delivery of the enhanced heavy vehicle competencies and assessments. Austroads will work with each state and territory government and the different industries to fully scope the implementation program, identify policy, service and stakeholder issues and options, and seek to collaboratively develop a coordinated plan to deliver the anticipated safety and productivity benefits of the reform. In this webinar, Paul Davies, Austroads General Manager Programs, explains the changes in detail.

How do drivers respond to the iconic tunnel design features included in the NorthConnex road tunnel project? What were the objectives of the designs and have the designs achieved these objectives? How do the designs affect driver behaviour? The webinar explains the two key elements of this work – the validation of the UNSW driving simulator as a means of assessing road tunnel design features, and the use of that simulator to test driver response to the design features included in NorthConnex. The presenters explains the logic of the trial methodology, whereby the driving behaviour of trial participants was assessed in the actual tunnel as well as in the simulated tunnel – the latter both with the design features included and with the features excluded. The work sought to determine whether the design features enhanced the driver experience without an adverse effect on safety. The work demonstrates that the driving simulator is a valid tool for assessing tunnel design features and therefore provides a platform to inform design features in new tunnels but also a tool to assess how such designs may help to mitigate operational issues in existing tunnels. The webinar is presented by Prof Michael (Mike) Regan, Dr Prasannah Prabhakharan, Julius Secadiningrat, Jack Mazaraki, Nicholas Rozenauers, Nigel Casey and Richard Merrett.

The Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics held a webinar on the 16 November 2023 to update industry on the Northern Territory’s transition to the National Training Framework Temporary Traffic Management (NTFTTM). Industry and individuals currently working in Temporary Traffic Management roles, or associated with the Temporary Traffic Management industry were encouraged to attend to understand the changes being implemented in February 2024. Transitional arrangements being implemented by the Department with the intention of minimising the impact to industry, were explained for existing Northern Territory Work Zone Traffic Management qualifications transitioning to the national training. The webinar was presented by Bob Pemble, Patsy Thomas and Sean Stieber. There were question and answer opportunities during the session.

Austroads has developed an extended vehicle classification scheme (EVCS) to enable improved understanding and monitoring of the evolving vehicle mix on Australian and New Zealand roads in traffic and transport surveys. This builds upon the existing 1994 vehicle classification scheme. The EVCS provides greater granularity for each of the existing 12 classes of vehicles and adds a new class for active transport to address the need to count a variety of active transport users such as pedestrians, skateboards and e-scooters. The EVCS will allow transport agencies to better manage transport demand within and between modes, survey active transport and understand how demands integrate with other modes. The scheme will help identify changes in transport operational performance and optimise plans for effective access management and asset maintenance. This webinar is the third session in a three-webinar series, and it will focus on measuring active transport. The first webinar covered heavy vehicles and the third session discussed the changes to light vehicles. This webinar, presented by Drew Gaynor and David Johnston, focuses on active transport and discusses: the creation of level 3 class 20 the greater granularity in level 4 subclasses emerging challenges in categorising class 20 elements the use of alternative counting technologies.

Austroads has developed an extended vehicle classification scheme (EVCS) to enable improved understanding and monitoring of the evolving vehicle mix on Australian and New Zealand roads in traffic and transport surveys. This builds upon the existing 1994 vehicle classification scheme. The EVCS provides greater granularity for each of the existing 12 classes of vehicles and adds a new class for active transport to address the need to count a variety of active transport users such as pedestrians, skateboards and e-scooters. The EVCS will allow transport agencies to better manage transport demand within and between modes, survey active transport and understand how demands integrate with other modes. The scheme will help identify changes in transport operational performance and optimise plans for effective access management and asset maintenance. This webinar, presented by Drew Gaynor and David Johnston, is the second session in a three-webinar series, and it focuses on the changes to light vehicles. The first webinar covered heavy vehicles and the third session will provide information on measuring active transport. This webinar discusses: level 3 classes 1 and 2 the greater granularity in level 4 subclasses thresholds between classes 2 and 3 the use of alternative counting technologies.

Austroads has developed an extended vehicle classification scheme (EVCS) to enable improved understanding and monitoring of the evolving vehicle mix on Australian and New Zealand roads in traffic and transport surveys. This builds upon the existing 1994 vehicle classification scheme. The EVCS provides greater granularity for each of the existing 12 classes of vehicles and adds a new class for active transport to address the need to count a variety of active transport users such as pedestrians, skateboards and e-scooters. The EVCS will allow transport agencies to better manage transport demand within and between modes, survey active transport and understand how demands integrate with other modes. The scheme will help identify changes in transport operational performance and optimise plans for effective access management and asset maintenance. This webinar, presented by Drew Gaynor and David Johnston, is the first session in a three-webinar series, and it focuses on the changes to heavy vehicles. The second webinar will cover light vehicles and the third session will provide information on measuring active transport. This webinar discusses: level 3 classes 3 to 12 the greater granularity in level 4 subclasses better description of axle groupings the creation of a new class 19 for heavy vehicles that do not fit readily into the prescribed classifications backward compatibility with existing heavy vehicles counting further validation of some sections.

In this session, we will present a comprehensive report that identifies and explores those physical infrastructure practices that matter most to CAVs. Just like human drivers, CAVs need to understand line and pavement markings, electronic and non-electronic signs, and traffic signals. Computer sensing and computer processing, however, differ to humans, and differ between different and evolving systems used in Active Safety Systems (ASS), Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), and Automated Driving Systems (ADS). Drawing insights from a review of Austroads publications and latest research, this webinar uncovers the latest industry knowledge and physical infrastructure requirements. Discover the latest practices and standards, and where clear agreements have emerged, recommendations for effective changes will be unveiled. Furthermore, we examine areas where further study, monitoring, and industry engagement are needed, ensuring a holistic approach to accommodating future developments. This webinar helps agency decision-makers preparing for future physical infrastructure CAV support practices. The knowledge presented in this report is based on robust evidence and expert opinions, providing a snapshot of the current landscape while remaining adaptable to the evolving CAV industry and its technological advancements.

Supplements have provided important additional guidance to the Austroads Guide to Road Design (Guide). But there are questions about their use. Are these supplements needed? What should they contain? Should the information in the agency supplements be included in the Guide? These questions were addressed in a recently completed Austroads project that undertook a detailed review of jurisdictional supplements to the Guide. This webinar describes the classification of material in the jurisdictional supplements to establish guidance that could be moved into the Guide. The sessions focuses on a cross-jurisdictional platform for managing supplements within a jurisdiction and moving information from supplements to the Guide. The platform was developed with the input from the Project Control Group and the Road Design Task Force represented by Australian and New Zealand road agencies, and the Australian Local Government Association. The platform uses a ‘push-pull” approach where Austroads looks to ‘pull’ information from the supplements, and the road agencies look for a means to ‘push’ information into the Guide. This approach aims to assist in minimising supplement content and harmonising material in the Guide. The webinar was presented by Dr Rod Troutbeck, Dr Hafez Alavi, Mark Lenske and Phil Rosser.