Austroads: Transport Research and Trends

The webinar showcases the projects recognised with the Austroads Bridge Awards. The Austroads Bridge Awards acknowledge individuals and organisations that have delivered outstanding bridge structures and design across Australia and New Zealand.

The awards were presented at the 11th Austroads Bridge Conference held in Adelaide from 15 to 18 November 2022 proudly co-hosted by Austroads and the Department for Infrastructure and Transport South Australia.

The award-winning projects are:

Excellence in Innovation: InQuik Australia, Toorale Bridge Project

Submitted by InQuik, Alluvium Consulting Australia, and Pensar Infrastructure Group. Presented by Logan Mullaney, Managing Director of InQuik.

Excellence in Asset Management: Auckland Harbour Bridge Emergency Repairs

Submitted by Beca, WSP, SRG Global, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, and ASM Fulton Hogan-HEB Joint Venture. Presented by Will Pank, Technical Director – Structural Engineering, Beca.

Best Structure 35 metres or under: Hay Street Bridge Vertical Clearance Improvement Project

Submitted by BG&E, Bocol Constructions, MACA, and Main Roads Western Australia. Presented by BG&E’s Technical Director-Bridges Graeme Dundas, and WA - Bridge Lead Erica Smith.

Best Structure over 35 metres: Mandurah Bridge

Submitted by BG&E, Georgiou Group, Main Roads Western Australia, and City of Mandurah.

Presented by Boris Vujovic, BG&E’ Technical Director.

This webinar provides an overview of Austroads’ projects 2021-22 and what is required to work with Austroads.

The session is beneficial to consultants who may be interested in tendering for Austroads projects.

The projects discussed focus on data collection and management, digital engineering, tunnel design and componentry, bridge assessment, pavement technology, road design, road safety audits, driver licensing, environment reporting, and vehicle and infrastructure connectivity.

The webinar is presented by Paul Davies, Austroads Acting General Manager Operations, and program managers:

• Ross Guppy, Program Manager Transport Infrastructure
• Michael Nieuwesteeg, Program Manager Road Safety and Design
• Richard Delplace, Program Manager Transport Network Operations
• Vibeke Matthews, Acting Program Manager Future Vehicles and Technology, and Environment and Sustainability Program.

Over recent years there have been a number of incidents of structural failures of sign and high mast lighting structures across Australia and New Zealand, primarily due to poor design and construction practices. In addition to the obvious unacceptable safety risks and property damage caused by such incidents, these failures create substantial unforeseen operational costs to repair and modify these assets. This often results in significant traffic delays and imparts reputational damage to the governing road authority and other parties involved.

The Austroads report Design and Construction Guidelines for the Delivery of Large Cantilever and Gantry Structures documents consistent advice for the design and construction of large cantilever and gantry structures that is aligned with national and international best practice.

This webinar, presented by Claire Jager, Linda Ziebell and Andrew Wong, covers the following key topics:

• gaps in current guidance and standards
• examples of good practice
• lessons learned from past failures.

The guidance document should be read alongside relevant standards and is intended for use by all stakeholders including:

• state road agencies
• local government agencies
• designers, contractors and fabricators.

Currently, most Austroads member agencies rely on their unique technical specifications for the delivery of roadworks and bridge projects. In many cases, these specifications have been developed over a number of years in consultation with local industry and suppliers.

While it is recognised that there will always be some requirements that will only apply to a single jurisdiction, standardising specifications (and the associated test methods) has the potential to improve work processes for road agencies, suppliers and contractors.

To increase efficiency for road agencies and industry and optimise compliance with contract requirements, 14 technical specifications have been published for all Austroads member agencies to use for the construction of roadworks and bridgeworks. These specifications are suitable for use with any general conditions of contract, including design and construct contracts. They are expected to be used in conjunction with supplementary local or contract specific requirements.

This webinar, presented by Richard Edwards, takes participants through the technical specifications development process and provides an overview of the structure and layout adopted for the specifications.

The Engineering Guideline to Bridge Asset Management was developed to provide specific asset management guidance for road bridges. The guideline promotes an engineering approach (engineering principles, knowledge, experience and modelling tools) as being the only robust method for understanding the current and future, condition and needs of a bridge network.

The guideline defines best practice asset management for bridges over their lifecycle in a manner that will provide a transparent link between investment and outcomes. It includes a specific and detailed asset management framework for bridges.

This webinar, presented by Barry Wright, Torill Pape and Peter Shaw, takes participants through the development of the guideline and provides an overview of the key principles and learnings contained in the guideline.

This webinar, presented on 30 April, gives an overview of ways to assess the safety of existing bridges beyond the Rating Factor approach of AS5100. It was presented by Dr Colin Caprani, Dr Mayer M Melhem and Professor Mark G Stewart.

This webinar, presented on 29 April 2020, discusses the merits of three options to advance the future of PBS access in Australia as it relates to bridges. It was presented by Angus Draheim, Matthew Bereni and Neal Lake.

This webinar provides an overview of an Austroads project that investigated whether cements with elevated limestone content would perform satisfactorily in ambient-cured and precast concretes subjected to aggressive exposure conditions.

The webinar was presented on 15 October 2019 by Dr Ahmad Shayan and Fred Andrews-Phaedonos. 

This webinar outlines the findings of an Austroads geopolymer concrete project and a current update of the use, monitoring and specification of geopolymer concrete by VicRoads over the past nine years.

It covers:
• geopolymer concrete, its constituents and how it is manufactured 
• formulation and testing of numerous geopolymer recipes, and investigation of workability, strength development, mechanical behaviour, durability properties, abrasion resistance and ductility of reinforced geopolymer concrete 
• the introduction of geopolymer concrete into VicRoads with several trial structural applications, general paving works and evaluation of performance.

The webinar was presented on 1 May 2018 by Dr Ahmad Shayan and Fred Andrews-Phaedonos.