Austroads: Transport Research and Trends

In response to feedback provided by industry and stakeholders, Austroads has reviewed its Guide to Road Design Part 5: Drainage – General and Hydrology Considerations.

The improved guidance responds to the implications for road authority and consulting engineering practices arising from the 2019 update of the Australian Rainfall and Runoff document.

This webinar is the first in a two-webinar series and it provides an update on the changes to the Austroads Guide to Road Design Part 5. The session focuses on Section 6 and covers the other changes. The following is covered in the session:

• Change in terminology – from average recurrence interval (ARI) to annual exceedance probability (AEP)
• Why Rational Method is no longer suitable for most cross-drainage applications
• What Rational Method is suited for (primarily longitudinal road drainage)
• An introduction to alternative flow estimation techniques (incl. regional flood frequency estimation (RFFE))
• Rare and extreme events
• Flood impacts/tunnel portals
• Safety in design
• Joint probability and uncertainty

The webinar is presented by WMAwater’s Managing Director Mark Babister and William Weeks, currently a private consultant and former Director – Hydraulics and Flooding for the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads.