Austroads: Transport Research and Trends

Austroads project “Use of Road-grade Recycled Plastics for Sustainable Asphalt Pavements” is investigating the use of recycled plastics in asphalt. The project is well underway with results to date presented in two reports.

The first report examined the use of road-grade recycled plastics in asphalt pavements and investigated the most suitable types of recycled plastics for incorporation into asphalt.

The second report provided a comprehensive overview of the development of various testing frameworks for the characterisation of road-grade recycled plastic, the incorporation of recycled plastics in bitumen and asphalt and the study of possible emissions and microplastics release.

This webinar, presented by Andrew Papacostas, Dr Filippo Giustozzi, Yeong Jia and Dr Marie Enfrin, is the second session in a two-part series. It provides an overview of the outcomes of testing to date including techniques to assess emissions and microplastic release associated with the manufacture, placement and use of asphalt containing recycled plastic.

Austroads project “Use of Road-grade Recycled Plastics for Sustainable Asphalt Pavements” is investigating the use of recycled plastics in asphalt. The project is well underway with results to date presented in two reports.

The first report examined the use of road-grade recycled plastics in asphalt pavements and investigated the most suitable types of recycled plastics for incorporation into asphalt.

The second report provided a comprehensive overview of the development of various testing frameworks for the characterisation of road-grade recycled plastic, the incorporation of recycled plastics in bitumen and asphalt and the study of possible emissions and microplastics release.

This webinar, presented by Andrew Papacostas and Dr Filippo Giustozzi, is the first session in a two-part series and it details the outcomes of the potential use of road-grade recycled plastics in asphalt pavements and selection of the most suitable types of recycled plastics for incorporation into asphalt.

The Austroads Road Authority Data for Connected and Automated Vehicles (RADCAV) project studied the provision of agency-owned data to connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) addressing six high-priority data sets: roadworks, incidents, variable speed limit signs and lane control signals, static speed limits, traffic signals, and heavy vehicle access restrictions.

This webinar, presented by Vibeke Matthews and David Yee, details a data provision framework that can be used by an agency to build capability in providing data to vehicles. The framework consists of the following components:

Capability model – a model that describes the spectrum of capabilities for the provision of agency data relative to vehicle and road agency capability over time. This ranges from Day 0.5 Capability (decision and actions made by vehicle controller), to Day 4 Capability (decisions and actions made by the vehicle).

Reference conceptual architecture – a series of outputs that describe the business architecture and information systems architecture necessary to provide agency data to vehicles at various levels of capability.

Implementation guidance – advice on how to use the Capability Model and Reference Conceptual Architecture as part of a process to improve an agency’s data provision capabilities.

The data provision framework is flexible and does not prescribe one end-state for agencies. Agencies have the freedom to choose a target state that suits their desired outcome, available funds, and appetite for change. It also caters for changes in vehicle capability over time, given that the introduction of higher-capability vehicles may be some years away.

A recently completed project has recommended changes to the Austroads Guide to Road Tunnels Part 2: Planning, Design and Commissioning to provide guidance on rationalising road signs on the approaches to tunnels, to divert over-height and dangerous goods vehicles that approach tunnel entrances.

When these vehicles attempt to pass through tunnels that have not been designed to cater for them, this can cause significant damage to the infrastructure, massive traffic congestion and, in some unfortunate circumstances, injury or loss of life of the motorists. As such, it is highly advantageous to divert these vehicles away from tunnels wherever possible to reduce these negative impacts.

This webinar, presented by Bob Allen, Marcus van der Velden, Lindsay Edmonds and Charmaine Joe, covers the following:

• Project methodology and key findings of the review
• Current signage practices review and gap analysis
• Proposed signage scheme
• Human factors considerations.

The Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP) was introduced to Australia by state mobility clubs, with the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) providing leadership in partnership with Austroads, Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) and the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP). The AusRAP partnership has worked together in conjunction with state, territory and local governments on infrastructure safety investment optimisation and measurement since 2001. A Memorandum of Understanding between AAA, Austroads, iRAP and ARRB was signed in 2012. Recognising the extensive use of the AusRAP protocols and systems at an institutional level by road agencies across Australia, leadership of AusRAP is now transitioning from the AAA to Austroads.

The Austroads-led AusRAP Program will build on an extensive platform of local experience and application by state and local government agencies, motoring clubs, Austroads and ARRB. In total over 300,000 km of AusRAP star rating and investment planning assessments have been completed, over 50,000 km of risk mapping and over 400 km of road designs have been star rated in Australia. The partnership will continue to benefit from, and contribute to, the global iRAP partnerships that are in place in over 100 countries worldwide.

This webinar covers the following:

• New leadership, governance and collaboration for AusRAP
• Global directions and learnings from the UK
• Exciting developments in Australia
• Next steps for AusRAP.

The webinar is presented by Geoff Allan, Michael Nieuwesteeg, Rob McInerney, James Bradford and John Hardwick.

Austroads Guide to Traffic Management (AGTM) has been a valuable resource for industry, particularly amongst traffic engineering and operations cohorts. The transport context is evolving rapidly, and a strategic review identified that a new approach is needed to keep pace with industry expectations and the strategic objectives of Austroads and its members.

The new Austroads Guide to Transport Operations and Management (AGTOM) is planned to feature a new format as well as updated content.

This webinar, presented by Richard Delplace, Andrew Somers, Craig Moran, Andrew Wall and Simon Latham, covers:

• The key findings of the review of AGTM.
• Insights from leaders within transport agencies on the challenges the new AGTOM needs to help users to navigate.
• The objectives, rationale and overview of the new AGTOM.
• Austroads’ plans to transition from the AGTM to the AGTOM.

The Austroads project progressing the National Harmonisation of Temporary Traffic Management Practice has gone through a significant reset, resulting from a recent review. The outcomes of the review and resulting reset were recently considered and approved by the Board of Austroads. This webinar, presented by Richard Delplace and Chris Koniditsiotis, covers the following:

• broad findings of the review and reset
• new governance arrangements including newly established Task Force
• focus on major reform implementation and stakeholder engagement
• a staged pathway to operationalisation.

Cycling is a sustainable means of urban travel. It has the potential to serve many short- and medium-distance trips – for commuting to and from work and school, shopping, and visiting friends – as well as providing recreation and exercise. Cycling promotes physical, social, and mental health, helps reduce car use, enhances mobility and independence, and is economical for both public and personal budgets.

This webinar is based on the book “Cycling for Sustainable Cities” written by Ralph Buehler and John Pucher. In the session, the authors explore how to make city cycling safe, practical, and convenient for a broad spectrum of ages, genders and abilities. They also discuss the latest cycling trends and policies around the world and consider specific aspects of cycling.

Based on data from 2019-2020 from cities around the world, they review the impacts of COVID-19 on cycling levels and government policies to promote cycling.

Taken together, the presentation demonstrates that successful promotion of cycling depends on a coordinated package of mutually supportive infrastructure, programs and policies. Cycling should be made feasible for as many people as possible and not limited to especially fit, daring, well-trained cyclists riding expensive bicycles.

We rely on road freight transport to keep Australia’s economy moving. Performance Based Standards (PBS) vehicles, that are typically longer and heavier, do this work more efficiently but how much road damage do they cause in the process?

This webinar, presented by Anthony Germanchev, Georgia O’Connor and Angus Draheim, explores the methods used by road managers to answer this question. It proposes a framework to support consistent approaches to understanding and comparing the pavement impacts of PBS vehicles. Some of the key steps government agencies are taking to support road managers in assessing PBS vehicles for network access are also outlined.

Australia and New Zealand produce about 510,000 tonnes of end‑of‑life tyres annually. Crumb rubber derived from end‑of‑life tyres has been used in Australia for several decades to enhance the performance of binders used in sprayed seals but prior to 2017 the use of crumb rubber in asphalt pavements was limited.

Due to the lack of crumb rubber binder grades suitable for use in asphalt in the Austroads national polymer modified binder (PMB) specification (ATS 3110), two Australian jurisdictions and the Australian Flexible Pavement Association recently developed specifications for crumb rubber binders for use in asphalt which were based on tests and testing protocols used in Arizona and California.

This webinar, presented by Robert Urquhart, focuses on the outcomes of an Austroads research project which investigated whether the crumb rubber binders that were trialled in asphalt could be specified in terms of the tests and testing protocols used to specify other types of PMBs in the Austroads national PMB specification. Specification requirements have also been proposed for a binder containing 9% crumb rubber by weight which could be used in sprayed sealing applications.

The webinar also discusses the results of laboratory asphalt performance tests which investigated the effects of the amount of crumb rubber in a binder on asphalt performance.