Roads Magazine Aug/Sept 2012 Sample by CommStrat

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2012

ROADS A U S T R A L I A’ S r o a d M A N A G E M E N T an d c o nstru c ti o n maga z ine

Linemarking & Road Safety Asphalt PAVING STABILISATION

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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2012

ROADS n Publisher CommStrat

ROADS

Lvl 8, 574 St Kilda Rd. Melbourne 3004 PO Box 6137, St Kilda Rd Central 8008 Tel: (03) 8534 5000 Fax: (03) 9530 8911 Email: enquiries@commstrat.com.au Web: www.commstrat.com.au

www.roadsonline.com.au www.roadjobs.com.au n EDITOR Rex Pannell Tel: (03) 8534 5006 Email: rex.pannell@commstrat.com.au

SPECIAL FeatureS

n SALES & MARKETING National Manager Yuri Mamistvalov Tel: (03) 8534 5008 Email: yuri@commstrat.com.au n Art & Production Annette Epifanidis Tel: (03) 8534 5030 Email: annette@commstrat.com.au n SUBSCRIPTIONS Customer Service Ruth Spiegel Tel: (03) 8534 5001 Fax: (03) 9530 8911 Email: ruth.spiegel@commstrat.com.au n Subscription Rates Australia SIX ISSUES A$60 TWELVE ISSUES A$110

Spotlight on financing and funding challenge at RA Summit

AirportlinkM7 open to traffic

Fourth infrastructure priorities released by Infrastructure Australia

Downturn in infrastructure investment focus of reports ROADS is supported by

AustStab FeAtures includE: CEO’s Report

President’s Message

AustStab Inaugural Awards

Sustainable Associations

AustStab-IPWEA Effective Road Maintenance

UPCOMING FEATURES october ISSUE Bridges Road Safety Erosion Control Traffic Control & Management Road Asset Management/Design Software AAPA ASPHALT REVIEW EQUIPMENT REVIEW: Loaders, Dozers & Graders

DECEMBER ISSUE Survey Gear Road Safety Safety Barrier Systems Road & Tunnel Lighting AustStab Segment (Stabilisation) EQUIPMENT REVIEW: Pavers & Profilers

Feature Sections STABILISATION 50 Asphalt PAVING

Linemarking & Road Safety

Regular articles Project Update

News Briefing

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FEATURES

RA Summit puts spotlight on financing and funding challenge The financing and funding crisis that is hampering the delivery of critical new road infrastructure was again a major talking point at this year’s Roads Australia National Road Summit, held in Sydney at the end of May. Organised by peak national body, Roads Australia, the Summit attracted some 170 industry leaders from across Australia and overseas. The theme of this year’s Summit was Roads and Transport of the Future, and while a number of sessions focussed on technological and project delivery lessons, the question of how to get projects to the starting line was an underlying theme over the two days. Chairing a first-day session on Financing Models, Clayton Utz partner, Doug Jones, put the financing and funding challenge into context, saying the model that had been used to deliver past toll road PPP projects had collapsed, coincidentally at the same time as the GFC and international debt crisis. He noted that the private sector was unwilling to accept traffic risk on greenfield projects. “We are yet to identify a model in Australia that meets the existing market constraints,” he said. Neal Johnston, a partner with Ernst & Young, said the crisis was underlined by projections that between $450 billion and $770 billion of infrastructure investment (including roads) was required in the next decade just to keep pace. Mr Johnston said new financing solutions were not the “silver bullet” that would solve the problem, but they would play an important part in delivering some of the key projects to address the infrastructure gap. However, the single biggest blocker to infrastructure development at the moment was the funding challenge, he said. “That’s where the debate has started and is progressing, and it’s where we need real political leadership,” he added. Transport academic, Professor David Hensher from the Institute of Transport and Logistic Studies at the University of Sydney, took up the funding question in a day-two session on Transport Reform. Professor Hensher said it was possible to design a “user-pays” system in which many users were financially better off with some 2

ROADS aug/sept 2012

form of congestion charge (even an emissionsbased charge). But he said it would first be necessary to remove vehicle registration charges and reduce fuel excise, and clearly demonstrate to the community how the revenues would be spent and the broader benefits of reform in terms of personal productivity and mobility. This year’s international keynote speaker was UK Highways Deputy Chief Executive, Derek Turner, who provided a case study on the UK approach to managing motorways. Mr Turner said his agency had been focused on improving reliability by managing and modernising the network via the Managed Motorways program. This included the use of overhead gantry signs to manage motorway speeds and the utilisation of hard shoulder lanes to deliver additional capacity when it was needed. Mr Turner also talked about free-flow tolling technologies, in particular numberplate recognition linked to accounts, and the potential for in-vehicle communications. The 2012 Summit included a focus on new technologies and best practice project delivery methods. Dr Ben Guy, Managing Director of Urban Circus, talked about the role and application of 3D technology to deliver “engineering accurate” visual models of road infrastructure. He said increasingly, decision-makers were turning to what he described as a 3D “visualisation platform” rather than CAD or paper plans to do the “big thinking” in terms of the conceptualisation and planning of projects. Another international speaker, David Threlfall, the Technology Director with Hyder Consulting in the UK, focused on another futuristic theme – that of developing autonomous vehicles and its implications for network management. Mr Threlfall said prototype autonomous vehicles already existed and pilots and research projects were well advanced, and in fact the US state of Nevada had already approved America’s first self-driven vehicle licence. A number of the technical presentations from this year’s Summit are available at www.roads.org.au.

From top: David Threlfall, Derek Turner and Doug Jones

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SPECIAL FEATURE

Men, massive machines and more than three years work

= Airport Link

ROADS aug/sept 2012

November 2008 marked the official start of construction of Brisbane’s Airport Link – a multi-billion dollar tunnel project delivered by a public private partnership between the Queensland Government and the BrisConnections consortium. Construction was carried out by Thiess and John Holland. The project began when the Bligh Labor Government was in office and when the first cars started using Airport Link on July 24, 2012 a Liberal National Party Government under Premier, Campbell Newman, was occupying the treasury benches. AirportlinkM7 was constructed in conjunction with the Northern Busway (Windsor to Kedron) and the Airport Roundabout Upgrade, both of which were handed over to the Queensland Government for operation. Some of the key milestones achieved as the Airportlink construction progressed were: • December 2008 - Drill and blast excavation commenced at Bowen Hills, construction of cut and cover structure at Toombul (Kalinga Park) commences; • March 2009 - First roadheader commenced tunnelling at Truro Street site (mid tunnel point) in Windsor; • May 2009 - 24-hour tunnelling operations commence across the project; • November 2009 – First tunnel boring machine arrived from Germany for assembly; ROADS aug/sept 2012

FEATURES

• March 2010 - Completion of both cut and cover structure and Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) launch box at Toombul; • June 2010 - First mined tunnel breakthrough between Bowen Hills and Lutwyche; • Mid 2010 - First TBM commences tunnelling from Toombul and second TBM arrives; • Mid 2010 - Second TBM commences tunnelling from Toombul heading west toward Lutwyche; • Early 2011 - Northern Busway tunnelling completed; • Early 2011 - TBMs removed from tunnel shaft at Chalk Street in Lutwyche; • Late 2011 - Airport Roundabout Upgrade completed; • 24 July 2012 - Airport Link opened to public after final safety certification. BrisConnections has a concession to operate and maintain AirportlinkM7 for a period of 45 years from 2008 to 2053. It is the owner and operator of AirportlinkM7. The Major Projects section of Roads Magazine has more coverage on the Airport Link Project. The photos on this page and those featured in the Major Projects section have been supplied courtesy of Thiess John Holland – some of the photos were taken by workers on the project. PHOTO COURTESY OF THIESS JOHN HOLLAND EMPLOYEE, GEORGE GILCHRIST

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Fourth Infrastructure Australia Review of national infrastructure priorities A number of key road projects have been included in the Ready-toProceed category of Infrastructure Australia’s fourth review of national infrastructure priorities released in mid-July. The Progress and Action review – submitted to the Council of Australian Governments, – highlights the vital role of infrastructure in contributing to Australia’s productivity and quality of life. In releasing the report, Infrastructure Australia Chairman, Sir Rod Eddington, called on governments, industry and the community to look long and hard at the nation’s future infrastructure needs. The road projects included in the Ready-to-Proceed category are: • Victorian National Managed Motorways – Monash Freeway, High Street to Warrigal Road - $14.3 million; • Victorian Managed National Motorways – Monash Freeway, Warrigal Road to Clyde Road - $100.7 million; and • Pacific Highway Corridor Upgrades - $6.4 billion. The two sections of the Monash Freeway listed are part of the National Managed Motorways Initiative – a $6.4 billion program that seeks to incorporate intelligent transport solutions into urban motorway networks. The two adjacent sections of the freeway from High Street to Clyde Road involve 33 kilometres. The program involves upgrading from a Level One Intelligent Transport System to Level 3 of the system.

The Pacific Highway Corridor Upgrade is designed to complete about 300 kilometres of double lane, divided road in three key areas: • from the F3 Freeway near Hexham to Port Macquarie; • from Ballina to the Queensland Border; and • sections to the north and south of Coffs Harbour. The cost of the works is estimated at $6.4 billion – the figure excludes existing committed funding. The Threshold Category of the Priority List covers projects that have been adjudged to have strong strategic and economic merit and have a small number of outstanding issues to overcome before they can proceed. Those projects include the Eastern Busway – Stages 2b and 3 at an estimated cost of $825 million; $685 million for Stage 2b and $140 million for Stage 3. The Eastern Busway aims to provide a dedicated bus-only roadway between the University of Queensland and Capalaba in Brisbane’s south eastern suburbs. It will include connections to the inner city busway network. The Real Potential category of the Priority list established by Infrastructure Australia covers projects that address a nationally significant issue or problem – projects where a considerable amount of analysis has been undertaken to provide solutions to issues or problems. Projects included in the Real Potential category include Integrating Sydney’s Motorway Network; Queensland National Managed Motorways – Bruce Highway, Beams Road to Caboolture Road; Queensland National Managed Motorways – Pacific Motorway, Gateway to Logan; Freight Access to Port of Brisbane and Brisbane Airport; Freight Access to Port of Adelaide Northern Connector; Green Triangle Freight Transport Program, South Australia and Victoria, and the East-West Link in Victoria. IA said in the review of projects that various initiatives had been canvassed over recent years to upgrade and coordinate Sydney’s Motorway Network which experiences considerable congestion.

A focus on stronger strategic planning, improved project prioritisation, reforms to remove red tape and ongoing efforts to get more from our existing infrastructure assets need our collective attention. Infrastructure Australia’s Chairman Sir Rod Eddington

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It contended that creating a single Sydney motorway network company could greatly improve the efficiency of the network and potentially generate a source of revenue for future motorway expansions or public transport infrastructure. The project relating to the Bruce Highway involves installing base-level Intelligent Transport Systems along a 33 kilometre section from Beams Road to Caboolture Road at an estimated cost of $202 million; while the Pacific Highway project involves a 16 kilometre section between Gateway and Logan at an estimated cost of $4.6 million. The Freight Access to the Port of Brisbane and Brisbane Airport project involves upgrading the capacity of the northern 10 kilometre section of the Gateway Motorway at an estimated cost of between $1.1 billion and $2.7 billion depending on the project option selected. The upgrade aims to improve road freight connectivity between key northern industrial and logistic centres and the port precinct. A price tag of nearly $1.2 billion has been put on the Freight Access to Port of Adelaide – Northern Connector project which would involve a road and rail link between the Port of Adelaide and intermodal terminals at Penfield in Adelaide’s north. The project involves a 15.6 kilometre six lane (three lanes in each direction) Northern Connector Road joining the Northern Expressway to the Port River Expressway. The Green Triangle Freight Transport Project – developed by the South Australian and Victorian Governments – involves a package of road and rail investment initiatives to meet the forecast freight transport demands and infrastructure needs of the region in south east SA and south west Victoria. The $112 million development includes a program of road projects such as the Penola Bypass Stage 2, as well as overtaking lanes, road widening, intersection upgrades and shoulder sealing. The East-West Link is at the development stage – it is a proposed inner urban freeway in Melbourne connecting the Eastern Freeway and the Western Ring Road. It would also include connections to the Tullamarine Freeway, Port of Melbourne and Geelong Road. The project has been put forward to overcome a “lack of eastwest connectivity” in Melbourne’s transport system. The Victorian Government has submitted it requires $30 million of Federal funding to develop the project. Sir Rod Eddington – Infrastructure Australia’s Chairman – said all levels of government, industry and the community needed to critically assess the nation’s future infrastructure needs and the sort of cities and regions in which Australians wanted to live.

“Our communities deserve appropriate, well-functioning infrastructure and we need to examine ways to provide these assets at least cost to the community. “The results of not doing enough are traffic congestion, poor access to our export gateways, missed economic opportunities and lower quality of life,” said Sir Rod. “We need to continue to identify and assess infrastructure projects and reforms that provide the greatest public benefits. “A focus on stronger strategic planning, improved project prioritisation, reforms to remove red tape and ongoing efforts to get more from our existing infrastructure assets need our collective attention,” Sir Rod contended. The IA report recommends some major reforms in the infrastructure sector. These include: • the agreement to establish single national laws and single regulators for heavy vehicle, rail and maritime safety; and • the decision to involve the private sector more in infrastructure debates, including on the peak ministerial committee on transport and infrastructure. “This is a great start, but governments, industry and the community must work together to ensure that agreements in principle are translated into real change,” said Sir Rod. He noted, “In just three years, all of the ready-to-proceed projects identified in Infrastructure Australia’s first priority list received funding from the Commonwealth, state and territory governments. “This is an important testament to the regard for Infrastructure Australia’s work across all governments. We remain committed to working with governments, industry and the community.” Sir Rod said in an effort to maintain the transparency of its operations, the report, all public submissions and IA’s assessment of projects rated as threshold or ready-to-proceed on the priority list were available at Infrastructure Australia’s website. Infrastructure Australia said projects were assessed against its Reform and Investment Framework which has three key areas – strategic alignment, problem definition and solution development. “Strategic alignment” relates to projects outlining clear goals that contribute to nationally significant productivity and social outcomes. The “problem definition” area deals with proposals addressing and evaluating problems that restrict progress towards these goals, with nationally significant improvements potentially available. Under “solution development”, proposals should address root causes and problems and create opportunities to meet goals while delivering a net economic benefit.

We need to continue to identify and assess infrastructure projects and reforms that provide the greatest public benefits.

ROADS aug/sept 2012