Roads & Infrastructure November 2020

NOVEMBER 2020

& INFRASTRUCTURE

THE BITUMEN BALANCE Puma Bitumen opens modification facility in Port Botany

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MASTERING THE MONASH An update on stage two works TRANSPORT SAFETY A new guide is set to improve logistics safety on projects

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NOVEMBER 2020 CONTENTS

& INFRASTRUCTURE COVER STORY

10 Puma Bitumen

Ahead of the opening of a new bitumen modification facility in Port Botany, Puma Bitumen Australia’s GM explains the company’s capabilities.

PROJECT REPORT

13 Mastering the Monash

The project report for November looks at what works will be required on the major Monash Freeway upgrade as construction on Stage Two begins.

AAPA

16 Proficiency Testing

AAPA’s Norbert Michel gives an update on the outcomes from its laboratory proficiency testing program.

19 AAPA member profile

Guy Rigoni, Major Account Manager at Williams Adams CAT, explains his history in the construction industry and goals for the future.

ISCA

21 Putting recycling first

The Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia looks at how Ecologiq is helping to increase the use of recycled materials across Victoria’s Big Build.

ASPHALT IN ACTION

23 Handling asphalt

Major equipment manufacturer CIBER explain how to handle asphalt at the plant and in transportation to get the best results.

TECHNOLOGY AND EQUIPMENT

24 Simex Planer

Queensland Rock Breaking is seeing keen interest in Simex Planers for road profiling jobs and stabilisation. A user details the machine’s advantages for saving time.

26 A family first

As Matthews Brothers Engineering heads into its centenary year, third generation family owner Paul Matthews talks about the company’s history and bright future.

29 GuideSIGN version 8

Version eight of Transoft’s GuideSign software solution has been released in Australia and is set to put productivity of sign design into the fast lane.

31 The Road Ant

Quality Fabrication and Engineering have been busy producing a range of Q-FE Road Ant’s, a forward moving dual control aggregate spreader, ahead of the 2020/21 spray sealing season.

32 Technological changes

InEight’s Andrew Harris explains the process behind digital transformation and the benefits of adopting technological solutions on construction projects.

34 Connecting construction

BuildingConnected by Autodesk has been released in Australia, with over a million users in North America its expected to bring a new level of connectivity to construction.

Alex Fraser’s PolyPave being laid on a residential street.

set up Ecologiq, an initiative to help contractors develop bids that champion recycled products and support further industry growth.

42 Quality testing

Independent testing is a crucial tool for the implementation of alternative road materials and innovation. Coffey Testing talks about its processes.

44 Sustainable footprint

TonerPlas, developed by Close the Loop and its partners is ready to be used in road projects across Australia, reusing recycled plastic polymers in every metre of pavement.

ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS FEATURE

SAFETY

38 PolyPave

Alex Fraser’s answer to asphalt is PolyPave, an asphalt product that can contain high volumes of recycled materials including, plastic, glass and RAP.

49 CLOCS-A Guide

The Australian Road Research Board has released a new guide to improve construction and logistics safety around the community and vulnerable road users.

40 Ecologiq

As the Recycled First policy comes into play in Victoria the government has

REGULARS

36 Bioprime

To provide another layer of sustainability, SAMI Bitumen has developed Bioprime an emulsion based bitumen primer using vegetable oil derivatives.

46 MashFlex for wire rope safety

We look at the Austroads MASH wire rope safety barrier transition and other indicators and initiatives to improve safety on Australia’s roads.

04 Editor’s note 06 News

roadsonline.com.au

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& INFRASTRUCTURE PUBLISHER Christine Clancy christine.clancy@primecreative.com.au MANAGING EDITOR Melanie Stark melanie.stark@primecreative.com.au EDITOR Lauren Jones lauren.jones@primecreative.com.au

GREENER PASTURES ANNOUNCED OVER A YEAR AGO, the COAG waste export ban sent waves throughout the Australian manufacturing and recycling industries, but is also created ripples downstream.

The ban has been amended and will now see glass exports banned by January 2021, mixed plastics will follow in July 2021, whole used tyres in December 2021, polymer plastics in July 2022 and mixed and unsorted paper and cardboard will be banned from July 2024.

The Federal Government hopes these bans will be the first step for Australia in taking responsibility its waste creation, by using it as a resource.

Construction has been one of the downstream industries that has stepped up its research and innovation to increase the use of recycled products in its works. Everything from coffee in concrete to printer toner in asphalt has been explored.

Plastics, glass and tyres have been among the most used and researched materials for reuse in infrastructure and many projects are already using these forms of alternate materials.

The industry has even begun to look at its own waste creation and has consistently been increasing its use of reclaimed asphalt pavement.

It’s clear that as these bans come into effect, the road construction industry is set to become a major market for high quality recycled materials, in turn boosting the circular economy.

That is why this month we decided to focus on a feature about alternative road materials, to showcase some of the great work being done in industry to progress innovation, not only to increase recycling but to improve asset performance.

This is also the issue in which we debut our partnership with the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA), who will be sharing projects from their members which champion sustainable outcomes such as recycling and emissions reduction.

The leadership of the construction industry when it comes to the re-use of recycled materials is something incredibly impressive and I am excited to share with you these stories and many more that are sure to come.

DESIGN PRODUCTION MANAGER Michelle Weston michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au ART DIRECTOR Blake Storey DESIGN Kerry Pert, Madeline McCarty BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Brad Marshall brad.marshall@primecreative.com.au CLIENT SUCCESS MANAGER Justine Nardone justine.nardone@primecreative.com.au COVER IMAGE PHOTOGRAPHER Simon Gould HEAD OFFICE Prime Creative Pty Ltd 11-15 Buckhurst Street South Melbourne VIC 3205 Australia p: +61 3 9690 8766 f: +61 3 9682 0044 enquiries@primecreative.com.au www.roadsonline.com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS +61 3 9690 8766 subscriptions@primecreative.com.au Roads & Infrastructure Australia is available by subscription from the publisher. The rights of refusal are reserved by the publisher.

ARTICLES All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. The Editor reserves the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format.

COPYRIGHT

Lauren Jones Editor, Roads & Infrastructure Magazine

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Roads & Infrastructure Australia is owned and published by Prime Creative Media. All material in Roads & Infrastructure Australia is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without the written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published. The opinions expressed in Roads & Infrastructure Australia are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated.

Advanced manufacturing using recycled plastic, leading to longer lasting high performance roads

Contact for more information | closetheloop.com.au Steve Morriss 0414 445 642 | Pete Tamblyn 0418 346 160

NEWS

TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE GETS $7.5 BILLION IN THE FEDERAL BUDGET The Prime Minister has announced a $7.5 billion boost for national transport infrastructure to deliver roads and create jobs.

As part of the Government’s COVID-19 economic recovery plan the infrastructure funding includes key investments across all states and territories.

An additional $1.2 billion has also been announced to support Australian businesses to employ 100,000 new apprentices or trainees. From 5 October 2020, businesses that take on a new Australian apprentice will be eligible for a 50 per cent wage subsidy.

In a press release, the Government stated the $7.5 billion funding would build on the series of infrastructure investments already announced in response to the pandemic.

Major project specific investments include: • $560 million for the Singleton Bypass on the New England Highway in New South Wales; • $528 million for the Shepparton and Warrnambool Rail Line Upgrades in Victoria; • $750 million for Stage 1 of the Coomera Connector (Coomera to Nerang) in Queensland; • $88 million for the Reid Highway Interchange with West Swan Road in

Western Australia; • $200 million for the Hahndorf Township Improvements and Access Upgrade in South Australia; • $150 million for the Midway Point Causeway (including McGees Bridge) and Sorell Causeway as part of the Hobart to Sorell Roads of Strategic Importance corridor in Tasmania; • $120 million to upgrade the Carpentaria Highway in the Northern Territory; and • $88 million for the Molonglo River Bridge in the ACT. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Federal Budget would deliver funding for infrastructure which supports the Government’s JobMaker plan and helps the nation recover from COVID-19.

“We have been working closely with state and territory governments to invest in the infrastructure that is ready to go and can help rebuild our economy and create more jobs,” the Prime Minister said.

“These projects will keep commuters safe on the road, get people home to their loved ones sooner and

provide better transport links for urban and regional communities.”

He said the investment was part of the government’s plan to support an estimated 30,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the Government is focused on delivering priorities and boosting local jobs as part of Australia’s road to recovery.

“We will draw on local businesses to stimulate local economies through these projects,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

“Infrastructure means jobs, it means livelihoods, it means stronger local communities and it means building a better and more secure future for our nation.”

The Federal Budget has allocated $7.5 billion to transport infrastructure projects.

CONTRACTORS BEGIN CONSTRUCTION OF M1 UPGRADES IN QUEENSLAND Close to 180 jobs are being created for the upgrade of Exit 41 from the M1 motorway in the Gold Coast. Crews have now begun construction for the exit in Yatala, which is home to emerging industrial precincts and communities. This work comes after the completion of a $25 million Exit 57 upgrade and the Queensland government’s $10 million commitment to upgrade Exit 45. Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said a new bridge would be built over the M1 while the existing roundabout would be transformed into signalised intersections.

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“Almost one million people will call the Gold Coast home by 2041, and it’s crucial that our road and transport system is ready for that boom, and that we’re creating the jobs for the people that move here,” Bailey said. He said because of the effort of Queenslanders to manage the impacts of COVID-19 these projects are able to get underway and be completed. “For the Gold Coast that means we’ve been able to complete Exit 57, start building a $1 billion M1 upgrade to the border, lock in $755 million to build a second M1 and upgrade those interchanges

in the northern suburbs where that growth is expected.” The upgrade is expected to help avoid traffic queuing on the M1 with new on and off-ramps to be built and additional lanes added to Cuthbert Drive.

“One of the outcomes of the Northern Gold Coast Mobility Study we conducted earlier this year identified that active transport was huge ask from residents, so we’ll be maximising the upgrade by building new shared paths to connect both sides,” Bailey said. Construction on the project is expected to be complete by 2022.

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NEWS

INFRASTRUCTURE AUSTRALIA NAMES ADDITIONAL PRIORITY PROJECTS The Parkes Bypass in New South Wales and the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge upgrade in Canberra have been added to the Infrastructure Priority List.

Yearly Infrastructure Australia releases a list of opportunities for the near, medium and long term. This year the organisation released a mid-year list for the first time highlighting projects set to boost the economy during Australia’s COVID-19 recovery.

Infrastructure Australia Chief Executive, Romilly Madew said the organisation has been working collaboratively with Australia’s governments to provide advice on a staged response for managing, and recovering from, the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One critical element of our advice is to maintain a pipeline of nationally-significant infrastructure investments which have strong strategic merit and clear community benefits,” she said.

“With the addition of two new Priority Projects the Infrastructure Priority List now showcases more than $65 billion worth of nationally-significant investment opportunities for governments at all levels to choose from.”

The Parkes Bypass is a proposed $175

million project involving the construction of a 10.5 kilometre bypass along the Newell Highway. It will include bridges over existing railway lines, connections to the Parkes Special Activation Precinct and upgrades to local roads.

“Within New South Wales, the Newell highway plays a critical role servicing local traffic and consumer freight, and carries a significant volume of agricultural commodities from farms and other producers. Up to 4,500 vehicles travel along the Newell Highway through Parkes each day, of which 15-25 per cent are heavy vehicles – creating significant safety risks for the local community,” Madew said.

She said the benefit to cost ratio of 1.2 makes Parkes Bypass a nationally-significant investment opportunity.

The Commonwealth Avenue Bridge upgrade proposal outlines a $127.4 million project which will deliver critical safety improvements to the bridge. It would also enable the bridge to form part of the corridor for the planned extension of the Canberra Metro light rail network.

“Commonwealth Avenue Bridge is one of the busiest transport assets in Canberra. Built in 1963, the Bridge reached design capacity

The two new priority projects are evaluated to be of national significance.

more than three years ago, carrying an average of 7,320 vehicles during the morning peak hour. With traffic demand forecast to increase by 25 per cent over the next 15 years, its current structural issues are expected to worsen,” Madew said. She said an upgrade would extend the design life by 50 years.

“With stated a benefit-cost ratio of 2.65, it represents a sound strategic investment with benefits for the broader Australian economy.”

These projects are advanced proposals with a fully developed business case which has been positively assessed by the independent Infrastructure Australia Board. They remain on the list until construction begins.

QUEENSLAND LEADING THE FUTURE OF INNOVATIVE TRANSPORT RESEARCH INTO 2026 Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) and the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) have reaffirmed their commitment to their joint research and development initiative, the National Asset Centre of Excellence (NACOE), through the signing of their renewed agreement for 2021-2026. The new agreement was signed

by Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads Director-General Neil Scales OBE and ARRB’s Queensland State Technical Leader Matthew Bereni.

Through NACOE, TMR and ARRB strive to maximise their combined resources and remove the barriers of innovation to provide smarter engineering outcomes to both 8

ROADS NOVEMBER 2020

the Queensland and the Australian road industries.

“Since its inception in 2012, NACOE has delivered some major economic benefits to our state through cost-effective and higher performing pavements and structures, enhanced asset management practices, and by improving road safety and network operation outcomes,” Scales said.

The program has been a leading force in researching new products and approaches outside the scope of established standards and specifications to gain market acceptance in Australia. NACOE is heavily focused on collaborating with industry to improve best practises by bringing new knowledge into

practise sooner and providing efficiency gains on a national scale.

“In 2019-20, we have further advanced our knowledge in the use of recycled materials such as glass, construction waste, crumb rubber and plastics to build new, highperforming and resilient roads. This research is instrumental in driving cost savings and enhanced performance while reducing the overall transport industry’s carbon footprint,” Bereni said.

“I encourage everyone to follow the National Asset Centre of Excellence on social media and check out our webpage to learn more about our past work and out current program of activities”.

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GOING FURTHER FOR

PERFORMING RO AHEAD OF THE OPENING OF A NEW BITUMEN MODIFICATION FACILITY IN PORT BOTANY, ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE SITS DOWN WITH PUMA BITUMEN AUSTRALIA’S GENERAL MANAGER, PHIL CHIRNSIDE, TO LEARN ABOUT THE COMPANY’S CAPABILITIES AND WORLDWIDE CONNECTIONS.

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ustralia’s road network length was calculated to be 877, 651 kilometres, in the BITRE - Australian Infrastructure Statistics Yearbook 2019.

According to the Australian Bureau of statistics, the first use of asphalt as a surfacing material in Australian road building dates back to 1890.

Crucial to the creation of asphalt is bitumen, a by-product of the crude oil refining process. In 2016, an Australian Road Research Board paper acknowledged that a number of Australian bitumen refineries had been closed or reduced to importation facilities.

With the majority of bitumen imported 10

ROADS NOVEMBER 2020

to Australia it is important to ensure the quality and security of bitumen supply continues to be strong. This is where Puma Bitumen comes in as a major supplier of bitumen to the road construction market in Australia.

Puma Bitumen is a division of Puma Energy, a global storage and supply specialist, providing energy solutions and related products to 47 markets around the world.

Puma Bitumen operates globally and has a presence in 19 countries. The business leverages on the global experience and connectivity of Puma Energy, to ensure the quality and security of its bitumen supply chain.

Phil Chirnside, Puma Bitumen General Manager for Australia, says demand for water-borne supply of bitumen is greater than ever. Puma Bitumen having the largest bulk bitumen shipping fleet in the world makes us one of, if not the, strongest supplier in this space.

“Around 93 per cent of bitumen globally is used in the construction of roads and only about 20 per cent of the circa.1500 crude oil types are suitable for the production of road quality bitumen, it is therefore a very specialised material,” Chirnside says.

Bitumen comprises of more than 100,000 hydrocarbons and its performance properties can vary depending on the refining process

COVER STORY

Puma Bitumen’s Kwinana terminal in Western Australia.

BETTER

ADS

and the type of crude oil used.

“Because of our global reach we have strong relationships with reputable and reliable bitumen producing refineries around the globe. This adds to our overall strength in the supply chain, with our ships picking up bitumen from our refining supply partners around the world we can transport it economically and safely to our downstream markets.”

Puma Bitumen entered the Australian market in 2013 in Port Botany, Sydney.

In 2015, the company acquired BP’s local bitumen assets, thus extending its importation and specialty bitumen production footprint to Townsville, Brisbane, Hobart and Melbourne.

Its newest terminal located in Kwinana WA, which came online in November 2018, is considered to be one of Puma Bitumen’s most advanced import and supply facilities.

Puma Bitumen’s global centre of bitumen expertise is based at its speciality facility in Altona, Melbourne that is also where their most recent product innovation, Olexocrumb, was developed.

Olexocrumb is a highly advanced hybrid binder, consisting of both SBS and crumb rubber, and was the recipient of AAPA’s 2020 award for innovation.

“The Australian road construction industry is highly reliant on the importation of bitumen. Bitumen in its refined form, that meets Australian specification when it reaches our shores, is one of the products we supply. Then we also have speciality

Puma Bitumen is well known for offering high quality specialty binders.

binders which require the modification of bitumen to have higher performance characteristics,” Chirnside says.

At the tail end of 2020, Puma Bitumen will reveal its newly constructed Port Botany facility, which was specifically built to enable the production of both SBS as well as crumb rubber (CR) polymer modified binders (PMB).

“The new facility will allow us to grow our footprint, enabling us to offer the high quality speciality binders that we are known for producing elsewhere in Australia, to the New South Wales market,” Chirnside says.

He says the production of Puma’s modified binders in New South Wales will also have economic advantages for customers as the product is manufactured at source of feedstock, thus eliminating double handling costs. He says this also adds a degree of comfort in regards to quality assurance.

The company has been producing modified binders from its Brisbane, Townsville and Altona facilities since 2015 and recently introduced this product line to its Kwinana facility in WA. Plans to expand into the New South Wales market have been in place for many years.

“Credit is due to the contractors that build the vast road network in Australia, at times in remote locations and under highly challenging conditions. This is why our commitment and obligation is to ensure the bituminous products we manufacture and supply are of the highest quality, knowing they arrive on site on specification, regardless of how far they have travelled,” Chirnside says.

Puma Bitumen strives to go further for better performing roads. The team recognise that the unique challenges of the Australian environment, load stresses from road trains and other heavy vehicles require the performance of bitumen to be of the up-most quality.

He says the real end-users are the people that drive on the road, and quality roads save lives. Puma Bitumen makes use of its expertise and major shipping fleet to ensure Australia continues to receive high quality bitumen despite the changing landscape of the global bitumen market.

“In an ever-changing market we strongly maintain our position in the supply chain, safeguarding a reliable stream of quality bitumen over the long term, ensuring quality continues to prevail, and our valued customers continue to build better performing roads across Australia.” roadsonline.com.au

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PROJECT REPORT

MASTERING THE

MONASH

IN LATE 2015 STAGE ONE OF UPGRADES TO IMPROVE TRAVEL TIMES, SAFETY AND RELIABILITY ON ONE OF MELBOURNE’S MOST IMPORTANT ROUTES, THE MONASH FREEWAY WAS ANNOUNCED. ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE SITS DOWN WITH MAJOR ROAD PROJECTS VICTORIA TO GET AN UPDATE ON STAGE TWO OF THE WORKS.

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ork on the first section of the Monash Freeway, by Transurban and VicRoads, began in 2016.

Two years later, 30 kilometres of extra lanes had been added to the freeway and Stage One construction was estimated to save commuters seven minutes during peak hour.

Stage Two of the Monash Freeway, announced in late 2018 and the upgrade is being undertaken by Major Road Projects Victoria, with CPB Contractors. It includes the construction of 36 kilometres of new freeway lanes, connections to arterial roads, smart on-road technology installation, upgrades to O’Shea Road and construction of a shared user path in Beaconsfield.

In total, $1.4 billion has been invested to improve the Monash Freeway.

Catherine Gunn, Project Director for the Monash Freeway Upgrade Stage Two says the works in this section of the project will complement Stage One and make journeys on the freeway quicker, easier and safer.

“We are very much looking to improve traffic flow and travel times. We are also looking to make it easier to get onto the freeway network, so we’ve got some upgrades to connections and there will be improvements in the Beaconsfield interchange area to make it easier for walking and cycling there,” Gunn says.

UPGRADE REQUIREMENTS She says 1.8 million people live along the Monash Corridor and the surrounding suburbs produce an economic output of $75 billion a year.

“It’s important that this part of Melbourne has a freeway with capacity and connectivity.

There are also a few growth fronts that this project touches upon and this project will also improve access and connectivity to these new housing developments.”

Major construction began on Stage Two this year and teams have been creating a workzone in the centre median by moving all of the current freeway lanes onto the shoulders.

Gunn explains the project is set up in four discrete sections, the Western, Central, Eastern and the arterial connection at O’Shea Road. O’Shea Road was originally a council owned road and work on the project will see it upgraded to an arterial road with three lanes in either direction to create a smooth connection onto the freeway.

Works undertaken to date have focused on fixing and improving the temporary shoulder lanes, readjusting the lane use management signs to match the new lane locations and adding temporary barriers to prepare the freeway for construction. In total, around 46 kilometres of temporary barriers were needed to create the

Catherine Gunn, Project Director for the Monash Freeway Upgrade Stage Two.

workzone in the centre median where the main work is happening.

Construction has also started on the project’s bridges, in total eight bridges will need upgrades. There are four bridges in the Western section which all need widening. Piling works for foundations have commenced on these as well the construction of the substructure roadsonline.com.au

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concrete works.

Gunn says for the remainder of the year the team is getting ready to install beams on some of the bridges that are being widened, starting with Police Road, Jacksons Road and Cardinia Creek.

“We are continuing to construct our pavement in the centre median and works are beginning to happen at the Beaconsfield interchange,” she says.

CHALLENGES Gunn says with a quick design time-line the team had 8000 drawings to review which spanned over 46 kilometres of the works, a considerable effort.

The Western section of construction covers what was known as the Mulgrave Freeway which is almost 50 years old.

“Some of the assets we are working with are of age, so getting to know the bridges and understanding what they need in order to be upgraded has been important,” she says.

With traffic running along the freeway shoulder in the Western section, there are heavier loadings on the pavement than it has experienced before, so extra repairs and upkeep is a key consideration for the project team.

“Right across the Western section the pavement is of age so maintaining it prior to construction is a challenge. We have crews out regularly maintaining the pavement,” Gunn says.

“The Eastern section’s pavement is granular so as we switch traffic onto the shoulders, this is also putting a lot of pressure on the pavement. We’re spending a lot of time keeping the pavement maintained there while we are doing the works. There is really a lot of maintenance work involved as well as the capital upgrade.”

While the impacts of Stage Four restrictions in Metropolitan Melbourne 14

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affected the project, Gunn says the challenges were balanced in some cases by a reduction in traffic.

“We are certainly seeing a reduced volume on the network and when the curfew was introduced, we saw a further reduction. That gave us opportunity to do more lane closures during the day while keeping a close eye on traffic,” she says.

“It also enabled us to implement slightly longer shifts. With the curfew we were able to match our shifts with that to take some of the pressure off from managing works in the COVID-19 environment with extra protocols.”

CIRCULAR ECONOMY Sustainability has been a significant consideration on the Monash Freeway Stage Two project. The project is being rated by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia and the team have been working to implement solutions whenever possible.

As of early 2020 in Victoria, all tenders for major government projects are required to demonstrate how they would use waste or recycled products as part of the Recycled First policy.

The Monash Freeway Stage Two tender was awarded before this came into place, but sustainability was not left behind.

“CPB has been keen to give many things a go and has produced a variety of ideas for us, it’s just a matter of working through technical requirements and standards with the Department of Transport,” Gunn says.

“Monash Freeway needs to be a high performing pavement, given the high traffic volumes it carries, but notwithstanding that there is still quite a scope for RAP in the asphalt mix, crushed concrete in the crushed rock mixes and other things like recycled glass as bedding and backfill.”

The project forecasts to use around 50,000 tonnes of RAP and 60,000 tonnes of

crushed rock.

In addition, the project has implemented a range of wider sustainability initiatives.

Biodiesel generators are being used at some of the project’s remote sites which will save around 70 kilolitres of fuel.

Renewable energy contracts have also been sourced to power the site offices which is estimated to save 350,000 kilowatts of energy over the life of the job.

Hydro demolition is being used on many of the bridges on the projects. This process captures the water used and up to 70 per cent of that water can be processed and reused. The project forecasts it will save 600 kilolitres of water.

“Where crews have needed to remove bridge barriers in some cases, they have even reused them to mark out car parks and areas at site offices. I think sustainable initiatives are very much about opening people’s minds to what is possible and there is definitely an appetite for that,” Gunn says.

IMPROVEMENTS Stage Two construction is expected to be completed in 2022 with improvements to traffic flow, reduction in travel time and better connections to the freeway being the main benefits.

“We understand that there will be about a nine-minute reduction in inbound peak hour traffic times and around 13 minutes saved outbound in peak traffic when the project is complete,” Gunn says.

In total over 36 kilometres of extra lanes will be added to the freeway on top of 12 kilometres of arterial connection lanes.

While the benefits are expected to progress long after project completion, the Monash Freeway has also been vital in creating 600 jobs throughout construction and is providing employment in Victoria at a time when it has been most needed.

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AAPA releases the results of its 2019/20 laboratory proficiency testing program.

2019/20 AAPA PROFICIENCY

PROGRAM OUTCOMES NORBERT MICHEL FROM THE AUSTRALIAN ASPHALT PAVEMENT ASSOCIATION DETAILS THE OUTCOMES OF THE 2019/20 ROUND OF ITS LABORATORY PROFICIENCY TESTING PROGRAM. The annual AAPA proficiency testing program, which has been administered since 2004, represents a national undertaking with a good representation from laboratories from all states, territories and New Zealand.

One of the main objectives of the program is to pursue harmonisation of test methods, to improve and ensure consistent material testing processes are applied across the industry.

process outlined in the Guide to Proficiency Testing Australia (PTA, 2016) and EN ISO/IEC 17043:2010.

Several tests are included in every proficiency testing round for comparison with previous years. This ensures consistency and an ability to assess the efficiency of process control across the industry. Detailed instructions are provided to each participating laboratory outlining the approach to be undertaken.

HOW DOES THE PROGRAM WORK? The proficiency testing program is undertaken on a homogenised batch of pre-prepared material, from which samples are taken and sent to participating laboratories. The participating laboratories report the results of the tests they undertake on these samples.

The AAPA proficiency testing program, and analysis of the data, follows the

OVERVIEW OF THE 2019/20 ROUND For the 2019/20 round, AAPA included a new test stream within the program. This test stream (Stream 7 – PMB testing) was introduced to broaden the scope of testing on materials used across the flexible pavements industry. For this stream, samples of A15E binder in 2 litre tins were provided to all registered participants.

The full range of tests undertaken as part

16

ROADS NOVEMBER 2020

of the program include: 1. Asphalt testing (tests related to asphalt product acceptance) 2. Binder recovery 3. Aggregate and filler tests 4. Resilient modulus 5. Wheel tracking test 6. Moisture sensitivity: Tensile strength ratio (TSR) 7. Polymer Modified Binder (PMB) tests Samples were distributed to all participating laboratories from across Australia and New Zealand based on the range of tests that they registered to participate in. Table 1 provides an overview of the sample distribution for the different streams and the response rates achieved for each of the streams based on the number of result entries received. Each participating laboratory was issued a unique identification number for the purpose of reporting the results anonymously.

RESULTS FOR 2019/20 ROUND The results obtained are reported by the laboratory for each of the specified material properties and compared to the median value of the material property as reported by the collective of participants.

An example of the individual results provided to participants for one of the parameters, Stream 6 – Resilient Modulus, is shown in Figure 1.

This report outlines the following for each of the participating laboratories: • LAB ID • Sample numbers used to undertake the test • Results obtained for that test • Calculated z-score for the results submitted • Test method applied in the determination of that result These results are then ranked in accordance with their assigned z-score to generate the graph of the positions assigned. This outlines the relative position of each participating laboratory to the median value. The summary statistics for all the submitted results are shown in the summary table beneath the chart.

Finally, the comparison of sample testing is based on the ‘robust statistical approach’ using z-scores to assess the distance of the given sample result from the median.

Z-scores close to zero approach the median with increasing values indicating increasing divergence from the median.

Sample results with values of z-score >= to 3 (highlighted in Red) are considered to be outliers and should be rejected while z-score >2 (highlighted in yellow) should be investigated for their high divergence from the median. Shown in Figure 1 above.

Figure 1: Example summary report for Stream 6 – Resilient Modulus

Of concern, however, is the increase in the number of reported results in the investigation range, where these represent a z-score greater than 2 and less than 3.

Over the last 2 years, the number of result entries in this category have doubled in number but only marginally increased in terms of the percentage of the overall result entries submitted (as the size of the program has grown).

WHAT’S NEXT AAPA will start planning for the 2020/21 testing program and information will be made available to the industry regarding the process for registration, sample

delivery, test instructions and results submissions.

Furthermore, based on some of the learnings from this latest testing round and active engagement with AAPA National Technology and Leadership Committee, several improvements to the results submission process will be made to improve the data entry process and therefore ensure that entry of erroneous data is minimised. Finally, AAPA is also looking to broaden the offering of the program in terms of the materials being to assist with determination of precision statements for testing of different materials.

COMPARISON BETWEEN THE 2018/19 AND 2019/20 ROUND The program has grown in the last two years, both in terms of the number of streams offered and in the number of participating laboratories.

A review of the results submitted and their classification in terms of z-score is provided below in Table 2, which indicates an improvement overall by participating organisations in terms of the number of outliers (z-score > 3). This is a pleasing result as it indicates an increased conversion on reporting accurately (i.e. less erroneous data entry occurrences). roadsonline.com.au

17

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AAPA MEMBER PROFILE: GUY RIGONI MAJOR ACCOUNT MANAGER – WILLIAMS ADAMS CAT

5. WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT IN THE INDUSTRY? My biggest achievement has been selling the most Caterpillar Paving machines for William Adams Cat.

1. HOW LONG HAVE YOUR COMPANY BEEN AN AAPA MEMBER AND WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME ONE? William Adams Caterpillar has been a member of AAPA for 30 years, we decided to become a member of AAPA when Caterpillar first started making Caterpillar Paving machines and Cold Planers (Mills).

AAPA membership allowed William Adams to have direct contact with AAPA’s large member base while promoting Caterpillar products.

2. HOW DID YOU START YOUR CAREER IN THE ROAD CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY? I started with William Adams back in 2005 as Territory Sales Manager looking after 300-plus customers in the construction industry. I came from a machine operator background specialising on wheel loaders and dozers. The road construction industry has always interested me with the new technology as it is released and how it helps improve our industry with quality finish of our roads and improved job-site efficiency.

3. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT ROLE AND WHAT DOES IT INVOLVE? My current role is Major Account Manager

Guy Rigoni, Major Account Manager at Williams Adams CAT.

specialising in Paving Equipment which involves all types of machine sales and machine hand over and training on the new equipment.

4. WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR CURRENT ROLE? The best thing about my role is getting to see and test the newly released machines before they go out to the market. We can supply feedback to the factory, with help from our customers, on how to improve safety and performance of the machines for our industry.

6. WHAT IS A RECENT CHANGE YOU HAVE SEEN IN THE INDUSTRY AND HOW ARE YOU OR THE COMPANY PREPARED FOR THAT? A recent change in our industry has been towards the adoption of technology into the machines. This not only allows for off-site machine monitoring using GPS tracking but also on board systems that allow for 2D grade and slope systems, 3D GPS level systems and UTS millimetre systems used on airport runways and major highways.

7. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS MOST INTERESTING ABOUT THE ROAD CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY? The most interesting thing about the road construction industry is the never-ending search for improvements, not only in the materials used but in the way the roads are constructed and the new technologies used to make these improvements.

8. HOW HAS BEING A MEMBER OF AAPA BENEFITTED YOU IN THE INDUSTRY? AAPA has helped William Adams Cat get our brand and machines into the road construction market as a quality brand with a never-ending drive to improve job efficiency and safety through our Caterpillar products.

Guy Rigoni’s biggest achievement in industry has been selling the most Caterpillar Paving machines for Williams Adams CAT.

9. WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE FUTURE? My main goal for the future is to help train and improve the knowledge in the road construction industry by teaching the correct operating techniques and technology training on our Caterpillar machines. roadsonline.com.au

19

MashFlex® TL3 Wire Rope Safety Barrier

MASH TL3 Compliant Roadside Safety Barrier Introducing MashFlex, a member of the Flexfence family, the next generation wire rope safety barrier (WRSB), providing superior motorist safety and more metres of barrier for your dollar. The superior design and clean lines of the FlexFence WRSB have seen it become the road safety industry’s preferred wire rope barrier. These design characteristics have continued in this next generation of the product, MashFlex, with an improved design and simplified assembly sequence.

• Crash tested to MASH Test Level 3 – 2,270kg pick-up truck travelling at 100km/h • Superior 4-rope system • Machine swaged, stainless steel fittings for dependable in-service performance

• Low concrete consumption, saving you more dollars per meter • Posts can be powder-coated • Less components for a rapid installation

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Sydney (02) 9827 3333 Melbourne (03) 9358 4100 Perth (08) 9452 9111 Wagga 0427 779 588

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Brisbane (07) 3489 9125 Adelaide/NT 0438 153 482 Newcastle 0400 235 883 Local call 1300 446 425 Ref: PP0615

Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia

PROJECTS USE ECOLOGIQ TO DELIVER VICTORIA’S BIG BUILD VICTORIA’S $70 BILLION TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE BOOM PRESENTS HUGE OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE THE USE OF RECYCLED MATERIALS IN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. ISCA HIGLIGHTS SOME OF THE INITIATIVES ALREADY UNDERWAY.

B

y 2046, Victoria is expected to generate 40 percent more waste a year than in 2017-18 – highlighting the need to grow domestic recycling capabilities and create local markets for recycled content.

The Victorian Government responded with its circular economy strategy – Recycling Victoria – a 10-year plan to overhaul the state’s recycling sector. A key part of this plan is to drive innovation in sustainability.

The introduction of the Recycled First policy this year supports this commitment, and its implementation is being led by the Ecologiq initiative which helps projects to drive the use of sustainable materials.

Companies interested in delivering major transport infrastructure projects will need to demonstrate how they will optimise the use of Victorian recycled and reused materials that meet existing standards and specifications.

So far, Victoria’s Big Build has incorporated more than 383,000 tonnes of recycled crushed concrete into its projects, and more than 325,000 tonnes of supplementary cementitious material such as fly ash and blast-furnace slag.

Recycled plastic has been used to build around 20 kilometres of rail barriers, while more than 118,000 tonnes of recycled steel now forms part of our biggest road and rail projects.

PAVING A GREENER FUTURE FOR VICTORIA The nine-kilometre Mordialloc Freeway project is leading the way in using recycled materials with the team determined to exceed their sustainability targets.

So far, more than 100,000 tonnes of recycled crushed concrete have been incorporated in the road base and more than 400,000 tonnes of recycled concrete in under road drainage.

Up to 30 per cent of the asphalt to be laid will also be made from recycled materials,

and drainage pipes made of recycled plastic will also be installed.

The project has used more than 300,000 tonnes of excavated soil from other construction sites across Melbourne.

The team is aiming to use noise walls made of 75 per cent recycled plastic along the new freeway, linking Springvale Road to Thames Promenade. Close to 12 kilometres of noise walls are required on the project.

Ecologiq is encouraging all contractors to explore such innovative applications to demonstrate their commitment to optimising sustainable materials, using the Recycled First policy to capture data and lessons learnt.

FROM TRIAL, TO TRIED AND TRUE Several recycled materials are currently in trial in Victoria, with Ecologiq collaborating with government and industry partners to drive innovation.

In Melbourne’s west, workers used more than 590,000 plastic bags and toner from 13,000 print cartridges to resurface a road.

The product known as Reconophalt is being trialled on Duncans Road, Werribee as part of the $1.8 billion Western Roads Upgrade.

While this trial hints at exciting new possibilities, the Western Roads Upgrade has

already used mammoth volumes of widely accepted recycled materials, including more than 190 million recycled glass bottles and up to 300,000 tonnes of recycled asphalt.

Across the city, researchers are testing the use of crumbed rubber on a kilometre and a half section of East Boundary Road in East Bentleigh. In an Australian-first trial into how crumbed rubber performs over time, the busy road was paved using the equivalent of 1600 old tyres in March this year.

Australia generates the equivalent of 56 million car tyres every year, and it is estimated a third of these tyres end up in landfill or stockpiles, with just 10 per cent currently domestically recycled. The Victorian Government, Tyre Stewardship Australia and the Australian Road Research Board are conducting the million-dollar study, aimed at integrating more discarded tyres into the circular economy.

Our state is ready to shift to a reducereuse-recycle model, and Ecologiq is using Victoria’s Big Build to make that happen.

To find out about more projects, Australia wide that are using recycled materials and reducing emissions visit the ISCA website to download the organisation’s 2020 Impacts Report.

Victoria’s Big Build includes some of the biggest road and rail projects in the state’s history and presents a huge opportunity for use of recycled materials.

roadsonline.com.au

21

ASPHALT IN ACTION

HANDLING MODIFIED ASPHALT AND THE EFFECT OF AGEING BITUMEN

CIBER IS A MAJOR ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER OF ASPHALT PLANT AND EQUIPMENT. ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE SPEAKS TO CIBER ABOUT THE COMPLEXITIES OF BITUMEN AND LOOKING AFTER AN ASPHALT PLANT.

T

here are certain measures asphalt plant owners can take to ensure that when handling bitumen, whether it is a standard mix or specialised, that it is produced to the highest quality possible.

While achieving high quality asphalt results, it is also important to ensure the plant is well looked after and can continue producing at the best quality and efficiency.

BITUMEN AGEING ON PROJECTS Marcelo Zubaran, Product & Application specialist at CIBER says measures can be taken during the logistics and production steps of bitumen and asphalt production to minimise binder ageing effects.

High temperatures, ultraviolet radiation, the presence of oxygen and the surface area cause bitumen to age. This often happens in two forms, either volatilization (when part of the light oils in the bitumen evaporate), or oxidation as a result of chemical reactions in the bitumen (when the light oil becomes hard).

“The first step towards minimising ageing effects is during the transportation of bitumen from the refinery or distributor to the job site. Here the bitumen should avoid any contact with flames in the tank’s heater,” he says.

Secondly, he outlines when feeding bitumen into the tank for works it is preferable to have a high flow pump, this can reduce ageing as it shortens the materials

contact with oxygen.

“Bitumen heating in the work tank is also important, the bitumen needs to be heated according to its viscosity without exceeding limits specified by the supplier,” Zubaran says.

When planning for a project he suggests avoiding mixes with high filler to bitumen ratio as this can cause the bitumen film to be thin on the aggregates, increasing the chance of ageing.

“When the asphalt is in production at the plant, prioritise the use of pug-mill external mixers in continuous or discontinuous plants, and try to avoid large falls between the mix storage bin and the truck. This helps to reduce the asphalt’s contact with oxygen.”

Finally, during the application Zubaran recommends reducing the time between production, laying and compression as much as possible due to the mix cooling.

LOOKING AFTER THE PLANT Modified asphalt can require specific attention during mixing at the plant as well, not only to prevent ageing but also to ensure plant production and maintenance is not affected.

“In the production process, modified asphalt can require a high shear rate to be applied to the mix so the aggregates can achieve good adhesiveness,” Zubaran says.

“The mixing plant needs to be adjusted many times so the binder can disperse and cover the surface of the aggregates.”

He says certain mixes may also require a dry mixing stage so the thickness of the binder foil is homogeneous over the aggregates. Also, it can be important to adjust the mixing time, in the plant, according to the mix adhesion. This can be done, either in discontinuous or continuous asphalt plants.

“Regarding the plant’s maintenance, it is important to constantly verify the conditions of the bitumen tank filter in these applications. There may be accumulation of material in the filter, generating an increase of pressure in the pump, which can reduce pump flow.”

From there, transportation of the mix from the asphalt plant, is important to avoid blockages.

“It’s important the bitumen tank is prepared for efficient and safe offloading of the material. The suction piping should allow the pump gears to fill completely and the bitumen filter should be large enough to avoid blockages. Ideally there will also be a circulation system to keep the binder moving,” Zubaran says.

Asphalt plants need to be able to consistently handle the production process, even with modified and varied asphalt mixes.

“All it requires is the fine tuning of the operation and maintenance of the plant, this will enable success. Modified asphalt is a great technical alternative and should be applied in harmony with the equipment.”

Modified asphalt can require specific attention during mixing at an asphalt plant.

roadsonline.com.au

23

TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT

SIMPLE EFFICIENCY

WITH SIMEX

Simex Planers are well suited to small and medium works.

T

ime is always of the essence when it comes to road building. Regardless of whether you are shutting down a council road through the middle of town or a major motorway linking two cities, road restrictions from construction are expected to be as minimal as possible.

This expectation can lead asset owners to implement penalties if timing is not met and roads have to stay shut longer than anticipated.

Local Queensland contractor All Whitey Profiling is involved in asphalt profiling and earthmoving projects and Owner Darrel Whitey has witnessed the effects of project delays during his time in the industry.

“Ten minutes can be like an hour to asphalt experts, if there is any way for you to make your works quicker and in turn better prepare the job for its next stage, that is worth its weight in gold,” Whitey says.

When searching for a new asphalt planer, Whitey was given a few good recommendations for the Simex Planers and decided to view one in action, on site.

“I managed to see the planers working on various sites with a couple of other companies and the practicality of them was really second to none. I knew that if I was going to buy a planer it would be the Simex,” Whitey says.

The Simex Planers, distributed through supplier Queensland Rock Breakers, are a two in one machine which is 24

ROADS NOVEMBER 2020

able to perform both milling and stabilising applications for the complete rehabilitation of roads and streets.

With a maximum width of 1500 millimetres and a milling depth of 350 millimetres (depending on model), the Simex Planers are well suited to small and medium works and are especially suitable in tight areas and around potholes or kerbs.

“We do asphalt patches up to 200 millimetres and we can do asphalt key ins with the planer. We can cut up to and against kerbs and in and around traffic islands.

A key feature of the machine is that you can adjust the side plates to go up against objects, which is a huge benefit for asphalt contractors,” Whitey says.

Craig Einam, Queensland Rock Breakers Sales Area Manager, says the ability to get closer to manholes and kerbs is one of the big advantages of the planers.

“With the Simex Planer you can get a lot closer to these objects and that removes some of the manpower and other equipment like jack-hammers that might be required. All the people that use these planers love the fact that the machine can do a lot of the work for them,” Einam says.

The Simex Planers are also self-levelling, which helps the operator to ensure consistent milling depth regardless of any surface discrepancies.

Another feature Whitey says is impressive for asphalt contractors, is the left and right

SIMEX PLANERS WORK TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY ON ROAD PROFILING JOBS BY PERFORMING MILLING AND STABILISATION WITH DEPTH CONTROL FEATURES. ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE FINDS OUT WHY IT’S THE UNIT OF CHOICE FOR ALL WHITEY PROFILING.

depth control capability.

Independent depth control on either side of the planer can create sloped surfaces.

When paired with the self-levelling feature and the traverse tilt system this ensures there are no height differences in the final product even if a project begins with uneven ground.

“We’re are also able to get into tighter situations behind traffic islands. Being compact, means you are not restricted by a big unit. I was shocked at how smooth and efficient the machine is and the accuracy of the final cut we get,” Whitey says.

Simex Planers are also designed with a built-in water tank and pump which reduces any dust produced during milling operations.

“Profiling has seen large growth in the last 12 to 18 months, with our operating and safety benefits we see the Simex Planer as being really favourable in the industry,” Einam says.

“Time really does cost money and many of the features on the Simex Planer work to make applications more efficient on site, helping to keep projects on time and budget.”

Simex Planers are available across the country throughout the Simex dealership network which includes; Walkers Hammers in VIC and TAS, Groundtec in NSW, QLD Rock Breakers in QLD and NT, Total Rockbreaking Solutions in WA and Renex Equipment in SA.

Purposely Greener Infrastructure

|

1844

For information, technical advice and support on using recycled and reused materials on transport infrastructure projects, contact Ecologiq at ecologiq@roadprojects.vic.gov.au

Authorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne

An initiative of Victoria’s Big Build

MATTHEWS BROTHERS:

A JOURNEY OF ROADS AND FAMILY

An early spraying machine.

An early Latland 6x4 sprayer.

MATTHEWS BROTHERS ENGINEERING WILL REACH ITS CENTENARY YEAR IN 2021. ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE SPEAKS TO THE THIRD-GENERATION FAMILY OWNER OF THE BUSINESS TO DISCUSS THE EVOLUTION OF THE AUSTRALIAN OWNED AND OPERATED ORGANISATION.

T

Paul and Noel Matthews.

26

ROADS NOVEMBER 2020

he early 20th century was pivotal for Australian road making and transportation. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics most roads outside country towns were unsealed right up until the late 19th century.

It was only in 1913 that the first road department in Australia was established, the Country Roads Board in Victoria. This was closely followed by the Main Roads Commission in Queensland and the Main Roads Boards in New South Wales and Western Australia throughout the 1920s.

The early 20th century saw increased technological innovation for road building in Australia with the large-scale development of bituminous pavements and the binding of local gravels with tar and bitumen.

At this time, in 1921, Vic Bradley and Roy Matthews opened a site to mine and transport blue stone from a quarry that was located close to a site they opened on Mason Street just out of Melbourne.

From there, Matthews Brothers Engineering was born and over time the two owners turned to engineering works and secured a contract to supply torpedo heads and mortar bomb casings to the army.

The business then evolved to create affordable and innovative road construction

equipment and was eventually passed on to Roy’s sons, Noel and Ray Matthews.

The businesses first introduction to creating road making equipment was for the Victorian Country Roads Board, where they supplied a number of small 130-gallon bitumen kettles.

This pivoted the company towards bitumen spraying gear.

After the passing of Noel in 2018 and Ray in 2020, Matthews Brothers Engineering is led

by Roy Matthew’s Grandson, Paul Matthews, and is a road construction equipment manufacturer heading into its centenary year of operation.

Working out of its purpose-built facility and manufacturing plant in Altona North, the Australian owned and operated business alongside its rental division, Flindane, continue to grow.

Owner Paul Matthews, started as an auto electrician when he was 18, he then became foreman of the Mason Street site and moved with the business to Altona North to oversee the new facility before becoming Managing Director of the business in 2019.

“When I started out there were two buttons on the sprayers and everything else was mechanical. To improve this technology, I did an electronics course and started to build control panels from there to make the

TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT

machines more efficient and easier to use for the operators,” Matthews says.

This legacy has lasted through generations of the family through to 2020 where Matthews Brothers is a well-established manufacturer of bespoke bitumen tankers and spray seal equipment.

“We have got the ability to take a raw truck chassis’ and transform them into state of the art, bitumen sprayers,” Matthews says.

“Around 90 per cent of the gear on our spray seal machines is made in house or from one of our local suppliers. We’ve got proprietary pumps, valves and equipment that can’t be bought off the shelf elsewhere, simply so these components can work in excess of 200 degrees, sometimes for days on end.”

One of the most recent innovations from the Matthews Brothers team is their Guaranteed Target Application Rate, or G-TAR. This system is an optional upgrade on Matthews Brothers Sprayers and is designed to assist the operator to achieve efficiency while upholding safety on site.

G-TAR is an automated system, which is operated through a touch screen control panel, to simplify operation of the sprayer systems while achieving consistency of application.

Amongst the team at Matthews Brothers there are two electrical engineers dedicated specifically to the assembly of intricate control panels and automation solutions such as G-TAR to advance spray seal operations.

The design department has hand drawn diagrams of early equipment showcased on the walls of the office, while the current team utilise state of the art parametric modelling software helping to keep Matthews Brothers at the forefront of design technology.

The same level of detail is upheld for Matthews Brothers mechanical components, with the company developing nearly 10 different types of spray bar valves over the years.

“We have always, and will continue to, strive towards the next innovation or improvement that is going to make a difference for contractors. Research and development play a huge part in the business, it’s important for us to understand what the industry is looking for and deliver,” Matthews says.

“With each truck we create we are eager to make changes and improvements for the client so that the next truck is always

Matthews Brothers Engineering’s 14,000 Litre sprayer.

better than the last. If a client has ideas and provides feedback, that is taken on board so that we can continually improve.”

One thing the Matthews team has observed in the industry is the movement to minimise the use of kerosene to improve environmental outcomes.

“Our Forward Motion Chipsealer has features which help minimise the use of kerosene, meaning the operator doesn’t have to flush out the piping system” Matthews says “This same technology is now being developed within a new prototype which we hope may even remove the need for cutting agents which are sometimes added to the bitumen”.

Because the business manufactures such a large proportion of the parts used on the spray sealing units, replacement parts and technical support for the machines is second nature.

“We really understand the equipment we are building and how it works in the field.

We have a pool of people that know how to use each of these products and parts and how to repair them. Most repairs can be done over the phone or quickly resolved by sending the correct replacement part,” Matthews says.

“Quick resolution of technical issues is crucial when you have a team of workers standing by and waiting for a machine to be ready so that works can continue. We know these products inside out so can often fix them quickly.”

This year, Matthews Brothers are producing their first 14,000 litre, twin-bar, bitumen spraying unit featuring their G-TAR Maxi control system. Matthews Brothers

have worked closely with Scania to optimise interface with the trucks systems, though things can be tailored to suit Mercedes Benz, M.A.N., Volvo and Isuzu chassis’.

Once complete the unit will take its place as the new flagship model of the entire sprayer range.

Looking ahead to the next 100 years Matthew’s excitedly finds it hard to picture the extent of just what the company could achieve.

“A lot of our staff members have been here over 20 years and the ‘family’ aspect of the business goes much further than the Matthews’ family. It encompasses all of the people here, working together to improve,” Matthews says.

“I’m sure if you had told Roy Matthews where we would be today, he would be amazed. The main thing we know is that the nature of the business is to strive for improvement and we just want to get better and better from here.”

Rear view of a Matthews Brothers Engineering spray unit. roadsonline.com.au

27

Coffey Testing are the industry leaders for Construction Materials Testing services.

Our technicians are skilled in the delivery of aggregate, concrete, and soil testing services as well as complex speciality testing on soft soils, aggregates, and rock.

A growing pool of over 260 qualified technicians, across 25 laboratories Australia wide, means we can service your needs anywhere.

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TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT

PRODUCTIVITY IN THE FAST LANE

GUIDESIGN VERSION EIGHT HAS BEEN RELEASED IN AUSTRALIA THIS MONTH, WITH A MULTITUDE OF UPGRADES AND NEW FEATURES TO FACILITATE SIMPLE, FAST DESIGN OF ROADWAY AND HIGHWAY SIGNS OR MARKINGS.

T

he latest version of Transoft Solutions’s specialist road signage software, GuideSIGN version eight is now available across Australia pushing sign creation into the fast lane.

Transoft has developed innovative and easy to use software for transportation professionals since 1991. Transoft’s engineers work closely with the world leading agencies including Austroads to develop its specialised applications. GuideSIGN uses Computer Aided Design (CAD) software to create road and highway signs that meet Australian specifications within minutes, saving time and money for engineers on many projects. Version eight is available as the basic GuideSIGN product for sign design and in addition Transoft Solutions released GuideSIGN Plus featuring a sign planning module and pavement marking module.

The original GuideSIGN module for sign design has seen upgrades to Australian specific content and general improvements to usage. For version eight, Transoft Solutions focused on GuideSIGN Plus which includes significant upgrades to the sign planning module and a brand-new module for pavement marking. This module was enabled through Transoft Solutions’s acquisition of the British company Keysoft Solutions.

Wesley Butler, Civil Technologist at Transoft Solutions, says the sign planning software has been revamped to be a threedimensional tool.

“Now you can take the signs you have created in sign design and view them in the sign planning module in a 3D format. You can also take standard signs from the library and view them in a 3D environment,” he says.

Sign planning also features a new system for the customisation of labelling, which can be designed to relevant standards. In future versions, this system will be the beginning of enabling the export of these designs to a Geographic Information System (GIS) format.

An example of Transoft’s sign and road marking software in action.

“We have also created sign plan templates which allow the user to place several signs at the click of a button in a common scenario.

For example, if you are working on an intersection you can place all of the signs that are relevant to that area with one click,” Butler says.

For the new pavement marking module, Transoft Solutions has integrated this with the sign planning software. These can be used at the same time, in the same program, to implement all traffic lines, arrows or text needed on a roadway. GuideSIGN software is created to facilitate design efficiency using a panel style approach. When creating a sign, the user begins with a blank panel based on the standards required and this is populated with the text and symbols needed.

In the sign design module, Transoft Solutions has a library of panel styles that are based on the AS1743: 2018 Australian standard. For sign planning there is also a basic library of signs that adhere to the 2018 Australian standard, and for pavement marking the content is also created to Australian specification. Pavement marking also includes some of the unique New Zealand standard designs.

“Because the software is geared towards Australian standards, this means you don’t really have to know the standards inside out. A user can simply drag elements around

and follow the prompts given by the system which will alert them if something is not to standard,” Butler says.

“The standard prompts are automated, making it easy to design an accurate sign that meets specification. But this can also be avoided using manual overrides if the user is looking for a more advanced application.”

Sign design is customisable so any of the arrows or symbols created in the software can be adjusted for alternate applications.

“Recently we created signs for social distancing in GuideSIGN, these did not need to adhere to road standards as we were communicating to pedestrians not drivers.

The software can be completely flexible for applications such as this,” Butler says.

There are three different modules as part of the GuideSIGN version eight release, Sign Design, Sign Planning and Pavement Design.

All three modules are included under GuideSIGN Plus. The basic sign design module is purchased under GuideSIGN and finally the sign planning and pavement design modules are available separately under a package called SIGMA. Transoft Solutions can work with each user to design a licencing or purchase package that suits the needs of each project, whether that be for smaller or larger organisations.

For more information, please contact salesAPAC@transoftsolutions.com roadsonline.com.au

29

Road Maintenance ROAD MAINTENANCE HAS BEEN SEALING CRACKS AND FIXING ROADS ACROSS AUSTRALIA FOR OVER 40 YEARS. ITS FOCUS ON RESEARCHING AND PERFECTING WAYS TO KEEP CRACKS FROM LEADING TO TOTAL FAILED AREAS HAS HELPED SAVE COUNCILS AND ROAD OWNERS THOUSANDS. THE COMPANY IS ALSO SET ON FINDING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR WASTE TYRES TO KEEP AUSTRALIA BEAUTIFUL. ROAD MAINTENANCE HAVE DEVELOPED AND NOW USE A CRACK SEALING PRODUCT WHICH CONTAINS WASTE PLASTICS AND TYRE CRUMB.

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WEB: WWW.ROAD-MAINTENANCE.COM.AU

TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT

MOVING FORWARD

INTO SPRAY SEALING SEASON ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE SPEAKS TO QUALITY FABRICATION AND ENGINEERING, THE COMPANY BEHIND THE DUAL CONTROLLED FORWARD MOVING AGGREGATE SPREADER, THE Q-FE ROAD ANT, AHEAD OF THE 2020/21 SPRAY SEALING SEASON.

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he Victorian spray sealing industry is inching closer to the VicRoads deadline which will mandate the compulsory use of forward moving aggregate spreading trucks for all VicRoads sprayed sealing works from 1 July 2022.

With Glenn Hardiman at the helm, the Quality Fabrication and Engineering (Q-FE) team have developed the Q-FE Road Ant, an innovative dual controlled forward moving aggregate spreader that meets the VicRoads mandate.

With just over two years to go and the 2020 spray sealing season getting into full swing, contractors are trialling and acquiring new equipment that will meet this mandate.

Q-FE debuted its first Q-FE Road Ant in early 2020 and the vehicle has been of keen interest to the market with a number of orders already been taken and completed units carrying out demonstrations to many in the industry.

“We’ve made the Q-FE Road Ant operator-friendly and with exceptional vision of the work site and spreading area, we’ve had safety and practicality at the forefront of our design,” Hardiman says.

“We wanted the machine to be easy to adopt so the process for operation is similar to what has been seen in traditional spray sealing units.”

As the spray sealing season lasts for about six to eight months of the year, the Q-FE team designed the Q-FE Road Ant to be able to carry out other work. The unit has been designed to accept standard Trout River attachments which gives it the versatility to be used year-round.

David Lockwood, Q-FE’s Head of Sales, says he’s seen interest from national and state-based spray sealing companies right through to smaller contractors.

“We were involved in an Australian

Asphalt Pavement Association meeting recently and they were really excited that we have been able to come so far with the machine and that we can supply a truck that meets the mandate,” Lockwood says.

Since the debut of the Q-FE Road Ant the team has continued to fine tune the vehicle hydraulics and sub conveyor system.

“We’ve learnt that industry does have challenges with spreading the 20 millimetre aggregate, so we have made changes to handle the larger rock. Overall the machine has evolved into something that is easy to operate,” Lockwood says.

To date, the Q-FE Road Ant has been built on 6x4 and 8x4 cab chassis. A compact short wheelbase unit is currently being built to suit the difficult to access ‘small areas’.

Q-FE are proud to build a forward moving aggregate spreader that can be customised, for specific cab chassis, and to date they have built them for Isuzu, Iveco and DAF chassis.

Hardiman acknowledges that local manufacturers and parts suppliers have always been an important consideration for the Q-FE team.

“At the beginning we had a good idea of what we wanted to do but we leant on the experience and knowledge of these local suppliers, to turn the Q-FE Road Ant into what it is today.”

“For example, Power Transmissions in Bayswater have created unique electric motors for our auger drives which are terrific, and Reverse Smart who helped develop our dual emergency braking system,” Hardiman says.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Q-FE were confronted with a number of challenges from overseas sources, and Hardiman is proud that the local manufacturers were

The Q-FE team has seen keen interest in the Road Ant ahead of the 2020/21 spray sealing season.

able to come to the party.

Using local parts and components also has an advantage in the repair or maintenance stages with machinery, as Q-FE will often be able to source parts from within Australia or Melbourne without the need to wait for overseas shipments.

The new Q-FE website is now live to help spread the word about the Q-FE Road Ant and other solutions that Q-FE offer, including their robust road brooms and aggregate loaders, where they have two ground up loader builds under way.

For more information visit: www.qualityfab.com.au or email sales@qualityfab.com.au roadsonline.com.au

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MAKING THE TECHNOLOGICAL

CHANGE JUST AS TECHNOLOGY UNDERPINS AND IMPROVES MUCH OF PEOPLE’S PERSONAL LIVES, CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS CAN ALSO STAND TO BENEFIT FROM GOING DIGITAL. IMPROVED EFFICIENCY, TRANSPARENCY AND DECISION MAKING ARE JUST SOME OF THE SUCCESSES HIGHLIGHTED BY INEIGHT SOFTWARE USERS.

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he general public went from home computers, first released in 1974, to having a smart phone in their pocket from 1992. In 2020, smart watches, wireless headphones and even smart glasses are a part of everyday life.

Through a global pandemic, technology has shown us how to run businesses online and be mobile like never before. Stay at home restrictions have forced businesses to quickly adapt. Even industries that require manual labour, like construction and manufacturing, have made significant pivots to implement technological processes.

While these transformations have been happening in some areas of construction for over a decade, technology use is becoming more widespread.

No longer does a project manager have to be on site to evaluate a day’s work, this can be done collaboratively using technology and software solutions.

However, it’s not just the industries changing how they operate, projects are becoming larger, requirements for information are becoming more comprehensive and the technology continues to evolve meeting these demands.

Construction contractors that use this data and intelligence can reap the benefits of increased collaboration, productivity, informed decision making, risk mitigation and efficiency all driving toward increased 32

ROADS NOVEMBER 2020

InEight users are able to benchmark pervious jobs and view historical data to see if a new bid they are drafting is realistic.

project success.

InEight Vice President of Sales for Asia Pacific Andrew Harris says from the company’s experience with prospective users of the InEight platform, data collection is typically uncoordinated, often compiled in different formats and locations.

“Rarely is critical project data centrally sourced, in one place. We are seeing that surfacing critical data is important for on-site real-time decision making,” he says.

“Bringing project teams together to have consistent access to data is an organisational change task for companies but it’s about aligning people with that change and understanding the benefits.”

While the transition to this technology is significant for a business, it can be done in steps. The InEight platform is modular and users can choose to roll out each individual module that best supports their priority areas of improvement.

“InEight’s solutions span across the project lifecycle and there are disciplines across each stage of the project. For example, SME’s are seeing the the power of completion and handover tools, because they can view how a project is tracking throughout construction and view past performance data as an indicator to the current project’s success,” Harris says.

“Each company can pick high value modules on the platform and roll those out

one at a time, when making these technology and business operation changes it’s all about education and enablement.”

The cost management and governance modules within the InEight platform are the most widely used. Throughout a project, cost and progress visibility is essential and the platform helps to monitor these parameters in real-time.

“We look at the implementation of the suite of InEight modules as increasing business value. Everything from ensuring the estimate and schedule are aligned at the start of a project, to the field capture and field force planning tend to be part of the natural evolution when implementing technology,” Harris says.

For contractors, the capture of this data can give a competitive edge even during the tender phase of projects.

“What owners are looking for now is a contractor’s confidence in their ability to execute projects, accuracy in the schedule and estimates and demonstration of the organisation’s ability to use technology to deliver consistently great results,” Harris says.

When plans are backed up by data, asset owners can be confident in the accuracy of project reports they are receiving, and even the plans that are proposed.

“The InEight platform produces accurate reporting based on consistent data so that contractors can report back to owners in a

Increased EFFICIENCY in road profiling jobs Simex Planers are a two in one machine by performing both milling and stabilising applications.

With the leading-edge features Simex Planers ensure consistent milling depth and there are no height differences in the planed surfaces even if a job begins with uneven ground.

The Simex Planers are perfect for the jobs in restricted areas as you can adjust the side plates to go up against objects and accurately cut up to kerbs and around traffic islands.

A built-in water tank and pump is safe to fill up and helps reduce any dust produced during milling operations. timely basis. This can be done in a format that suits the owner, and can really bring certainty to that project,” he says.

“We are seeing that our contractor customers are using the InEight platform to underpin their bids for projects and drive the evidence of being able to deliver a project on time and on budget.”

Following the use of the InEight platform for a first project, the data is stored within the platform and can be used to make informed decisions when planning for the next project.

Users are able to benchmark previous jobs and view past history to see if the next bid they are putting out is realistic and within their capabilities.

“The platform drives collaboration like this internally but it also allows contractors to invite the rest of their supply chain to provide contribution to that data as well. This creates alignment throughout the whole supply chain to ensure each team within a project is on the same page,” Harris says.

This is particularly important when working on multi-year projects as so many elements, whether it be personnel, suppliers or materials, are subject to change over time.

“Technology such as InEight’s platform ensures everyone involved on a project, can see and understand any changes or project progress in real-time. Users can also consolidate that information and communicate to stakeholders consistently and quickly,” Harris says.

“Each user can configure their own dashboards to see all of the insights for any section of project works. Everyone from the CEO to a specific project director can see a package of work through the platform instantly, providing transparency and quality communication to keep the job running smoothly.”

The opportunity to leverage this data can be used to make daily decisions on projects, but also to shape future infrastructure plans that may span many years into the future. This technological advantage can be used consistently to ensure project success through efficient and informed works.

For more information contact the Simex dealer in your state today.

QLD / NT QLD Rock Breakers (07) 3715 0800 rdw.com.au

VIC / TAS

NSW

Walkers Hammers (03) 9315 3788 walkershammers.com.au

Groundtec Equipment (02) 9642 2030 groundtec.com.au

WA

SA

Total Rockbreaking Solutions 1300 921 498 totalrockbreaking.com.au

Renex Equipment (08) 8345 0555 renex.com.au

BUILDING A

NETWORK IN OCTOBER, AUTODESK RELEASED ITS BUILDINGCONNECTED PLATFORM IN AUSTRALIA. ALREADY USED BY MORE THAN ONE MILLION CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS IN NORTH AMERICA, THE PLATFORM IS EXPECTING TO BRING A NEW LEVEL OF CONNECTIVITY TO AUSTRALIAN CONSTRUCTION.

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uildingConnected is a tender management solution, acquired

by Autodesk in 2019, for preconstruction teams to manage the tender process.

Created like a social networking platform for contractors, BuildingConnected features a crowd-sourced directory of builders, with up-to-date contact information that includes work history and qualifications.

Asset owners and contractors alike can access the network to discover trade partners, identify the right subcontractor for the job and solicit and compare tenders, within one centralised solution.

BuildingConnected’s popularity in North America, with over 2,000 general contractors and owners actively bidding out projects – totalling $56 billion USD ($79 billion AUD) in project values each month, is a sign of what can be enabled in the Australian construction network.

Roads & Infrastructure sits down with Zac Hays, director of product, preconstruction at Autodesk Construction Solutions to find out what BuildingConnected’s capabilities will mean for Australian contractors.

CONNECTING CONSTRUCTION “The mission for BuildingConnected was to build the best network for businesses and professionals in the construction market,” Hays explains.

As construction jobs increase in size and continue to develop, project teams grow and major projects can require hundreds of specialised subcontractors and suppliers.

“Construction companies are constantly forming cross-company teams. For example, 34

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one of the projects in America that used BuildingConnected was for the construction of a new NBA basketball stadium and there were more than 1,000 companies involved with building that infrastructure,” Hays says.

“One of the core things with this network approach is that it saves time in finding contractors and sending tenders out, but the head contractor will also get more bids back because the network has accurate contact information,” Hays explains.

“It can be really difficult to coordinate and collaborate or even to connect with this many companies to source all of the qualified tenders for some projects.”

When getting started with BuildingConnected, Autodesk will load all of a company’s existing list of tender invitations onto the network. During this process the software-as-a-service will detect duplications or contact information that needs to be updated.

“As you invite more people to tender, the system will update and if one of the contacts has a profile on the platform, it will update their contact details when they change roles or occupations,” Hays explains.

From there, the platform allows users to track and follow-up with subcontractors while storing all of the project information.

“We really pride ourselves on the accuracy of the network, which eliminates the process of finding the right contractors to ensure you have invited as many options as possible to tender. If your contact at your favourite sub-contractor isn’t there, the platform will make suggestions for who to contact instead.”

BuildingConnected is now available in Australia. To learn more visit BuildingConnected.com.au

TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT

In addition to BuildingConnected’s networking features, the platform also includes artificial intelligence tools to help manage the tender process.

USING DATA AS A TOOL In addition to BuildingConnected’s networking features, Autodesk has built a number of artificial intelligence tools into the platform to help manage the tender process and to bring structure to the evaluation of tender submissions.

Research recently released by Autodesk has shown specialty contractors in Australian and New Zealand identify centralised communication as a top quality in determining repeat business with a subcontractor.

“You can structure a tender form so that

the tenders that come in can be lined up side-by-side to easily compare the best bid, identifying the benefits that can be achieved with each company,” Hays says.

“Once a tender has been solicited, documents and plans can be exchanged through the platform, creating an automated communication tool between head contractors and subcontractors.”

A head contractor would be able to manage not just their contacts, but also which subcontractor has viewed, bid and won the project.

All historical data is stored in BuildingConnected’s platform, so when

BuildingConnected lets users compare tenders side-by-side

working on the next project, contractors can review previous tendering performance to improve future project outcomes.

“Every time a tender comes back, it is logged in a history report. You can start using historical information to inform your estimates for new jobs and compare it to previous tenders. BuildingConnected helps personalise the tender management process by learning a company’s preferred contractors for certain types of jobs or predicting which companies you may be likely to use in the future,” Hays explains.

“During the pandemic, Autodesk has seen how important it is for companies to choose the right partner to reduce project risks.”

BuildingConnected was released in Australia in October and is already growing its network of contractors as we speak. The release came shortly after the Australian Government’s Budget announcement promising $7.5 billion dollars for transport infrastructure projects across the country.

“Also, we make it as easy as possible for sub-contractors to join the platform. It’s free for them to use and get invited to tender on projects, which in turn they see displayed on their own dashboard,” Hays says.

“We are really excited about the release of BuildingConnected, we are starting with a solid network and we expect it to quickly grow and gain popularity throughout the industry.” roadsonline.com.au

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ANOTHER LAYER OF SUSTAINABILITY:

BIOPRIME

SAMI BITUMEN’S BIOPRIME IS AN EMULSION-BASED BITUMEN PRIMER MADE USING VEGETABLE OIL DERIVATIVES. SAMI AND COLAS TALK ABOUT ITS USE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA AND THEIR PLANS TO ROLL THE PRIMER OUT COUNTRY WIDE.

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sphalt containing recycled materials like recycled crushed glass as a sand replacement and other environmentally friendly processes has been widely championed as part of the road construction industry’s drive to become more sustainable.

SAMI bitumen have gone one step further still, to make the road building process even more environmentally friendly, their team of

technicians have created Bioprime.

Bioprime is emulsion-based bitumen primer that has been fluxed with a bio-oil, made from vegetable oil derivatives. Using natural sustainable resources, Bioprime is a water-based solution that does not contain petroleum solvents.

The emulsion is specifically formulated for use on compacted granular base courses prior to constructing a new surfacing.

Bioprime is a water based solution that does not contain petroleum solvents.

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The first application of Bioprime was in Western Australia in conjunction with Main Roads WA and Colas WA. The prime took around two hours to cure before a new seal was applied on the same day.

Upon return to the site two weeks later it was noted that the 14-millimetre aggregate was well bonded to the base course. Eleven other early applications of Bioprime also found the bonding of granular wearing course to be of quality and no stripping could be found.

BENEFITS The two major advantages of using Bioprime are that it removes the cutter from initial treatments and can substantially reduce the period of time between priming and sealing.

Kanjana Yindee, Research and Development Manager at SAMI Bitumen Technologies says traditional prime contains kerosene as a cutting agent which can have negative effects on the environment and generates unpleasant vapours.

“We replaced the kerosene with vegetablebased oils so that the prime is 100 per cent natural. We managed to do this while achieving the same performance by altering some of the other ingredients,” she says.

Yindee says the test regime for SAMI’s traditional emulsion primers is applied to Bioprime, the only difference in chemical composition is the fluxing agent and bitumen.

“The prime can penetrate the sub-base quickly which enables crews to continue work on the surfacing within the same day.

This reduces cost and time because they don’t have to send crew and equipment away while they wait for the prime to cure,” Yindee says.

ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS FEATURE

SAMI’s Bioprime is usually sprayed in lesser quantities than traditional primer however, contractors can adjust set the spray rate to achieve the desired residual rate of the binder.

“Bioprime is suited to most all kinds of applications but it works especially well in remote areas as it’s very environmentally friendly. It’s easy to manage and you are able to make more efficient use of the crew.”

The quick turnaround time can also be crucial in high density locations where the closure of a road to traffic must be reduced to a minimum.

The mix has been popular in WA since its introduction. In 2016, SAMI and Colas WA received an Innovation Award from the Australian Asphalt Pavement Association for the Bioprime trials.

ACROSS BORDERS Though the primer has been used widely in WA, SAMI decided to bring the binder to Queensland completing Bioprime trials in April 2020 in partnership with Colas QLD and Brisbane City Council.

For the trial, Colas QLD teams sprayed Q-FE

TM

ROAD ANT

Q-FE

Bioprime over a milled surface which included different pavement types such as an unbound granular base, cement treated base and asphalt. Just two and a half hours after the initial application of Bioprime the crew placed a 10 millimetre S45R SAMI seal ahead of asphalt paving.

Matthew Johansen, Operations Manager for Colas QLD says the Brisbane City Council approached Colas with work on a highdensity urban street, which they didn’t want to close for an extended period of time.

“In partnership with SAMI we suggested to the Brisbane City Council that they should trial Bioprime which meant we could prime the road and ensure it was closed for the shortest amount of time possible,” he says.

“We sprayed this project in April and the pavement temperature was around 20 degrees. The application performed very well, we put the prime down followed by a crumb rubber seal and paved over it with asphalt.”

SAMI is looking to increase the use of Bioprime across Queensland and wider Australia. SAMI and Colas are now working with other councils across the state,

particularly in regional areas, where a prime may not otherwise be used.

“In terms of overall cost, with a traditional prime you would have to establish a crew on site, spray the prime and then disestablish the crew and send them home overnight while the prime cures. Using Bioprime there is no need to establish, disestablish and reestablish the crews,” Johansen says.

“We believe that Bioprime provides a great opportunity for councils and road authorities in regional areas. Currently there is limited opportunity to implement prime and seals as an initial treatment due to time and cost constraints. Cutback initial seals are common practice, and require a reseal anywhere from 3-6 months later. Bioprime enables a prime and final seal to be completed in a short period of time and at a reasonable cost.”

So far Brisbane City Council have been happy with the performance of the road and are looking to increase the use of the treatment in their resurfacing program.

The next trial of Bioprime is planned for Laverton, Victoria and over time SAMI hopes to roll Bioprime out across the country to further improve environmental outcomes.

Quality Fabrication & Engineering 36 Selby Rd Woori Yallock Vic Contact +613 5955 0000 Email sales@qualityfab.com.au

Australian designed Dual Control Forward Moving Aggregate Spreader.

Advanced safety features and versatility, year round use with the ability to fit multiple attachments.

ALEX FRASER’S ANSWER

TO ASPHALT

AS A COMPANY COMMITTED TO ACHIEVING CARBON NEUTRALITY, ALEX FRASER HAS CREATED POLYPAVE, AN ASPHALT PRODUCT THAT CAN CONTAIN HIGH VOLUMES OF RECYCLED MATERIALS INCLUDING PLASTIC, GLASS AND RAP. ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE REPORTS.

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hat do roads in the Yarra City Council, Redland City Council, Moreton Bay Regional Council, Maribyrnong City Council, Bayside City Council and more all have in common?

The answer is recycled materials, brought together by Alex Fraser’s PolyPave.

Despite being situated in drastically different climates, with varying vehicle loading demands these councils are all using PolyPave, an innovative asphalt product produced using recycled materials such as plastic, glass and RAP. The first applications of PolyPave took place in 2018 for the Yarra City Council, on the fringe of Melbourne’s CBD and home to lots of high traffic roads.

Alex Fraser was contracted to repair and resurface roads in the municipality with PolyPave incorporating plastic, glass and RAP. Over the first two streets, approximately 7,300 two litre plastic 38

ROADS NOVEMBER 2020

bottles, 55,000 glass bottles and several tonnes of reclaimed asphalt pavement were recycled into the roads.

The project reduced waste to landfill by 97.3 tonnes and cut carbon emissions by 633 kilograms.

Since these works, PolyPave has been used across Australia to resurface roads, reduce landfill and cut carbon emissions.

THE CREATION OF POLYPAVE Alex Fraser General Manger Brendan Camilleri says Alex Fraser’s Technical Manager Peter Lazarus was behind the creation of PolyPave. .

“We are a innovative company focussed on sustainability, and we want to be as carbon neutral as possible, so we investigated ways we could achieve that. We looked at what had been happening overseas and worked out how we could incorporate selected recycled materials into our high-

performance pavements,” Camilleri says.

“We went through extensive research and development work to see what materials we could incorporate and ensure any materials we used were not going to have a negative impact on pavement performance or be of any harm to our employees, the environment or the community.”

There is a growing list of reasons the roads industry is looking to incorporate recycled materials including the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) waste export ban which includes, plastic, paper, tyres and glass.

Technical Manager Peter Lazarus says creating a high-performance asphalt with maximum quality and sustainability benefits was the goal for Alex Fraser.

“One of the key benefits of our unique manufacturing process is that we found a way to introduce HDPE plastics to the asphalt and incorporate them into asphalt’s

ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS FEATURE

Green Roads PolyPave developers Brendan Camilleri, Peter Lazarus and Nathan Delaney.

The first PolyPave road was laid in 2018.

binder product. This alleviates the risk of micro-plastics and aids in the achievement of multiple performance benefits,” Lazarus says.

Alex Fraser’s HDPE plastics are processed predominantly from waste food and cosmetics containers such as milk and shampoo bottles.

“We have partnered with specialists who sort, wash and shred the recovered plastics for us. We’ve worked together with them to ascertain the optimum additive amount, and the best integration techniques that safely incorporate the plastics and achieve performance benefits in pavement,” he says.

Any glass used in PolyPave mixes is recycled by Alex Fraser in a process that turns waste glass fines, unable to be recycled using traditional methods, into sand suitable for use in civil construction materials.

“We have been very careful in our selection of recycled materials to incorporate. When it comes to sustainable product design, our focus is not only on reducing landfill, but ensuring we have a product that improves the quality and longevity of the resulting pavements, as well as ensuring it has no negative, longterm environmental impacts,” Lazarus says.

Currently local government is a major market for PolyPave. Waste reduction, recycling and roads and infrastructure funding are core policy priority areas for the Australian Local Government Association’s 2020-2023 plan prompting the use of products like Polypave.

In Victoria for example, 85 per cent of the Victorian road network is made up of local roads maintained by local government, which give significant opportunity for sustainable change at a local level.

“Local governments are enthusiastic about PolyPave because it helps them achieve their sustainability policies, and because much of its recycled content is sourced from their own kerbside recycling bins.

There are no restrictions with PolyPave, it’s suited to all types of projects, big and small,” Camilleri says.

ENVIRONMENTAL PAY-OFF PolyPave is currently produced in Victoria and Queensland and works are now in place to bring Polypave to Cairns. Though the long-term goal for Alex Fraser is to roll PolyPave out worldwide.

Contractors or asset owners can choose the make-up of a PolyPave asphalt mix. It starts with plastic which is integrated into the binder and this can then be mixed with any Green Roads or standard asphalt mixes.

“You could have a simple plastic and RAP mix, or a plastic, glass and RAP mix; it all depends on what asset owners require for their specific project,” Camilleri says.

The sustainable mix is laid in the same fashion as a standard asphalt mix, and he says Alex Fraser has only received positive feedback from internal or external asphalt contractors.

“The environmental benefits are a no

brainer,” he says.

“By using PolyPave we are reducing waste to landfill and depending on the chosen mix design you use can achieve a carbon reduction in excess of 65 per cent.”

Since its introduction in 2018 Alex Fraser, and it’s Queensland sister company Suncoast Asphalt, have paved 50,000 tonnes of PolyPave asphalt, diverting more than 15,000 tonnes of waste to landfill, and the equivalent of half a million glass bottles and 1.25 million plastic milk cartons.

“The independent laboratory testing for PolyPave confirmed an increased fatigue life, improved rut resistance, increased asphalt modulus, increased wet tensile strength and a reduction in mix flow, along with the obvious a reduction in plastics to landfill,” Camilleri says.

Lazarus says extensive independent testing was completed to ensure the product is safe for asphalt workers, the broader community and the environment, and to confirmed there was no risk of micro-plastic run-off.

“The reuse of these waste streams in PolyPave asphalt is a prime example of the circular economy in action. The performance benefits are very significant, and on the back of the projected performance results, customers should expect a significantly longer pavement life, saving on costs,” Lazarus says.

Camilleri says the demand for Polypave is certainly growing and he expects that trend to continue.

“This green asphalt can be ripped up and reused again and again; it’s the very definition of recycling. PolyPave is a great example the circular economy in motion - and when you consider the performance benefits, it’s a win, win for everyone.” roadsonline.com.au

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SUPPORTING PROJECTS TO PUT

RECYCLING FIRST

ECOLOGIQ IS A VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE TO OPTIMISE THE USE OF LOCAL RECYCLED AND REUSED MATERIALS IN GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, REDUCE WASTE AND CONTRIBUTE TO A VICTORIAN CIRCULAR ECONOMY. ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE TALKS WITH ECOLOGIQ’S PROGRAM DIRECTOR TO FIND OUT MORE.

Works on the Mordialloc Freeway project.

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Ecologiq Director Tony Aloisio explains how Ecologiq aims to deliver on four key principles.

“Ecologiq exists to increase recycled and reused content in major transport projects and make that the ‘new norm’ in the way transport infrastructure is delivered and maintained. We’re also helping to facilitate innovation in transport infrastructure construction,” he says.

“We’re looking to support a vibrant and sustainable Victorian market for reused and recycled materials, as well as collaborate with industry and government partners to support innovative new products and infrastructure applications.

“We are also working closely with the Department of Transport to review

and change the approach to technical standards and specifications for recycled and reused materials, as well as identifying priority materials for specification changes and type approval.

“Finally, we are building close ties with the construction industry to remove barriers to the use of recycled content, to make sustainable materials the first choice where possible and pave a greener future for Victoria.”

The Ecologiq team can review project plans and designs to identify areas where recycled materials could be used or increased. This is done through alternative design modelling, tool kits and information about material trials and innovations.

Collation and data sharing of the successful

IMAGE CREDIT: MAJOR ROAD PROJECTS VICTORIA

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cologiq supports the objectives of Recycling Victoria – the Victorian Government’s 10-year plan to overhaul the state’s recycling sector, keep waste out of landfill and drive innovation in sustainability.

The program has come at a crucial time for Victoria – with China’s decision to restrict our export of some low-quality mixed recyclables in 2018 destabilising global recycling markets and disrupting Victorian recycling services.

By 2046, Victoria is expected to generate 40 percent more waste than it did in 2017-18.

Ecologiq will help Victoria innovate and grow our domestic recycling capabilities, build local markets and create new uses for recycled materials.

ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS FEATURE

IMPLEMENTING RECYCLED FIRST REQUIREMENTS In recognition of the trend for sustainability in infrastructure and significant product developments within the industry, the Victorian Government introduced its Recycled First policy in March 2020.

The policy outlines that all bidders on major transport projects will be required to demonstrate how they will optimise the use of recycled or reused Victorian materials.

With an eye on driving the supply, demand and development of recycled products, the policy will provide government with data on recycled materials for a better understanding of the supply chain.

Aloisio says Recycled First will help to achieve sustainable outcomes for infrastructure projects while supporting contractors to explore the use of recycled products.

“We want to use the momentum of infrastructure investment from the Big Build to position Victoria as a world leader in the sustainable use of recycled materials by 2025,” he says.

SPECIFICATION INNOVATION Ecologiq has developed recycled material reference guides for road and rail specific applications, as well as ancillary infrastructure. The guides are an ideal starting point for information about different types of recycled materials available in Victoria and the current specifications for their use.

The road materials guide outlines products such as concrete, glass, crumb rubber, RAP and more, and then lists the specified limits of each of these materials in applications, such as with the different types of asphalt mixes.

To encourage innovation outside of specification boundaries, the Ecologiq team can work ahead of time with contractors to

IMAGE CREDIT: MAJOR ROAD PROJECTS VICTORIA

use of recycled materials will also be an essential part of Ecologiq’s work. This will help to create a map of supply and demand for recycled materials and in turn facilitate connections between industry and suppliers to capitalise on opportunities for recycled material usage.

“We know many projects are already doing important work with recycled materials and our role is to bring a uniform approach to the use of these materials and help with coordination across Victoria’s Big Build,” Aloisio says.

Workers paving on the Western Roads upgrade.

guide them through the development of a new recycled material or process.

“We really encourage innovation and want Victorian contractors to think outside of the box on projects,” Aloisio says.

“If an opportunity is identified outside of the approved specification, put together a proposal for us to consider as part of the Recycled First plan. If your bid is successful, we can provide support in the development and implementation process.”

As an example, Ecologiq is currently reviewing literature to support changes to standards and specifications for crumb rubber asphalt, reclaimed asphalt pavement and crushed glass.

RECYCLING IN PRACTICE Several recycled materials are currently in trial in Victoria, with Ecologiq collaborating with government and industry partners to drive innovation.

In Melbourne’s west, workers used more than 590,000 plastic bags and toner from 13,000 print cartridges to resurface a road.

The product known as Reconophalt is being trialled on Duncans Road, Werribee as part of the $1.8 billion Western Roads Upgrade.

Around 155 tonnes of the material was used in the wearing course layer, marking one of the first times the product has been used on a Victorian arterial road. The pavement was placed next to a standard wearing course asphalt to be compared and monitored over the next few years.

While this trial hints at exciting new

possibilities, the Western Roads Upgrade has already used mammoth volumes of widely accepted recycled materials, including more than 190 million recycled glass bottles and up to 300,000 tonnes of recycled asphalt.

Across the city, researchers are testing the use of crumbed rubber on a kilometre and a half section of East Boundary Road in East Bentleigh.

In an Australian-first trial into how crumbed rubber performs over time, the busy road was paved using the equivalent of 1,600 old tyres in March this year.

Australia generates the equivalent of 56 million car tyres every year, and it is estimated a third of these tyres end up in landfill or stockpiles.

The Victorian Government, Tyre Stewardship Australia and the Australian Road Research Board are conducting the million-dollar study, aimed at integrating more discarded tyres into the circular economy.

Initiation of these kinds of opportunities for contractors and suppliers can be supported by Ecologiq.

“There are many emerging products out there and we will proactively work with contractors to try and get them to push boundaries as opportunities emerge and guide them through that process,” Aloisio says.

To find out more about the use of reused and recycled materials in infrastructure, get in touch with the Ecologiq project team at: ecologiq@roadprojects.vic.gov.au. roadsonline.com.au

41

INDEPENDENT INFRASTRUCTURE

TESTING

TESTING IS A CRUCIAL ASPECT OF EACH STEP IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF INFRASTRUCTURE, FROM RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT RIGHT THROUGH TO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION. ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE SPEAKS WITH COFFEY TESTING TO FIND OUT WHY CONFORMANCE IS CRUCIAL FOR INNOVATION.

S

tandards underpin every facet of infrastructure construction right through from the foundations to asset monitoring.

To ensure the entire construction industry is building quality assets, whether a utility pipe or recycled glass sand is being used, product standards apply.

As an innovative industry, road construction contractors and engineers are consistently looking for more sustainable, efficient, resourceful and cost-effective materials or processes.

Independent testing is an essential tool

when it comes to the implementation of new products or designs. This can ensure anything new brought to market meets or exceeds standard expectations and will perform well in application.

This is where independent construction materials evaluator Coffey Testing comes in. Any materials supplied for infrastructure projects such as roads, dams, airports or high-rise buildings must meet specification and can be tested by Coffey to prove conformance.

In addition, the company can act as a trusted advisor for practical and cost-

Coffey Testing can evaluate materials for a range of infrastructure projects.

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ROADS NOVEMBER 2020

effective approaches to construction works.

Whether the specifications are standard or are set by engineers on these projects, Coffey act as an independent verifying body to ensure the plans and subsequently the chosen materials meet requirements on projects.

The company has been closely watching the emergence of recycled material initiatives for infrastructure builds, such as Recycled First in Victoria and NSW’s Waste Less, Recycle More initiative, and has been developing its capabilities to meet the growing recycled material demand.

Coffey Testing Laboratory Manager, Cameron Bik says the company do a range of testing for material specification work, stockpile performance, quarry material testing and more.

“For example, we are really looking into rehabilitation of old pavement at the end of their service life, we are looking at ways to manipulate the original material with binders and other solutions to rejuvenate those materials to give it another lifecycle,” Bik says.

“We already do a lot of work with quarries for recycled crushed concrete products.

In the last six months we’ve worked on an asphalt project which is using recycled printer cartridges and tyres to produce their asphalt mixes.”

Carl Witherspoon, Coffey Testing Technical Sales Manager, says recycled products or recycling initiatives are in some cases being weighted during the tender process.

“Some projects are stipulating that a contractor must use a percentage of recycled materials, which makes testing ever more

ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS FEATURE

Coffey Testing act as an independent verifying body to ensure plans and materials meet project requirements.

“I THINK WE ARE GOING TO SEE A TIME ON SITE WHERE THE RECYCLED MATERIALS OUTWEIGH TRADITIONAL MATERIALS. IT’S GOING TO BE INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT FOR CONTRACTORS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT MATERIALS TO USE AND HOW BEST TO USE THEM ON ANY PROJECT.” pertinent,” Witherspoon says.

One project the Coffey team recently completed, involved testing of 200,000 tonnes of crushed concrete.

“I think we are going to see a time on site where the recycled materials outweigh traditional materials. It’s going to be increasingly important for contractors to understand what materials to use and how best to use them on any project.”

Witherspoon says contractors that have worked with Coffey say they know they can rely on the testing results and be assured they are reducing waste but also producing good quality infrastructure.

Not only is recycling being implemented in major projects but throughout local council projects too, Bik says.

“We’ve been working closely with local councils in regional areas trying to utilise recycled materials locally sourced which are often won from the same site, this overcomes the localised issues of exhausting their limited resources. At times, we have worked on projects using recycled crushed glass as a drainage material and even utilising printer cartridges and old tyres to produce

wearing courses on pavements.” he says.

“For some of these regional councils, we are given them the opportunity to expand their road rehabilitations 10-fold by recycling the existing pavements and working with them to make the most of their budgets.

This is especially critical in areas who don’t have waste facilities or quarries nearby which results in the haulage fees and tipping fees being the largest cost on the project.”

Foamed bitumen is one material the company is looking at expanding testing of.

With stabilisation, Coffey has performed extensive testing using cementitious binders, but for material in poor condition, such as low-lying areas that are susceptible to flooding, foamed bitumen is being investigated to be used for pavement improvement.

“We think foamed bitumen can encapsulate and rehabilitate a wider array of materials.

So, for really poor-quality materials that would otherwise be regarded as waste, foamed bitumen is giving us a chance to reuse it,” Bik says.

“With a three percent bitumen additive to a really poor-quality material we are getting

really high strength pavements which are surpassing 20 to 30 years for a pavement life.”

He says recycled crushed glass is also commonly used in regional applications especially when quarried materials may not be readily available.

“We are lucky to work with councils, private contractors, Transport and Main Roads Queensland and Roads and Maritime Services to trial foamed bitumen pavements so that we can understand which products and processes work best.”

Being a partner for innovative trials is an important aspect of Coffey Testing’s work, to ensure quality outcomes for the suppliers and constructors that are finding innovative ways to use new or recycled materials.

Advice on the use of natural or recycled materials and aggregates, material improvement, stabilisation and modification options, asphalt mix design, concrete materials and mix design and design audit functions are the main areas Coffey Testing are equipped for when it comes to road construction.

The testing team also specialise in asphalt, bitumen and polymer modified binders, concrete, granular and segmental block units.

As the scope and use of recycled or alternative road materials grows, Coffey Testing will continually adapt and increase their testing scope to meet industry demands and ensure projects can be innovative and ultimately successful. roadsonline.com.au

43

GROWING A SUSTAINABLE FOOTPRINT

WITH TONERPLAS

TONERPLAS IS A HIGH-PERFORMANCE ASPHALT ADDITIVE ENGINEERED USING POSTCONSUMER RECYCLED PLASTIC POLYMERS. AFTER NEARLY 10 YEARS IN DEVELOPMENT, BEING TESTED AND TRIALLED ON AUSTRALIAN ROADS, CLOSE THE LOOP IS LOOKING TO INCREASE ITS FOOTPRINT IN THE SECTOR.

I

n recent years, policy changes and examples of innovation have propelled the road construction industry forward, not only to increase the use of its own waste but to be a valuable market for other waste streams.

Long before the COAG ban on waste exports or the implementation of Victoria’s Recycled First Policy, Close the Loop, a major take-back provider of ink and toner cartridges, had a zero waste to landfill policy. This prompted the team to investigate markets for waste printer toner, which is a high-grade polymer.

A trip to the United States demonstrated to Close the Loop that using these polymers in asphalt could be successful

TonerPlas is made from waste toner powder and post-consumer recycled soft plastics.

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ROADS NOVEMBER 2020

and even increase performance. When a surveyor studied the roads and returned good results, Close the Loop got to work creating TonerPave.

From there the team began the wide search for industry partners to develop the use of this innovative asphalt additive using waste toner powder. Metro Asphalt and Downer answered the call and the first road was laid in 2013.

Several years later, post-consumer recycled soft plastics were added via an advanced manufacturing process designed and installed by the team at Close the Loop, and TonerPlas was released.

Steve Morriss, Founder of Close the Loop, says ever since the inception of TonerPave

back in 2013, the team have been working on iterations of the technology, trialling different things along the way to improve performance characteristics.

“For us, TonerPlas is about more than using a waste material in roads, it’s about using that material to enhance the performance of the asset. Building viable end markets is the key to recycling because you aren’t recycling until someone purchases that recycled product,” he says.

As an asphalt additive, TonerPlas is designed to melt and disperse into the bituminous binder and the asphalt mix, which helps to reduce cold temperature cracking, increase rut resistance and lengthen asphalt life.

“That road was laid back in 2018 with much support from the council and today the road still looks pristine. Jim Appleby, General Manager of Reconomy at Downer inspected the road recently and saw no faults,” Morriss says.

A Victorian Government and Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group case study found a trial, in which Downer used TonerPlas and a mixture of recycled glass and reclaimed asphalt, showed it improved road fatigue life by 65 per cent, meaning reduced cost of ownership over the lifetime of the asset.

“The performance characteristics enhanced by using TonerPlas include increased fatigue resistance and improved stiffness and rut resistance,” Morriss says.

In 2020, the product was added to the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia’s iSupply directory for use Australia wide.

ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS FEATURE

TonerPlas has been added to the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia’s iSupply directory and is ready for use Australia-wide.

David Hitzler, Close the Loop Technical Manager, says his approach is always to work out how to transform a material and make it fit within a new application. This is what led to the creation of TonerPlas.

“I see mixed soft plastics and toner not for their messy and difficult to handle form, but for the benefits in improving the mechanical properties they can provide to the asphalt binder matrix,” he says.

“TonerPlas really provides increased stiffness into the binder matrix which ultimately reflects on the properties of the asphalt. It improves stiffness at high surface temperatures most critically without affecting performance at the low temperature stiffness.”

The polymers in TonerPlas also impart elasticity which works to directly improve fatigue life of the pavement.

In a supply partnership with REDcycle, Close the Loop use post-consumer soft plastics that are dropped into bins at Coles and Woolworths stores all over Australia to create TonerPlas.

Elizabeth Kasell, Director of RED Group which runs the REDcycle collection program, says TonerPlas is an important end market for REDcycle materials because it’s a highly engineered additive that also improves the performance of a road.

“REDcycle only really wants to provide material to end manufacturers who are using it as a high-performance product, not just as a way to put plastic into anything,” she says.

“The construction industry is a great end market because it has the capacity to use a significant volume of recycled material. It’s also what I would consider as fit for purpose, meaning the REDcycle

materials don’t require a huge amount of energy, resources or cleaning to be used in construction.”

REDcycle works very closely with Close the Loop to ensure the success of their material at every point in the supply chain.

“I think TonerPlas points to a successful circular economy model that is actually working, its Australian based and it has so many positive outcomes beside just using a difficult to recycle waste stream,” Kasell says.

To ensure the performance qualities of TonerPlas are consistently achieved, Close the Loop and its industry partners perform rigorous testing at each stage of the product’s development and provide reports to end users like local councils that verify the origin, chain of custody, and end use of their waste materials.

“Our main focus in the laboratory, apart from stringent quality control, is to digest

the additive in bitumen and measure the modification of the properties. That is the key to binder testing to ensure you are modifying the binder in the correct way,” Hitzler says.

“Performance testing is also critical and our partnership with Downer remains hugely important to prove the performance of TonerPlas in asphalt.”

The market is now open and all asphalt companies can use TonerPlas. Asphalt manufacturers looking to introduce TonerPlas to their asphalt need to create their own unique mix designs.

Close the Loop has specific usage guidelines for asphalt manufacturers to ensure the quantities and methodologies being used lead to the best results. Usually, TonerPlas is introduced into the plant at the same stage as other additives and it is generally used as a dry mix additive.

In Victoria, Downer’s Reconophalt asphalts containing TonerPlas have been issued conditional registration from the Department of Transport, a strong signal that this innovative material can be standardised and widely used.

“Looking ahead we plan to work with innovative people to use TonerPlas in council works and major road projects alike,” Morriss says.

“We want to manufacture TonerPlas in multiple geographies. The holy grail of recycling is to use the waste where it is generated and if we can get support from state and local government we want to set up manufacturing capability, provided we have certainty of the continued usage of the product in that area.”

Downer laid the first iteration of TonerPlas, Toner Pave on a road in 2013.

roadsonline.com.au

45

MASH MEETS WIRE

ROPE SAFETY

FOLLOWING AUSTROADS’ MASH TRANSITION OF THE CURRENT SUITE OF WIRE ROPE SAFETY BARRIERS ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE LOOKS AT OTHER INDICATORS AND INITIATIVES WORKING TO IMPROVE ROAD SAFETY.

O

ver the past two years the eligibility for product submissions to the Austroads Safety Barrier Assessment Panel (ASBAP) has been evolving.

Since the introduction of the Australian New Zealand Standard 3845, the standard

has used the National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 350 (NCHRP 350) as a guideline to assess safety barriers, and the Austroads Panel has reviewed products based on the report.

In 2017, two sections of the standard changed to use the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Official’s, Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware

(MASH) guidelines as the basis for crash testing. The ASBAP has now updated its product submissions criteria and updated the current suite of accepted road safety barrier systems and devices to reflect this.

Since April 2018, all submissions received

by ASBAP must meet MASH guidelines, or an equivalent, in line with the Australian and New Zealand standards 3845 Parts 1 and 2.

The Austroads Panel is currently working to transition the suite of temporary road safety barrier systems, transitions and part 2 products in the Australian and New Zealand market to MASH.

The Towards Zero website states flexible safety barriers are a proven treatment to save lives.

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SAFETY

Austroads’ transition began with steel rail barriers and permanent concrete barriers on 31 December 2018, then terminals on 30 June 2019 and wire rope safety barriers and crash cushions on 31 December 2019. The final set of products to make the change are transitions, temporary barriers and Part 2 products which will come into effect on 31 December 2020.

MASH guidelines released in 2016 included a new matrix for cable barrier testing on slopes, modification to several test vehicle parameters and updated test documentation requirements.

The guidelines look to present parameters for crash testing of both permanent and temporary highway safety features and recommended evaluation criteria to assess test results. MASH provides minimum requirements for roadside safety features to meet, in order to demonstrate acceptable impact performance.

Following the introduction of MASH guidelines for product submissions, an Austroads guide - Network Design for Road Safety was released in May. The guide features a five-step process for roads which helps to determine road safety treatments based on levels of funding.

Each treatment option shows improvements in star rating using the International Road Assessment Program (iRAP). This allows asset managers to compare the crash risk benefit and cost of treatment, matching the solution to the available funding to get the best outcome.

The iRAP Star Rating Guide presents features and safety considerations that make a road safe. A basic five-star rating includes having a safety barrier separating oncoming vehicles and protecting roadside hazards, among other features.

One of the safety features that can be used to achieve the separation of oncoming vehicles and roadside hazards is a wire rope safety barrier. As of 31 December 2019, all wire rope safety barriers were subject to the Austroads transition.

Luke Gallagher, product Manager at Ingal Civil Products, says testing for wire rope safety barriers under MASH included vehicle size increases and a wider array of impact angles.

MASH has six test levels with vehicles ranging from a passenger car to a tractortank trailer with different speeds and angles applied to the impacts.

“The MASH guidelines modernise the previous NCHRP 350 recommendations

that were published in 1993,” Gallagher says.

In Australia, Victoria has a major focus on safety barrier implementation under its Towards Zero campaign. By 2020 the Towards Zero Campaign will aim to install 330 kilometres of flexible wire rope safety barriers on high risk, high volume roads with speeds upwards of 100 kilometres per hour.

The initiative states that flexible barriers have been shown to reduce run-off road and head-on crashes by 85 per cent. The Towards Zero website states flexible safety barriers are a proven treatment to save lives, preventing vehicles from leaving the road and potentially hitting unforgiving

using a 2270 kilogram truck travelling at 100 kilometres per hour and impacting the barrier at 25 degrees. The smaller vehicle test included the same speed and angle, but with a 1100-kilogram car.

Alongside the increased height of the barrier wires, the design of the MashFlex barrier focused on quick installation and repair.

“One of the key aspects is that our footing design has stayed the same, we knew MASH was going to come into place and we designed our footings to meet these standards. With many of our existing installations the footings can be reused, leaving only the above ground parts to be

THE GUIDELINES LOOK TO PRESENT PARAMETERS FOR CRASH TESTING OF BOTH PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY HIGHWAY SAFETY FEATURES AND RECOMMENDED EVALUATION CRITERIA TO ASSESS TEST RESULTS. MASH PROVIDES MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR ROADSIDE SAFETY FEATURES TO MEET, IN ORDER TO DEMONSTRATE ACCEPTABLE IMPACT PERFORMANCE.

Improvements to the MashFlex barrier have included a height increase .

roadside objects or rolling over.

MashFlex, from Ingal Civil is a fourrope, wire rope safety barrier assessed in accordance with MASH test Level 3 (TL3).

Available across Australia and New Zealand, the barrier has been designed specifically to increase safety.

“The main benefit of the MashFlex Barrier is the increase in the height of the cables to offer better containment and protection for larger vehicles,” Gallagher says.

MASH TL3 involves two tests with heavy and light vehicles. The heavy vehicle impact test for MashFlex was performed

replaced with MashFlex,” Gallagher says.

The process to repair MashFlex barriers after an impact will depend on the magnitude of the crash however, in the vast majority of cases the wire cable is reusable and only the posts need replacing.

“NCHRP 350 was released in 1993 and the current version of MASH was released in 2016 so it’s a much more modern performance evaluation and it better reflects the vehicle fleet that we see on the roads today. MashFlex meets those guidelines whilst also being quick and easy to install and repair,” Gallagher says. roadsonline.com.au

47

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SAFETY

SAFELY SUPPLYING

CONSTRUCTION

FOLLOWING A $7.5 BILLION FEDERAL INJECTION FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, THE AUSTRALIAN ROAD RESEARCH BOARD HAS RELEASED A NEW GUIDE TO IMPROVE CONSTRUCTION LOGISTICS SAFETY AROUND THE COMMUNITY. BASED ON A SUCCESSFUL MODEL FROM THE UK, IT IS HOPED TO SAVE AUSTRALIAN LIVES.

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oad Safety Week in Australia takes place from 15 November to 22 November in 2020. It’s a week for commemoration of the 1200 people that died on Australian roads last year, but also a week to kick start change. This year the campaign is launching a pledge, for all drivers to commit to safer road practices.

The Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) plays a large role in releasing guidelines and best practice initiatives for safety concerning road use and construction.

This year ARRB has released the Construction Logistics and Community Safety – Australia (CLOCS-A) initiative which highlights good practice approaches to managing safety associated with a construction project’s on-road transportation and logistics.

With $7.5 billion committed to the country’s pipeline of infrastructure projects,

we can expect to see many more trucks on Australia’s roads that are transporting key materials needed to underpin our infrastructure development.

The CLOCS-A guide is intended to reinforce safe practices for companies and drivers of these vehicles but also for the asset managers of the roads they are driving on.

In Victoria alone, 145 pedestrians and cyclists were killed or seriously injured in crashes involving a heavy vehicle between July 2013 and March 2019. Ninety-nine or 68 per cent of those fatal or serious injuries occurred in 30 to 60 kilometre per hour speed zones, which are typically located in metropolitan areas or city centres, often frequented by mixed-use traffic.

CLOCS-A was developed by ARRB in collaboration with the National Road Safety Partnership Program and was supported by grant funding from the

NHVR’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative.

ARRB saw a gap in consistent safety advice relevant to the construction logistics sector which inspired the idea for the guide. Based on the United Kingdom’s successful CLOCS program, CLOCS-A will aim to reduce road trauma associated with construction logistics.

Stephanie Davy, Senior Professional, Transport Safety at ARRB, was instrumental in the creation of this guide. She says after engaging with industry she could see that each of the states in Australia operated differently, with varied approaches to community road safety issues relating to heavy vehicles.

“There just isn’t a lot of consistent advice out there and that is particularly challenging for heavy vehicle operators that work across borders. This is something that had been identified by some projects which had drivers needing to meet different roadsonline.com.au

49

In the UK one city council that adopted CLOCS say a 47 per cent reduction in fatal and serious injuries involving heavy vehicles within two years.

requirements when working on projects between Melbourne and Sydney,” Davy says.

The guide was developed with input from a broad range of stakeholders including infrastructure authorities and industry partners involved in major construction projects.

“For example, Sydney Metro and Rail Projects Victoria embedded elements of the CLOCS-A program into their projects and we’ve engaged broadly to ensure that the guide is all encompassing and relevant to Australia,” Davy says.

She hopes that through continued engagement with industry, organisations will start to come forward to engage with ARRB about how they could embed the guide into their infrastructure projects.

Primarily an engineering and policy document, the guide is based on the Safe System approach to improving road operation. It aims to go beyond legal minimums in Australia’s efforts to improve the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists around trucks.

“The Safe System approach is the overarching principle that we look at in transport safety and its really all about shared responsibility and risk management, covering safe people, infrastructure, speed and vehicles,” Davy says.

“Those are the four main areas, and the 50

ROADS NOVEMBER APR/MAY 2016 2020

idea is that if you can improve safety for each of those components you will achieve better outcomes.”

Four ultimate objectives make up the CLOCS- A guide, these are; to eliminate collisions between heavy vehicles and the community, improve efficiencies through fewer vehicle journeys, establish a national standard for industry to meet and to reduce operational risk.

“It’s got a detailed section looking at safer trucks and technologies companies can use to increase safety. There are suggestions such as looking for safe roads and planning low risk routes for the trucks. We also touch on improving community awareness of the vehicles and projects in their area,” Davy says.

“A major component is about good practice of managing risks on projects, it’s really about asset owners understanding what they should consider when the work is being put out to tender. It aims to get safety initiatives embedded earlier in the process.”

The CLOCS standard developed by Transport for London in the United Kingdom is already well established and has been measured by the City of Camden to reduce fatal and serious injuries involving heavy vehicles and vulnerable road users by 47 per cent, within 2 years of implementation. The

City of Camden incorporated CLOCS into its planning and procurement policies to produce these results.

“Everyone we have engaged with so far in Australia has shown support for the program. People are keen for something like this to come into practice,” Davy says.

“It’s been widely acknowledged that these safety initiatives are an important feature of delivering successful projects. With the program well established in the UK, we want to bring the same outcomes to Australia.”

Ideally ARRB hopes the guide will set a precedent for a single national standard on these measures to be adopted in Australia.

At this stage however, ARRB are looking to engage further with industry to develop the guide.

“The ultimate aim would be to see this embedded as a standard. We’re aiming to go beyond legal minimums in what we are trying to achieve. We see a national standard as one of the best ways to achieve that and have consistent guidance across all infrastructure projects,” Davy says.

A new website for the guide has been launched at www.clocs-a.com.au. The guide and other information will be available here and industry is invited to connect with ARRB through the website or via enquiry@clocs-a.com.au, to get this guide incorporated into more projects.

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