Canberra's roads are set for a revamp over summer with almost a million square metres of new pavement to be laid following one of the wettest winters on record with smart city technology and recycled material employed to improve the state of the ACT's roads.
"Our $19.5 million repair program will see 925,000 square metres of roads resurfaced across Canberra to make them safer, smoother to drive on and extend their lifespan," said Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel.
"Major roads planned for renewal include the Monaro Highway, Tuggeranong Parkway, Long Gully Road, Ginninderra Drive, College Street, Mirrabei Drive, Mawson Drive and Cooyong Street in the city.
"These are some of our city's important road links connecting people between and within our regions, so these resurfacing works will deliver better driving conditions for tens of thousands of Canberrans."
In general, the service life of a highly trafficked road is over 10 years while residential streets often deliver 25 to 30 years of service. Road resurfacing treatments include road resealing, asphalt resurfacing and microsurfacing which helps to:
- waterproof the road, and stop the formation of potholes
- improve the skid resistance of the road surface
- fill cracks in the pavement.
"These works follow our record program of road repairs, which has fixed more than 6000 potholes and delivered more than 11,000 square metres of hot asphalt repairs in the last financial year," said Minister Steel.
"Road repair has been a high priority following the La Niña weather pattern which has seen Canberra's seventh wettest winter on record. The rain has had a big impact on our roads with almost four times as many repairs undertaken this year compared with previous years, supported with a surge in funding."
The new program works will be undertaken using local roads contractors and asphalt manufacturers, as the ACT Government continues to use our own infrastructure and works programs to boost local industry and jobs.
NSW/ACT General Manager of Downer, Gana Varendran said the company is proud of the sustainability and performance benefits delivered by materials produced locally at the Hume plant.
"Our facility demonstrates Downer's long-term commitment to economic, social and environmental value to the Canberra community. With the largest asphalt plant in the ACT we are well positioned to continue to deliver innovative solutions as the Canberra community evolves," Mr Varendran said.
"We are proud to provide asphalt for this resurfacing work from Downer's sustainable asphalt manufacturing plant at Hume. The plant provides innovative solutions, including Downer's Reconophalt product, which is the first road surfacing material in Australia containing recycled content derived from waste streams like used printer cartridges, soft plastics and glass."
As part of the re-surfacing program, the ACT Government is undertaking a trial of innovative new defect detection technology with the start-up Frontline Data Systems. Cameras attached to vehicles will scan and automatically photograph road surfaces, with the artificial intelligence software identifying and classifying areas in need of repair.
"We are piloting this AI technology to test if the data can improve both the efficiency and accuracy of the ACT's road maintenance program going forward." said Minister Steel.
Frontline Data Systems Director of Operations, Jonathon Stapels said it is a privilege to provide an innovative service to the ACT community.
"Our system will detect, classify, assess and geo-locate potholes, cracks and other hazardous defects by analysing footage captured from cars equipped with optical devices driving at normal speeds across some of Canberra's roads," Mr Staples said.
The ACT Government is also currently undertaking a tender process for the next contractor/s to collect data on the condition of roads in Canberra which will also help determine preventative measures and future road resurfacing priorities.
Road resurfacing will first be undertaken in rural areas on Boboyan Road and Paddys River Road. The first suburban areas will follow in Tuggeranong later in November and early December 2021.
Signage will be erected well in advance of road resurfacing. Affected residents and businesses will also be advised by letterbox drop at least two days before the start of resealing works on their street.
