√New tech fast-tracks inspection of flood-damaged roads

Authorities in New South Wales and Victoria are using new technology to speed-up repairs to flood-damaged roads.

Authorities in Victoria and NSW plan to use new technology to assess severely flood damaged roads in city and country areas across both states – but with two different approaches.

NSW plans to fit sensors to a fleet of public buses to scan the road network, while officials in Victoria plan to use up to three trucks – operated by the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) – equipped with special scanning equipment.

The system being rolled out in Victoria, known as iPAVE – which stands for the Intelligent Pavement Assessment Vehicle – is fitted to a truck pulling a large semi-trailer.

The technology is able to collect continuous video and data on pavement deflection, pavement surface condition, geometry, and spatial location, with the latest of the three also fitted with ground-penetrating radar to assess the structural conditions underneath the asphalt.

ARRB software then collates and synchronises the data so that roads in need of attention can be prioritised for repair.

“Already, crews are making a start on delivering large-scale, long-term repairs and this data will help to plan for further works, ensuring that the communities hit hardest by these floods remain connected to vital supplies and services,” Victorian Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne said in a media statement.

Meantime, roads authorities in NSW are experimenting with another type of technology to assess road damage.

ARRB has been working with the University of NSW to fit special Cisco routers to public buses operating in the Sydney metropolitan area, with the routers using an accelerometer to record the roughness of roads.

Using the same technology in a smartphone, the accelerometer can detect large movements and shocks caused by poor road surfaces.

The regularity of the buses on Sydney’s main routes means consistent data can be collected without the need for additional vehicles or traffic controls. Transport for NSW is then able to assess where there may be potholes or other problems with the roads.

The NSW Government recently pledged an additional $500 million to help fix flood-damaged roads, on top of its annual $1.5 billion budgeted for road maintenance throughout the state.

In December 2022, the ARRB estimated flood damage across the country would amount to approximately $3.8 billion in taxpayer-funded repairs.

In March 2022, the federal Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport, and Regional Economics released a report that estimated approximately 1200 Australians lose their lives each year, with poor-quality roads a major contributor.

MORE: Experts call for road construction rethink following $3.8 billion flood bill

MORE: NSW Government pledges additional $500 million to fix flood-damaged roads

The post New tech fast-tracks inspection of flood-damaged roads appeared first on Drive.