Course Overview

Roads are a lifeline for our communities and public works professionals play a vital role in their design, construction and maintenance. This course outlines the principles, players and practices supporting the road network.

Modules

Session 1: Introduction to Road Management

Session 2: Geometric Road Design

Session 3: Pavement Design and Construction

Session 4: Road Network Maintenance

Learning Objectives

Introduction to Road Management: Delegates will gain an understanding of the overall concepts and principles of the road industry in Australia, including the language used, the people involved and the steps needed to design, build, manage & maintain a road.

• Importance of roads in the Australian economy.
• Language of the roads sector (including components of a typical cross-section).
• People and Associations of the roads sector (Austroads, AfPA, AustStab, ASCP, NatSpec, AusSpec, Tyre Stewardship Aust, NATA etc.)
• Types of pavements
  • Flexible (sprayed seal)
  • Bound (Stabilisation, Asphalt)
  • Rigid (Concrete)
• How does council get a road built?
  • Planning approvals
  • Environmental approvals (EES, EIS etc)
  • Budget estimates & approval
  • Survey
  • Design
  • Project delivery models
• Some construction considerations
• Legislative requirements
  • Names of the various Acts of Parliament
  • Where does State responsibility end and Council responsibility start?
• Asset management
  • Aim of asset management
  • Use of pavement maintenance and rehabilitation techniques
• Using recycled materials

Geometric Road Design: Delegates will gain a broad understanding of some practical elements relating to geometric road design.

• Introduction & Objectives
• Fundamentals Considerations: location, road classification, traffic volumes, environment considerations
• Speed Parameters: terminology, speed factors, local & rural roads
• Cross-section: crossfall, crowns, lane widths, shoulders, roadside drainage
• Sight Distance
• Coordination of Horizontal & Vertical Alignment
• Horizontal Alignment and Vertical Alignment
• Optimising Design
• Austroads Guide/s: Guide to Road Design - Part 3: Geometric Design

Pavement Design and Construction: After this session, delegates will have a broad understanding of the various factors affecting pavement design and the methods used in Australia to undertake a pavement design.

• Introduction to APGT02-17 & pavement design systems
• Road environment
• Subgrade evaluation
• Design traffic
• Pavement materials & tests
• Structural thickness of unbound flexible pavements
• Mechanistic design of bound pavements
• Various State Supplements to Austroads APGT02-17
• Pavement construction

Road Network Maintenance: After this session, delegates will have an understanding of the investigation of sealed road pavements and the selection and design of pavement strategies and treatments for roads carrying normal loadings with a focus on flexible pavements.

• Refresher on road pavements
• Modes & mechanisms of pavement distress
• Pavement evaluation techniques
• Preventative maintenance
• Periodic maintenance