Asset Management

This report details the work undertaken in the first year of the three year Austroads project Improving the Estimation of the Cost of Accelerated Road Wear due to Possible Increases in Axle Mass Limits. In 2011-12 the project identified road sites which have the potential to provide evidence of an increased rate of pavement deterioration under increased traffic load. The site criteria sought roads where increased traffic loading was the result of increased axle mass on heavy vehicles rather than increased numbers of heavy vehicles.

The project identified potentially suitable sites in Western Australia and Queensland. These sites will provide data for detailed analysis which will be undertaken in the second year of the project in 2012-13. If the sites perform as expected, the project should provide either the development of road deterioration (RD) models for accelerated deterioration in the rapid deterioration phase or the refinement of the existing RD models in the gradual deterioration phase.