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Cover of Bridge Assessment for High Productivity Freight Vehicle Access: Guidelines on Processes and Procedures
Bridge Assessment for High Productivity Freight Vehicle Access: Guidelines on Processes and Procedures
  • Publication no: AP-R532-16
  • ISBN: 978-1-925451-44-3
  • Published: 11 November 2016

This report sets out a process for assessing road bridge capacity for High Productivity Freight Vehicle access to the road network.

The report does not provide detail on the engineering / technical aspects of bridge assessment, rather it considers the range of methods currently in use or in development across jurisdictions and describes a national process for transparent, consistent and timely bridge assessment.

  • Summary
  • 1. Introduction
    • 1.1. Purpose
    • 1.2. Scope
    • 1.3. Glossary of Defined Terms
  • 2. Background
    • 2.1. The NHVR Process
    • 2.2. Bridge Assessments
      • 2.2.1. NHVR Bridge Assessment Tiers
      • 2.2.2. Expanded Descriptions of The Bridge Assessment Tiers
    • 2.3. Mandated Timeframes
  • 3. Stakeholder Consultation
    • 3.1. Stakeholders
      • 3.1.1. Industry
      • 3.1.2. National Heavy Vehicle Regulator
      • 3.1.3. Road Manager
      • 3.1.4. Bridge Assessment Team
    • 3.2. Bridge Assessment Methodology
      • 3.2.1. State Road Authorities
      • 3.2.2. Local Councils
    • 3.3. Road Network Access Process
      • 3.3.1. Access Potential Stage
      • 3.3.2. Access Approval Stage
      • 3.3.3. Terminology
      • 3.3.4. Skills and Training
      • 3.3.5. Nationally Consistent Regulation
  • 4. Discussion
    • 4.1. Bridge Assessment Methodology
      • 4.1.1. Tier 1 Bridge Assessment – Bridge Formulae Method
      • 4.1.2. Tier 2 Bridge Assessment – Reference Vehicle Method
      • 4.1.3. Tier 3 Bridge Assessment – Bridge Capacity Method
    • 4.2. Consistency of Process
      • 4.2.1. Access Potential Stage
      • 4.2.2. Access Approval Stage
    • 4.3. Documentation of Process
    • 4.4. Transparency
    • 4.5. Timeliness
  • 5. Recommendations
  • 6. Guidelines
    • 6.1. Introduction
    • 6.2. Guiding Principles
    • 6.3. Overview of The NHVR Process
    • 6.4. Stages of the NHVR Process
      • 6.4.1. Vehicle application
      • 6.4.2. Receipt of Vehicle Application
      • 6.4.3. Road Network Access – Access Potential
      • 6.4.4. Road Network Access – Access Approval
      • 6.4.5. Bridge Assessment Process
    • 6.5. Timeframes
    • 6.6. Documentation and Reporting
  • References
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