Austroads has released its 2016-17 annual report, providing a detailed review of the strategic focus of each Austroads Program as well as the projects completed and progressed during the year.
At a glance, in 2016-17 Austroads:
- Invested $12.4 million in its roads related research work program, contracting 40 organisations to deliver its work program including $6.9 million in infrastructure design and testing, $3.6 million in road safety, $1.6 million in road network management and $200,000 in connected and automated vehicles
- Undertook work in 125 projects, completing 46 during the year
- Published 226 papers, reports and updates to the Austroads Guides (with 340,000 publications sold and downloaded)
- Enabled 135 million driver licence and vehicle registration database transactions via the National Exchange of Vehicle Data Information Service (NEVDIS)
Significant achievements include:
- Delivery of the first Data Standard for Road Management and Investment, which is being developed to provide Australian and New Zealand road agencies and their suppliers with a common approach to the specification of operational data
- Publication with Standards Australia of the highly anticipated seven part Standard AS(/NZS) 5100:2017 Bridge Design published in March 2017
- Publication of the Congestion and Reliability Review which measures the levels and identifies the key causes of congestion across major cities in Australia and New Zealand
- Finalisation of projects which reviewed the funding and financing arrangements for regional and remote roads in Australia and the application of community service obligations to the roads sector
- Delivery of 13 two-day Safe System Infrastructure workshops across Australia and New Zealand
- Development of a library of modern hazard perception test videos using computer-generated imagery. The project will allow jurisdictions to introduce a hazard perception test specifically designed for motorcyclists, a world first road safety initiative
- Publication of an updated edition of Assessing Fitness to Drive, a joint publication of the National Transport Commission and Austroads, and includes standards for private and commercial drivers of heavy vehicles, light vehicles and motor bikes (more than 90,000 copies downloaded)
- Publication of Guidelines for Trials of Automated Vehicles in Australia, a joint publication of the National Transport Commission and Austroads, support state and territory road agencies in providing exemptions or permits for trials, and give greater certainty to industry
- Finalisation of an investigation into the potential changes needed to the way road networks are managed to consistently support and optimise the outcomes from the introduction of automated vehicles
