Victorian Surveillance Officers monitoring construction and road work sites have been given three new net zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) to ensure they comply with regulations and standards, and reduce their carbon footprint.
As part of the Victorian Government’s $340 million Smarter Roads program, six new Congestion Surveillance and Audit Officers will ensure clearways are kept unclogged and road worksites are being managed safely to keep traffic flowing on major arterials in three zones across Melbourne’s west, east, and south-east.
In the west, the zone covers:
- Werribee
- Laverton
- Point Cook
- Altona
- Williamstown
In the south east, the zone covers:
- Oakleigh
- Dandenong
- Berwick
- Cranbourne
- Mordialloc
In the east, the zone covers:
- Wantirna
- Rowville
- Glen Waverley
- Ferntree Gully
- Bayswater
The introduction of these vehicles is part of a State Government plan to deliver 400 ZEVs to the Government fleet by 2023 as part of a $100 million package to get more Victorians into the greener vehicles and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
The new ZEVs have been chosen because of their extended battery range, operating from as early as 4am with the team visiting some of the 1,500 worksites operating every day on the state’s road network.
Victorian Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Ben Carroll, said, “These new electric vehicles will go a long way to help our surveillance team work with industry to improve traffic flow around work sites, while also reducing our carbon footprint.
“As this initiative rolls out, worksites will be safer and congestion through work zones will be minimised – a win for every Victorian.”
Victoria is currently undergoing its biggest ever construction boom and with road levels currently at 92 per cent of pre-pandemic figures, the team is educating industry to ensure safety when workers are on the road, as well as ensuring speed limits are restored when no work is underway to keep traffic moving safely.
The Traffic Management Reform Program, which was launched in February 2022, also requires all traffic management companies to be accredited. Surveillance and Audit Officers are already engaging with industry to help facilitate this change over the next twelve months.
VicRoads is working with traffic management companies along with leading training providers to update and improve the practices around some of our most significant work programs, along with making it safer for road workers at any site in the state.
The program will also revolutionise the VicRoads permit portal, making it simpler and easier for traffic management companies to gain access to the permits they need to carry out vital work on Victorian roads.
Since the inception of the Surveillance Team in November 2019, Congestion Surveillance and Audit officers have already inspected 6,000 individual worksites. Working with the industry, officers have seen a marked increase in compliance, and now regularly receive requests from industry to inspect their sites.
