Updates

Australian Asphalt Pavement Association

First and foremost, our prayers and thoughts are with all those being impacted We’ve all been living and working under unprecedented conditions over the last 2 months, many of us juggling families as well as continuing to support Industry, co-workers and navigating new models of business operations. We’d like to recognize our members and larger community for the significant efforts that have been made to keep projects and business operational, our Roads maintained and the Nation moving during this challenging time.

This is a period of time that will continue to reveal innovation and also cement the importance and essential nature of the Roads and Infrastructure services, and we look forward to continuing to support and celebrate the industry.

Western Australia

AAPA has been strongly advocating with the state government to bring forward maintenance activities to stimulate the economy and to create jobs on the basis that maintenance creates twice as many jobs per dollar spent as capital construction works.
9 regional borders are in place across the state and our essential workers continue to be able to move about to undertake their infrastructure maintenance and repair works. AAPA has continued to advocate for this to occur.
Main Roads are in the process of assessing tenders for regional spray sealing contracts across the state and a decision is expected in late May.
The State Branch meeting is now being conducted online and will take place on May 26th at 2.30pm local time.

South Australia

The Department (DPTI) have invited AAPA to provide feedback on the Master Terms Agreement (MTA) in advance of a new form of agreement being put in place from later this year. They are keen to better understand what worked well and areas for improvement.
DPTI are providing significant upcoming funding under the Rural Roads Program. The total value of works is currently estimated to be in excess of $160M; the normal periodic annual program of works will be in addition to this and prior to commencement of the state maintenance contracts.
A significant amount of shoulder sealing and rehabilitation works is planned to occur throughout SA (approximately 528 kms) with a proposed budget of $65M.
Approximately 30 new overtaking lanes are proposed to be constructed in SA, with the first packages due to be released to market as a construct only RFQ tender in approximately July 2020 with all packages released by early 2021, with a total value of approximately $82M.
The State Branch meeting is now being conducted online and will occur on May 12th at 2.30pm local time

Victoria

Roadworks are continuing and road agencies are considering what works can be accelerated to support continued safe employment.
The AAPA/IPWEA VIC TLC is undertaking a detailed review of the Department of Transport Standard Section 407 (Dense Graded Asphalt) – which includes proposed changes to RAP binder blend calculations, RAP management, increased density requirements, changes to tack coat requirements, changes to testing frequencies and provision for cold weather placement
AAPA and its industry members, in partnership with DoT and ARRB have been working on developing and demonstrating new crumb rubber asphalt surfacing mixes. AAPA members have now placed 4 different crumbed rubber mixes, as well as a number of control mixes, to assess the relative performance of the different products. The outcomes of this demonstration project will encourage a greater uptake to CRA solutions across the state of Victoria
The Department of Transport’s Chief Network Operations Manager has been invited to participate in a virtual breakfast with AAPA members. The discussion will provide attendees update/status of the Department and current operational focus, budget assumptions etc.
The VIC Branch is holding a special out of session meeting on the 1st of May – to check in with all members and to discuss current challenges and opportunities that have emerged under these challenging circumstances

Tasmania

Discussions with State Growth and members has confirmed that all contracts still progressing as scheduled and in some instances, the Department is at what can be accelerated to ensure that the construction sector maintains its momentum
The Department of State Growth’s Acting General Manager for Roads has been invited to participate in a virtual breakfast with AAPA members. The discussion will provide attendees update/status of the Department and current operational focus, budget assumptions etc.
The TAS Branch held its normal scheduled meeting on the 21st of April and has decided to hold regular special out of session meetings towards the end of each month from now on – to continue to check in with all members and to discuss current challenges and opportunities that have emerged under these challenging circumstances

New South Wales

A sell-out Breakfast event was held at the Waterview Centre, Sydney Olympic Park, on February 18 with guest speaker Nicole Albert, Director of Safety for Transport for NSW, who spoke to the packed house about the Transport for NSW Network Fatal Risks initiative. Following Nicole’s presentation and discussions, AAPA CEO, Carlos Rial, engaged with the members in a workshop about the forward corporate structure and identity envisaged for the Association. The May Breakfast has been postponed.
Members have welcomed the release by Transport for NSW of the specification R126 for high modulus asphalt, EME2, now available on the website. The application of this material to structural asphalt pavements in the state holds the capacity to save of the order of 20-25% pavement thickness (and the associated virgin materials used) for equivalent strength of conventional designs, together with enhanced whole of life costs due to increased durability and moisture resistance.
The Branch has participated with government and other industry bodies during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Infrastructure for NSW Construction Industry Supplier Forum. The purpose of the forum is to identify COVID-19 emerging issues that may impact reliable supply of construction materials over the next six months and collectively consider remedial actions. The forum provides an opportunity to share information and learn from each other in the spirit of delivering project success and prioritising staff wellbeing. Details are available on the Infrastructure NSW website, where AAPA members have supported the Association as a signatory endorsing the Work Health and Safety Commitment Statement from the Construction Industry on COVID-19

Queensland

Unfortunately, the Breakfast event planned for March 20 to hear from Australian bitumen suppliers on the impact of IMO 2020 for the flexible pavement industry was postponed indefinitely.
However, we are delighted that the Director General of Transport & Main Roads, Neil Scales, has agreed to engage with AAPA members in a “Virtual Breakfast” gathering in the near future on the impacts of COVID-19 in the industry, including the opportunity for question and answers. It is intended that following Neil Scales’ discussions, AAPA CEO, Carlos Rial, will engage with the members in a workshop about the forward corporate structure and identity envisaged for the Association.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, AAPA has participated in Construction Industry teleconferences chaired by the Minister for Roads, Mark Bailey and in the Queensland Civil Contracting COVID-19 Response Group, in regular meetings chaired by TMR Deputy Director General, Amanda Yeates. Through engagement with the bitumen suppliers, key supply chain information has separately been provided to government. The efforts of all participants in these activities have been positively directed towards keeping our industry operating, safely, throughout the pandemic.

From our Technical Director:

Intelligent Compaction implementation in Australia:
Intelligent Compaction refers to the compaction of road materials, such as soils, aggregate bases, or asphalt pavement materials, using modern vibratory rollers equipped with an in-situ measurement system and feedback control. The Australian Asphalt Pavement Association and its members support this initiative as part of the AAPA continual improvement program and AAPA has commissioned Transtec to include the map grid of Australia and New Zealand in the Veta software. This software is now available for use by industry for projects in Australia.
A Masterclass with American experts to share the benefits of intelligent compaction and implement the use of IC in Australia is in progress.

Evaluation of antistrip agents as an alternative to the use of Hydrated lime in dense graded asphalt: Moisture damage is the result of moisture interaction with the binder-aggregate adhesion within a asphalt mixture. This interaction can cause a reduction of adhesion between the binder and aggregate, called stripping, which can lead to various forms of pavement distress including rutting and fatigue cracking. Australian States specify the use of Hydrated lime to reduce the moisture sensitivity; however, there are alternatives that could provide the same and additional benefits that are being assessed. AAPA Asphalt subcommittee has drafted a position paper in regards to the potential benefits of using antistrip agents to reduce moisture sensitivity. The document is currently under review – due to be completed by the end of May 2020 – and it will be the starting point to share information, data and case studies within industry and with clients. A Master Class with international and Australian experts will be organised to further disseminate knowledge about the fundamental mechanism of adhesion between aggregate and binders.
Test method for automated binder extraction and grading test method. The automated binder extraction is an innovative, efficient, quick and safe solvent-based extraction of binder from asphalt mix that allows to determine the binder content and aggregate grading of an asphalt mix. International research has shown that results of the automated binder extraction are comparable to those obtained using traditional methods – data is being collected in Australia to verify the benefits of the automatic equipment and to develop a test method for use in Australia.
Reduction of asphalt manufacturing temperature. The AAPA Asphalt subcommittee is recommending the reduction of asphalt manufacturing temperatures to improve the sustainability of asphalt and the health of our workers. The Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) technology offers the possibility to reduce the manufacturing temperature of hot mixed asphalt without compromising the workability and in-situ compaction of these products. However, there has been limited reduction in the manufacturing mixing temperatures of HMA in Australia so far and WMA has been used primarily to extend the haulage distance of HMA to remote areas and apply modified asphalt in thin layers at night in winter months. AAPA is collating data and feedback from members to share information with clients and industry on the benefits of temperature reduction in the interest of sustainability and occupational health.
Review of the National Performance Based Airport asphalt specification in progress. Over the past years there has been an increasing interest in performance-based airport asphalt specification to replace the traditional prescriptive specification of asphalt surface mixture design, production and construction, which is normal within the airport industry. The use of recipe based pavement asphalt surfacing design has showed significant issues, such as cracking and deformation failure, and led to the development of the National performance based airport asphalt specification which is currently under review by the AAPA Asphalt subcommittee. It is anticipated to have the final version by the end of July 2020.
National Airport sealing specification: the majority of Australian aerodromes have a sprayed seal surface on their runways, taxiways and aprons. Usually these airports are rural or regional and they have limited technical expertise locally available. Consequently, airport sprayed seals are designed and built like road seal, which can create significant performance issues. The AAPA Spray Seal committee has been tasked for peer review of the draft specification prior to finalisation and publication. It is expected that the specification will be published by AAPA after the review is completed.
Review of AAPA-Austroads WorkTips WorkTips are work instructions aimed to provide essential information and references on specific topics. Work tips are produced by AUSTROADS in conjunction with AAPA and all work tips that are over 10 years old are being reviewed by AAPA technical committees and Austroads committees.
Australian version of the European loading procedure is under NTLC review.Eurobitume developed a loading Compatibility Matrix designed for bitumen distributors to provide practical guidance for switch loading, reloading, of road, rail, and shipping transport. The AAPA Binders subcommittee has provided an Australian version of the Eurobitume chart which will be available on the AAPA website by the end of May 2020.
Training
Introduction of Flexible Pavements – a series of Technical Topics

18 topics related to the principles & practices of flexible pavements
2 subject areas per day over 2 weeks
Commencement date:‪18th May 2020 Monday to Friday
at 12pm to 1pm and ‪3pm to 4pm
Fee: $98 ex GST per session (approx. 60 min)
Delivery method: Online interactive
Duration: 18 sessions over 2 weeks
1 CPD point for every hour

Benefits of these sessions
Designed to build a well-informed workforce with an understanding of the various components required for the delivery of critical works within the industry, the importance of quality work and underpinning knowledge required to progress through the flexible pavement industry.
Scope.

These 18 sessions provide an introduction to the design, construction and maintenance of flexible pavements. It demystifies the terminology used in the industry and provides an overview of all of the components associated with bituminous surfacing’s for people with limited exposure to the industry.
The series will provide participants with a solid foundation on which to build their knowledge as they progress through the industry and attend AAPA’s more advanced courses.

For any further queries about training please contact admin@aapa.asn.au

Regards,

Chief Executive Officer
Carlos Rial