Effective Road Maintenance on Limited Budgets

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Effective Road Maintenance on Limited Budgets
Grantley Switzer General Manager Recreation,
Culture and Community Infrastructure Latrobe City
Council
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Latrobe City

• 1 of Victorias four Regional Cities
• Community of 75,000
• 4 main towns, 7 small towns
• Small geographical area, 1422 square kilometres
• 1,558 kms of roads

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Todays Presentation

• Roads to Recovery
• Industry Factors
• Sealing of Rural Roads
• Products to Market
• Road Rehabilitation Program
• Special Charge Schemes
• Construction Standards
• State Budget Implications
• The Environment
• Other Challenges
• The Ideal World

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The Starting Point

• Some of the specific objectives or key outcome
  areas for road network maintenance planning are
• to facilitate road asset maintenance decisions so
  that road assets perform effectively throughout
  their service lives, to appropriate standards,
  which have been set with due consideration of
  community expectations
• to provide a basis for establishing maintenance
  funding decisions and
• to assist the determination of funding levels for
  capital works and maintenance.

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Industry Factors
Bituminous Products Class 170 bitumen (per tonne)
COUNCIL RATE INCREASES 5
Quarry Products 35 40 increase since 2008
Fuel Costs Transport cost increases
Employee Costs 4.5 per annum
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Roads to Recovery

• A great program
• No ongoing commitment from Federal Government
  lack of certainty in the future
• Removal would result in massive budget deficits

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Sealing of Rural Roads
Road Rehabilitation Program

• Latest 10 year program developed in 2007/08
• In five years the program has been pushed out to
  being a 15 year program
• 15 million in funding arrears
• Political backlash - low

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External Factors
Products to Market Plantation example
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Sealing of Rural Roads
Special Charge Schemes

• 250,000 per annum from Councils capital works
  program since 2007/08 monies held in reserve.
• 1 project completed
• 4 projects in the pipeline

No of residents Resident Contribution Latrobe City Contribution
Project 1 5 25,000 275,000
Project 2 17 85,000 240,000
Project 3 3 15,000 115,000
Project 4 13 65,000 260,000
Total 38 190,000 890,000
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The Environment
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Extent of fire events Feb 2009
Delburn 6,500 hectares Churchill/ Jeeralang
25,800 hectares
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Impact to Infrastructure

• 1 bridge damaged beyond repair
• App 30 km of sealed road pavement damaged,
• requiring re-sheet
• Guardrails / signs / guideposts etc
• (around 4,200!)

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The Drought Breaks

• Increased works in 10/11 and 11/12
• Major patches ?
• Drainage issues / complaints ?
• Gravel Road Re-sheets ?
• Latrobe City has been able to get by with
  stagnant or diminishing budgets for most years
  since 2000

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Piggery Road, Boolarra
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Piggery Road, Boolarra
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Other considerations
Latrobe City Challenges

• Ageing workforce
• Skill Shortages
• Community Expectations
• Tree Changers
• Growth

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Councils response
Construction Standards

• Now more sophisticated and demanding than ever
  (minimum pavement thickness conditions demanded)
• Planning / approval / inspection / handover
  regime has increased dramatically

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State Budget Implications

• Local Government feel the pain also!
• Residents dont see or understand (or care) about
  the demarcation lines
• Key focus for Latrobe City is safety and
  presentation for Vic Roads focus will move to
  safety

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An ideal world

• Rate rises and budget allocations consistent
  with
• Increases in costs (wages, salaries, materials,
  etc.)
• At minimum, keep pace with CPI (but should be
  related to costs of bituminous products, fuel
  costs, quarry products, etc.)
• Take a whole of life approach to the maintenance
  of the asset
• Consider municipal growth
• Working in partnership with other agencies