LGs ‘need to be ready for future asset assessment project rounds’

The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) is strongly encouraging local councils to consider being part of possible future national assessments of on-road assets.

The Strategic Local Government Asset Assessment Project (SLGAAP) began in 2019 with the Commonwealth providing the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) with $8 million grant funding over two years.

The SLGAAP aims to improve heavy vehicle access by:

  • identifying current and potential key heavy vehicle routes on local roads;
  • assisting local governments to better understand their road assets such as bridges and culverts and make informed decisions about heavy vehicles movements; and
  • creating a central database that contains information relating to the capacity of road assets and how different configurations of heavy vehicles can utilise the asset.

The project’s pilot phase involved 12 Local Government participants and engineering assessments for 100 assets, including Tier 1 and 2 assessments.

The results will be published in the NHVR Route Planner to give local council road managers the ability to check the capacity of their bridges or culverts to select the best route for heavy vehicle movements.

Last May, local councils were invited to participate in Round 1 of the project, with nominations closing on 14 October.

As a result, more than 1000 bridges and culverts across nearly 100 local government areas have been nominated for engineering assessment.

Successful Round 1 councils will receive either a Tier1/ or 2 engineering assessment or an Improvement Report funded under the project.

Councils that did not apply in Round 1 and would like to register their interest in possible future rounds can do so at the relevant NHVR web page.