Nigel Powers, National Leader of the Road Asset Performance team at ARRB, gave a keynote presentation at the 10th International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management last week.
Nigel presented his paper entitled "Rising to the challenge of management bridges in Australia" during the virtual conference. He outlined what is currently being done to rise to this significant challenge and also recommend future research and development to continue to meet this challenge.
Australia’s freight task is growing at a rapid rate due to unprecedented population growth, coupled with increased demand from our trading partners in Asia and rapid changes in technology, e-commerce and consumer behaviour. A significant proportion of freight is transported using the road network and to remain competitive this network needs to facilitate fast, efficient and effective access. This is a significant challenge with an ageing bridge network, the regularly extreme climatic conditions and the freight industry constantly pushing to increase access and allowable loads.
In rising to this challenge, Australia’s infrastructure managers are being innovative, using the latest standards and technology in building new bridges and assessing existing bridges and utilizing the latest technology in managing existing bridge structures. In partnership with academic institutions and with funding from the State and Federal Governments, there has been significant research and development with the monitoring, modelling, assessment and strengthening of bridges.
Watch his presentation below.
For more information, please contact nigel.powers@arrb.com.au.