Thin road seals no longer fit for purpose says expert
With potholes shaping up to be a key issue in this year's election campaign, one expert says the reason behind our worsening roads is more than political.
According to Professor Jayantha Kodikara, Faculty of Engineering at Monash University, there's more to it than money. The way we design and construct our roads needs to be rethought.
A report this month from the Victorian Auditor General's Office (VAGO) said the condition of the state's roads are declining (see separately story), and both the Labor and Liberal parties have promised additional funding for the state's roads if they win the election.
However Professor Kodikara said a number of factors needed to be considered, including the impact of climate change on the interaction of soil and atmosphere, and infrastructure.
"The recent fatal motorcycle crash near Trawalla is a tragic reminder that potholes are not simply a maintenance inconvenience. Once road deterioration reaches this stage, it can become a serious safety issue.
"Potholes should be treated as a symptom, not a disease. If we focus only on filling the hole after it appears, we miss the opportunity to address the pavement design, moisture, construction quality and maintenance conditions that caused it," Professor Kodikara said.
"Australia has relied very successfully on thin-sealed unbound pavements for decades, but traffic and climate conditions are changing. We now need to reassess where these pavements remain the best solution and where stronger surfacing and pavement systems will deliver better whole-of-life value.
"Conventional pavement design focuses on heavy vehicles because truck axle loads dominate structural damage when the pavement is sound. But once severe cracking and potholes have developed, the repeated passage of the much larger number of light vehicles can also accelerate edge breakup and enlargement of the defect."
READ MORE: Roads to ruin, according to Auditor General
