Standard specifications for highway construction.

Mode of access: Internet.

Building Township Road Excelsior

verso: Nr. [near] Kalkaska

1992 census of construction industries.

Mode of access: Internet.

1992 census of construction industries.

Mode of access: Internet.

An Analysis of the Early Prediction of Highway Construction Project Completion using the Contract Status Report

History has shown that projects move in and out of poor status through the life of the project. Predicting the success or failure of a project to complete on time because of its recent history on the contract status report could provide our project managers another tool for monitoring contract progress. In many instances, poor contract progress results in the loss of contract time and late completion of projects. This research evaluates the combinations of work type, point in time physical work begins, recent poor status, and contract bid amount as indicators of late project completion.

Experimentation of mitigation techniques to reduce the effects of permafrost degradation on transportation infrastructures at Beaver Creek experimental road site, Alaska Highway, Yukon

Les méthodes de design et de construction des routes développés dans le sud canadien ont maintenant besoin d’être adaptés aux environnements nordiques du pays afin de prévenir le dégel dramatique du pergélisol lors de la construction d’une nouvelle route. De plus, le réchauffement climatique occasionne présentement d’importants problèmes de stabilité des sols dans le nord canadien. Ces facteurs causent des pertes importantes au niveau des capacités fonctionnelles et structurales de l’Alaska Highway au Yukon sur un segment de plus de 200 km situé entre le village de Destruction Bay et la frontière de l’Alaska. Afin de trouver des solutions rentables à long terme, le ministère du transport du Yukon (en collaboration avec le Federal Highway Administration du gouvernement américain, Transports Canada, l’Université Laval, l’Université de Montréal et l’Alaska University transportation Center) a mis en place 12 sections d’essais de 50 mètres de longueur sur l’autoroute de l’Alaska près de Beaver Creek en 2008. Ces différentes sections d’essais ont été conçues pour évaluer une ou plusieurs méthodes combinées de stabilisation thermique telles que le drain thermique, le remblai à convection d’air, le pare-neige / pare-soleil, le remblai couvert de matières organiques, les drains longitudinaux, le déblaiement de la neige sur les pentes et la surface réfléchissante. Les objectifs spécifiques de la recherche sont 1) d’établir les régimes thermiques et les flux de chaleur dans chacune des sections pour les 3 premières années de fonctionnement ; 2) de documenter les facteurs pouvant favoriser ou nuire à l’efficacité des systèmes de protection et ; 3) de déterminer le rapport coûts/bénéfices à long terme pour chacune des techniques utilisées. Pour ce faire, une nouvelle méthode d’analyse, basée sur la mesure de flux d’extraction de chaleur Hx et d’induction Hi à l’interface entre le remblai et le sol naturel, a été utilisée dans cette étude. Certaines techniques de protection du pergélisol démontrent un bon potentiel durant leurs 3 premières années de fonctionnement. C’est le cas pour le remblai à convection d’air non-couvert, le remblai à convection d’air pleine largeur, les drains longitudinaux, le pare-soleil / pare-neige et la surface réfléchissante. Malheureusement, des problèmes dans l’installation des drains thermiques ont empêché une évaluation complète de leur efficacité.

Sustainable transport and the impact on the built environment : Future trends and directions

We love the automobile and the independence that it gives us. We are more mobile than we have ever been before in recorded history. In Australia 80% of journeys are by private motor vehicle. But it is becoming increasingly obvious that this era has a very limited lifespan. Fuel prices have skyrocketed recently with no end in sight. In spite of massive amounts of road construction, our cities are becoming increasingly congested. We desperately need to address climate change and the automobile is a major contributor. Carbon trading schemes will put even more upward pressure on fuel prices. At some point in the near future, most of us will need to reconsider our automobile usage whether we like it or not. The time to plan for the future is now. But what will happen to our mobility when access to cheap and available petroleum becomes a thing of the past? Will we start driving electric/hydrogen/ethanol vehicles? Or will we flock to public transport? Will our public transport systems cope with a massive increase in demand? Will thousands of people take to alternatives such as bicycles? If so, where do we put them? How do we change our roads to cope? How do we change our buildings to suit? Will we need recharging stations in our car park for example? Some countries are less reliant on the car than others e.g. Holland and Germany. How can the rest of the world learn from them? This paper discusses many of the likely outcomes of the inevitable shift away from society’s reliance on petroleum and examines the expected impact on the built environment. It also looks at ways in which the built environment can be planned to help ease the transition to a fossil free world. 1.

Project 2.7 Leveraging R&D Investment for the Australian built environment : Phase 2 Case Study Reports Part 1 - Overview of Findings

This report provides an overview of findings of qualitative research comprising three case studies undertaken as a part of the retrospective analysis component of Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (SBEnrc) Project 2.7 Leveraging R&D investment for the Australian Built Environment. These case studies (see Parts 2, 3 and 4 of this suite of reports) were undertaken to illustrate the nature of past R&D investments in Australia. This was done to complement: (i) the audit and analysis of past R&D investment undertaken by Thomas Barlow (2011); and (ii) the Construction 2030 roadmap being developed by Swinburne University of Technology and Professor Göran Roos from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. These documents will be the basis for the final phase of the present project - developing policy guidelines for future R&D investment in the Australian built environment. Refer also Parts 1, 2 and 3 for detail findings.

Innovative Products Focus Group Report 2012. Brisbane: QUT

This report presents the results of Phase 3 of the Innovative Road Products Project: National Focus Groups. The groups developed solutions to address the most important obstacles constraining the adoption of innovative products in Australian road construction projects. The Innovative Products Survey, the major Project deliverable in 2011, and the largest innovation survey ever undertaken in the Australian road consutrction industry, results in the identification of key obstacles constraining the adoption of innovative products on road projects.

Sustainable infrastructure procurement in Australia : standard vs. project practices

The Australian Government and most Australian road authorities have set ambitious greenhouse gas emission (GHGe) reduction targets for the near future, many of which have translated into action plans. However, previous research has shown that the various Australian state road authorities are at different stages of implementing ‘green’ initiatives in construction planning and development, with considerable gaps in their monitoring, tendering, and contracting. This study illustrates the differences between procurement standards and project specific practices that aim to reduce GHGe from road construction projects in three of the largest Australian road construction clients, with a focus on the tools used, contract type and incentives for better performance.

Applying quality management to project delivery in Hong Kong : A field study of management perceptions

The concept of market-driven rather than product-driven quality management has been given prominence through the report of a recent inquiry into the performance of the Hong Kong construction industry. The report submitted to the Government of Hong Kong in 2001 establishes a new vision of ‘an integrated industry that is capable of continuous improvement towards excellence in the market-driven environment’. Given the current economic downturn, major contractors are facing many challenges to realize this new quality oriented vision. This paper addresses the critical and timely issue of applying quality management to the project delivery process in Hong Kong. The paper attempts to capture and critically examine management perceptions of quality management aspects as applied to a local large-scale road construction project. Based on the analysis of questionnaire feedback and face-to-face interviews, the paper reveals key attributes of a successful application of quality management approaches, and identifies a mechanism for facilitating such implementation.

Understanding worker perceptions of common incidents at roadworks in Queensland

The process of building safer roads and roadsides needs to be managed to minimise risks to both the road using public and roadworkers. However, detailed and accurate data on fatalities and injuries at roadworks across Australia are not available. The lack of reliable safety records and consequent poor understanding of the hazards at roadworks motivated this research to examine the common trends in incidents and to understand workers' perceptions of the causes of incidents at roadworks. To achieve these aims, 66 roadworks personnel were interviewed in Queensland including road construction workers, traffic controllers, engineers, and managers. Qualitative analyses identified several major issues and themes. Vehicles driving into work areas, traffic controllers hit by vehicles, rear end crashes at roadwork approaches, and reversing incidents involving work vehicles and machinery were the most common types of incidents. Roadworkers perceived driver errors, such as violation of speed limits, distracted driving, and ignoring signage and traffic controllers' instructions as the main causes of the incidents.

Assessment of recycled concrete aggregates as a pavement material

Population increase and economic developments can lead to construction as well as demolition of infrastructures such as buildings, bridges, roads, etc resulting in used concrete as a primary waste product. Recycling of waste concrete to obtain the recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) for base and/or sub-base materials in road construction is a foremost application to be promoted to gain economical and sustainability benefits. As the mortar, bricks, glass and reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) present as constituents in RCA, it exhibits inconsistent properties and performance. In this study, six different types of RCA samples were subjected classification tests such as particle size distribution, plasticity, compaction test, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and California bearing ratio (CBR) tests. Results were compared with those of the standard road materials used in Queensland, Australia. It was found that material type ‘RM1-100/RM3-0’ and ‘RM1-80/RM3-20’ samples are in the margin of the minimum required specifications of base materials used for high volume unbound granular roads while others are lower than that the minimum requirement.

First results of a major study on safety at Queensland roadworks

The Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) is conducting a 3-year program of research, titled Integrating Technological and Organisational Approaches to Enhance the Safety of Roadworkers. The program is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), with support from industry partners Leighton Contractors, GHD, Queensland Transport and Main Roads (TMR), and the Australian Workers Union (AWU). This multidisciplinary project involves working together to enhance roadworker safety by: • Investigating the real and perceived dangers at roadworks. • Strengthening organisational policies and practices for roadworker safety. • Testing innovative initiatives to improve driver behaviour at roadworks. • Developing safety management models spanning different regulatory frameworks. The project outcomes will include the following benefits: • Practical and theoretical contributions at industry and academic levels for developing effective interventions/strategies to improve safety in road construction. • Development of new measures to evaluate effectiveness of policy and organisational interventions to produce behavioural change among organisations involved in roadworks. • Improved safety and productivity in urban and rural areas of Australia as a result of facilitating the delivery of road improvements. This paper presents an overview of the research conducted to date as part of the overall program. The paper concentrates on issues relevant to moving vehicles, although the research recognises the importance of other hazards and risks associated with roadworks and construction projects generally.

Common hazards and their mitigating measures in work zones : a qualitative study of worker perceptions

Road construction and maintenance activities present challenges for ensuring the safety of workers and the traveling public alike. Hazards in work zones are typically studied using historical crash records but the current study took a qualitative approach by interviewing 66 workers from various work zones in Queensland, Australia. This supplemented and enhanced the limited available data regarding the frequency and nature of work zone crashes in Australia, provided worker insights into contributing factors, and assessed their opinions on the likely effectiveness of current or future approaches to hazard mitigation. Workers may not be aware of objective data regarding effectiveness, but their attitudes and consequent levels of compliance can influence both the likelihood of implementation and the outcomes of safety measures. Despite the potential importance of worker perceptions, they have not been studied comprehensively to date, and thus this study fills a significant gap in the literature. Excessive vehicle speeds, driver distraction and aggression towards roadworkers, working in wet weather, at night and close to traffic stream were among the most common hazards noted by workers. The safety measures perceived to be most effective included police presence, active enforcement, and improving driver awareness and education about work zones. Worker perceptions differed according to their level of exposure to hazards.