At Ventia, we're proud to be known for our talented and engaged people, like our team in south coast Queensland who wrapped up a large road rehabilitation project earlier this year with glowing feedback from local stakeholders and a successful trial of new traffic management technology.

Undertaken by our team on the Road Asset Management Contract (RAMC), this rehabilitation project was situated on a deteriorated 1.1km section of the Mount Lindesay Highway in the rural suburb of Laravale, receiving 2,146 cars per day, with 17% of those being heavy vehicles.  

Asset Manager Giles Lewer explains: 'This particular area was prioritised because of the condition of the pavement, which had expansive soil below, along with the area receiving multiple enquiries from key stakeholders and the high rate of short-term maintenance solutions - such as crack sealing." 
 
To address this ongoing maintenance, improve safety and provide a smoother road surface for road users, a treatment involving the insitu stabilisation of 15,000m² of road pavement by incorporating 400t of flyash, lime and cement was put forward as a solution.

Insitu stabilisation is a sustainable method of restoring the current pavement by blending existing material with materials like those mentioned above in order to strengthen and extend the road's life. 

^{Pictured above: Mount Lindesay Highway before rehabilitation works}

Traffic management innovation

In longer length work zones such as this one, obstacles arise when managing the movements of motorists at intersecting driveways and streets. 

It requires constant monitoring from traffic controllers and there is an enhanced risk to motorists and our people when temporary traffic lights are in place twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

This is why Project Engineer David Smith got to work prior to commencement to find a solution to trial during the project. 

When we teamed up with Road Safety Equipment Australia (RSEA) and their partners J1-LED, a simple yet ingenious idea formed - lets have the traffic lights communicate with the VMS (Variable Message Sign) boards" David explains.

The team programmed the VMS boards (positioned opposite each intersection and driveway) to provide a directional message to motorists when there was a traffic light change.

This communication between the devices informed local residents exiting their properties within the work zone of the direction of traffic flow. The information assisted them to safely exit without the need of a stationed traffic controller, eliminating the risk of our people being around live traffic.

With the success of this first trial, this technology will now be rolled out on all projects with 24/7 traffic lights in longer length work zones where driveways are situated.

^{Pictured above: The team programmed the VMS boards to provide a directional message to motorists when there was a traffic light change.}

Happy stakeholders

Our client's customers are our top priority, and our teams take very seriously that we are guests within the communities we operate. While it's hard to perform our job without impacting stakeholders in some way, we can ensure every possible measure is put in place to make things run smoothly.

Not only did the team get a thank you from the local member of parliament for their efforts delivering this complex project, but some local residents went above and beyond to show their appreciation and satisfaction with the entire team when they wrote into the local paper "The Beaudesert Times":

THANK YOU, ROAD WORKERS

Now that work has finished on the Mount Lindesay Highway reconstruction at Laravale, we would like to congratulate all the workers, especially the Ventia staff (engineer and construction team) and Verifact (traffic controllers).

This was a big project and could have resulted in great irritation for travellers and residents whose properties front the highway. However, from day one, we found a great spirit of cooperation. There was always a supervisor on hand to help us to negotiate the driveway to our house, even when the state of the road looked impassable.

On occasion, workers even made sure that our bins were emptied when the rubbish trucks were passing. And we always had a smile and a wave from the traffic controllers at the lights at each end of the roadworks. This project was impressive in the minute attention to detail, and an education in just how complex a modern road construction actually is. Congratulations again to all involved for finishing on time and in such great spirits."

This feedback is a testament to a team who delivers excellence for their client and their customers.

^{Pictured above: Mount Lindesay Highway after rehabilitation works.}