Page 642 - Week 02 - Thursday, 16 February 2017
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
I feel that it would be beneficial to notify the Assembly of what actually goes into well-maintained roads. First, a road in the ACT must have a good resistance to skidding, and this requires more stones to be outwardly exposed. This creates noise. However, when stones are not outwardly exposed and textured it means that, although less noise is created, the road will be also less skid resistant. The complexity of paving and maintaining a road at government’s best standards is significant and therefore requires a solid commitment to the best and most technologically advanced methods of road maintenance.
To achieve this complex and high quality of road that we seek to achieve, Roads ACT employs a number of different maintenance options to ensure each criterion is met and is reflective of the rules of roads maintenance. This government is committed to keeping our roads not only safer for driving but also safer for the future by being environmentally friendly.
I have mentioned innovation as a key part of our plan for better roads. I would like at this point to draw the Assembly’s attention to two great examples of this. Kelleway Avenue in Nicholls was the first road in the ACT to use a recycled printer toner substance mixed in with the regular asphalt mix called TonerPave. This particular mix, designed to reduce the ACT’s carbon footprint, was produced with close to 30 per cent recyclables. As the mixture itself is considerably cooler than the usual asphalt mixture used in resurfacing, carbon emissions are significantly cut in the process. In this process, I am proud to announce that 14 kilograms of carbon dioxide were saved. Use of this mixture on our roads last year started a trend in preserving and protecting ACT roads in a method that is both safe and environmentally friendly. The success of this mixture as safe for both the environment and the road led to it being placed on an additional dozen sites across the territory.There is a recurring issue for road maintenance in the ACT that primarily occurs in cul-de-sacs such as Onkaparinga Crescent in Kaleen. These roads come under stress due to the presence of large garbage trucks turning tightly and gradually wearing out the road. To combat this significant strain on our roads, Roads ACT and the infrastructure contractor, Downer, are using a new sealant formula called Tonerseal. Building upon the environmental and safety success of the printer mixture, Tonerseal has been produced with the addition of recycled tyres.
Roads ACT and the government have committed a total of 1.4 kilometres of road to be covered by this method, which will save up to 990 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the earth’s atmosphere. For this project a total of 8,960 recycled printer cartridges and 203 tyres will be included in the road resealing mix during the trial which would have otherwise gone to landfill.
While this mixture is still in a trial period, experts such as Gana Varendran, who is the manager of the Downer Group which produces Tonerseal, is hopeful and confident in the technological step-up from its predecessor TonerPave. Mr Varendran recently spoke of the mixture, stating that it holds a unique advantage in the heat because the product is a combination of both toner and rubber. It will give Canberra drivers increased resistance to bleeding or softening of the bitumen that occurs when roads come under significant heat.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video