BUMPY RIDE ON ROAD TO SAVE $400M
THE Gold Coast City Council plans to save at least $400 million in the next 20 years by not upgrading some residential roads and putting suburban streets on a lower repair rating.
Shock findings in a confidential report reveals the average age of the city’s road surfaces is reaching 17 years, just three years off their life expectancy of 20.
THE Gold Coast City Council plans to save at least $400 million in the next 20 years by not upgrading some residential roads and putting suburban streets on a lower repair rating.
Shock findings in a confidential report reveals the average age of the city’s road surfaces is reaching 17 years, just three years off their life expectancy of 20.
“Large portions of the city’s road assets are approaching the end of their useful lives and significant increases in capital renewal funding will be required to maintain public safety and current levels of service,” the report says.
Councillors are concerned about being asked to tick off on budget savings, and they have asked for a further report before making a final decision, possibly as early as April.
Council officers recently completed an audit of the city’s 3237km of ageing road network, and tracked the slide in the pavement condition index (PCI) which looks at defects.
While the PCI was as high as nine in 2000, it has almost dropped to eight. Worse still, there were wide differences on categories of roads, with the higher important arterial transport links averaging as low a rating as 6.6 compared to 8.5 for residential streets.
Arterial and sub-arterial roads account for about 218km while residential access and collector roads amount to 2268km.
“To manage risk appropriately, it would be expected that higher order roads should be maintained in a better average condition as compared to lower order roads as they typically involve high traffic volumes and higher vehicle speeds,” the report says.
The challenge was the Coast, unlike Sydney and Melbourne, had grown so fast in a short time.
The plan is to split the level of service with less on residential roads with the drop-off in repairs likely to be “largely unnoticeable to the general public”.
The result would mean the council retained its current forward planning projects rather than have to significantly increase budgets across the next 10 years.
“This proposed adjustment to the levels of service is estimated to save the city approximately $400 million over the forward 20-year forecast by not having to maintain lower order roads to the same level of service as higher order roads,” the report says.
In response to questions from the Bulletin, the council said $24.3 million would be spent on the Road Rehab and Reseal Program in 2020-21 and $15.5 million on the Road Reconstruction Program for the same period.
The amounts for the fouryear capital works programs through to 2023-24 have been removed from the report. Council declined to provide those figures.
The Bulletin asked if it was the council’s intention to save the city money by not maintaining lower order roads, and were their plans to increase the service to arterial roads.
“There is no intention to change the current level of service for higher order roads. The city will continue to maintain lower order roads to an appropriate level of service,” the spokesperson said.