ABSTRACT
The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) is responsible for managing approximately 3000 bridges on its road network. Of these, approximately 2200 bridges are on the heavy vehicle network supporting freight movement and the Queensland economy. As the asset manager, TMR is responsible for ensuring that its assets are managed safely and cost-effectively and that heavy vehicle access is permitted where possible to support a vibrant economy. Since 2012, TMR has been assessing the structural capacities and associated risks of TMR’s bridges on the defined heavy vehicle road network, which has included developing an understanding and quantification of the current structural capacities of all bridges. Out of this program, TMR, in conjunction with AECOM, has developed a rapid network operation assessment tool suitable for heavy vehicle scenario analyses. Building on this knowledge, TMR are reviewing heavy vehicle network plans for current and future demands to identify network capacity constraints and opportunities for TMR owned or managed bridge structures. This paper discusses the tools and methodology used to investigate heavy vehicle access to the network and presents the findings.
