Because I have spent much time in the outback I don't generally take too much notice when people start bleating about road conditions, but these holes are beyond funny. At the very least they should be filled with a bit of plant mix until more permanent patching can be undertaken as those holes are big enough to rip the suspension out of small vehicles. Had I been there I would likely have shovelled metal from the verges into the holes as a stop gap measure. When were these photos taken Ivan? Cheers
Ivan 01 said
02:33 PM Jul 9, 2022
Those pics were taken last Wednesday afternoon.
Some repairs could have already been done.
Fill the hole with hot mix and compact it with a Wacker plate. This usually involves 30 workers, a traffic control sub contractor which will account for another dozen workers, 2 engineers, 2 dirt bosses, 6 foremen, 15 light vehicles, 2 subbies with 15 tonne tippers, for delivery of the hot mix. a multi tyre roller just in case, a float and prime mover with its driver to deliver the roller,
and two wide mouth shovels.
Did I say that they mainly try to do the repairs on Saturdays and Sundays because it is a possibility that the traffic may be lighter on those days.
It is the same after every rain event. The roads are just not good enough for the technology we have today.
woolman said
04:12 PM Jul 9, 2022
I understand that Qld has the lowest standards in Australia for compaction, depth of fill and width of constructurd verge. Without the compacted verge the road will tend to push side ways hence the road failure. Until they improve construction standard instead of saving money we have to put up with substandard roads
Neil
Ivan 01 said
04:53 PM Jul 9, 2022
woolman wrote:
I understand that Qld has the lowest standards in Australia for compaction, depth of fill and width of constructurd verge. Without the compacted verge the road will tend to push side ways hence the road failure. Until they improve construction standard instead of saving money we have to put up with substandard roads
Neil
I am sure that is the case Neil,
The Bruce Highway in Nth Qld is nothing short of a disgrace,
Even the traffic control in rework or new work sections are nothing But dangerous,
I am amazed how they close a section of highway, direct the traffic on to a deviation and then do nothing on that section for months.
I saw some weeks ago a contractor was reeling out imported fill ready for compaction with a farm tractor with a blade. The grader turned up about 2 weeks later.
I just cant believe it at times.
yobarr said
07:47 PM Jul 9, 2022
woolman wrote:
I understand that Qld has the lowest standards in Australia for compaction, depth of fill and width of constructurd verge. Without the compacted verge the road will tend to push side ways hence the road failure. Until they improve construction standard instead of saving money we have to put up with substandard roads
Neil
You show a good understanding of road-construction methods, Neil, but time after time we see the same mistakes being made. Seems Engineers don't understand or don't care that doing the same job several times is a lot more expensive than doing it properly the first time. Cheers
dabbler said
10:37 PM Jul 9, 2022
After four days of almost non-stop rain bomb it's not surprising really. The same thing occurred in several spots between Miriam Vale and Gin Gin about a month ago during another rain bomb and speed limits were lowered. At the time, the contractor for highway repairs for the damaged stretches were pumping flooded quarries and storage yards just to get access to repair materials. But working around the clock, sometimes without much safety gear, most repairs were finished within a week. Feb last year, the northern end of the Newell was just as damaged.
Ivan 01 said
09:54 AM Jul 10, 2022
My thoughts on road construction is that we, the tax payers, are paying for the construction of these roads so lets have them built to a proper standard in the first place.
I have been quite familiar through observation with the re construction around Proserpine and Bowen and further north and I have never seen a pug mill or the use of any CTCR. or a paver to lay the CTCR product prior to final trim and sealing.
Even heavy vibrating compaction equipment appears scarce in most sections.
I have seen a grader with a laser level on the blade which is good as it helps to eliminate a final trim operator but you cant polish a turd, if whats underneath is no good then getting it level and sealing it with bitumen wont hack it on the modern highway.
Clarky 1 said
02:47 PM Jul 10, 2022
There was some comments the other day on the highway south of Bowen.
It must have been deleted I think.
That roadwork section is dangerous.
I drove it in the rain last Tuesday.
The rain was relenting and so were the potholes.
Most vehicles were having trouble particularly when it got dark.
Confusing visibility with flashing orange lights from road works vehicles being confused with flashing hazard lights from the last vehicle on the queue at the traffic control stop and go lights.
Then the roadworks staff up and down deviations or main sections with orange lights flashing as well in heavy rain is just asking for disaster.
Couple this with poor temporary road markings and some vehicles with badly adjusted headlights was not helping either.
It was a game of pick which white line to follow.
Fortunately most vehicles slowed up to well under posted speed signs probably in the hope that they may spot the next pothole before they disappeared down it.
From what I see generally I dont think our taxes are being spent wisely at all.
Because I have spent much time in the outback I don't generally take too much notice when people start bleating about road conditions, but these holes are beyond funny. At the very least they should be filled with a bit of plant mix until more permanent patching can be undertaken as those holes are big enough to rip the suspension out of small vehicles. Had I been there I would likely have shovelled metal from the verges into the holes as a stop gap measure. When were these photos taken Ivan? Cheers
Those pics were taken last Wednesday afternoon.
Some repairs could have already been done.
Fill the hole with hot mix and compact it with a Wacker plate.
This usually involves 30 workers,
a traffic control sub contractor which will account for another dozen workers,
2 engineers,
2 dirt bosses,
6 foremen,
15 light vehicles,
2 subbies with 15 tonne tippers, for delivery of the hot mix.
a multi tyre roller just in case,
a float and prime mover with its driver to deliver the roller,
and two wide mouth shovels.
Did I say that they mainly try to do the repairs on Saturdays and Sundays because it is a possibility that the traffic may be lighter on those days.
It is the same after every rain event. The roads are just not good enough for the technology we have today.
I understand that Qld has the lowest standards in Australia for compaction, depth of fill and width of constructurd verge. Without the compacted verge the road will tend to push side ways hence the road failure. Until they improve construction standard instead of saving money we have to put up with substandard roads
Neil
I am sure that is the case Neil,
The Bruce Highway in Nth Qld is nothing short of a disgrace,
Even the traffic control in rework or new work sections are nothing But dangerous,
I am amazed how they close a section of highway, direct the traffic on to a deviation and then do nothing on that section for months.
I saw some weeks ago a contractor was reeling out imported fill ready for compaction with a farm tractor with a blade. The grader turned up about 2 weeks later.
I just cant believe it at times.
You show a good understanding of road-construction methods, Neil, but time after time we see the same mistakes being made. Seems Engineers don't understand or don't care that doing the same job several times is a lot more expensive than doing it properly the first time. Cheers
I have been quite familiar through observation with the re construction around Proserpine and Bowen and further north and I have never seen a pug mill or the use of any CTCR. or a paver to lay the CTCR product prior to final trim and sealing.
Even heavy vibrating compaction equipment appears scarce in most sections.
I have seen a grader with a laser level on the blade which is good as it helps to eliminate a final trim operator but you cant polish a turd, if whats underneath is no good then getting it level and sealing it with bitumen wont hack it on the modern highway.
It must have been deleted I think.
That roadwork section is dangerous.
I drove it in the rain last Tuesday.
The rain was relenting and so were the potholes.
Most vehicles were having trouble particularly when it got dark.
Confusing visibility with flashing orange lights from road works vehicles being confused with flashing hazard lights from the last vehicle on the queue at the traffic control stop and go lights.
Then the roadworks staff up and down deviations or main sections with orange lights flashing as well in heavy rain is just asking for disaster.
Couple this with poor temporary road markings and some vehicles with badly adjusted headlights was not helping either.
It was a game of pick which white line to follow.
Fortunately most vehicles slowed up to well under posted speed signs probably in the hope that they may spot the next pothole before they disappeared down it.
From what I see generally I dont think our taxes are being spent wisely at all.