Liquid Road Sealcoating in Australia

Sep 2, 2014

Banyule City, Boroondara City, Kingston City and Nillumbik Shire Councils
Surface Preservation Treatment on Local Roads

Location – Four local councils, VIC
Commencement
 – February 2012
Completion 
– March 2012
Type of Contract 
– Schedule of Rates
Contract Value 
 Approx. 165,000m² treated
Capability Groups
 – RNP

Overview
This project involved the application of Downer’s surface preservation treatment Liquid Road to over 100 residential streets across four Melbourne municipalities. These local roads were in generally good condition, however with the surfacing age between 15 and 25 years, they were displaying typical characteristics of bitumen oxidation including, environmental cracking and surface ravelling.

After quantifying the extent of this issue, Council’s Asset Engineers recognised the value of applying Liquid Road to assist in preserving and protecting their local roads rather than allowing them to deteriorate further. This application is proven to protect local roads against further
environmental distress for five to seven years, after which it can be re-applied.

Scope
“¢ Inspecting the nominated road to determine its suitability for treatment
“¢ Resident advice, on-going communication and traffic management
“¢ Application of Liquid Road
“¢ Management of after-care during the curing process
“¢ Line marking.

Project Challenges
Minimising disruption to residents, pedestrians and local businesses was a key challenge with unfavourable weather conditions also presenting a challenge at times.

How we managed this
Extensive communication with residents and business operators both prior and during works and detailed planning ensured limited disruption to all stakeholders, with work carried out in between morning and afternoon peak periods. Effective collaboration with our traffic management team, combined with the expertise of our field personnel and contingency planning minimised any disruptions due to adverse weather conditions.

Key Customer Outcomes
Downer provided advice to Council with respect to Liquid Road suitability and application rates. 
Brian Trower, Team Leader – Roads and Drainage at Kingston City Council comments:

“Liquid Road is a very good option for extending the life of road pavements with a limited budget. Like most Councils, we need to use our dollars wisely whilst managing a very large asset inventory. Therefore we need to be willing to look at using alternative treatment options to effectively manage these assets in the most efficient way.”