Gravel roads go under the microscope

An independent condition assessment of Gympie Regional Council’s gravel road network is set to commence on Tuesday 2 July 2019, with the work being awarded to independent contractor, Shepherd Services Pty Ltd.

The assessment is being undertaken as part of council’s gravel road maintenance practices review, which was adopted at the Council Ordinary Meeting on 27 March 2019.

Mayor Mick Curran said that the results of this assessment will not only assess the condition of the region’s gravel roads, but also allow council to compare the condition of its gravel road network with other councils. “The results of this independent assessment mean that we will have accurate data to be able to reflect on how well we are currently prioritising road maintenance works,” he said.

All gravel roads within the region will be driven on by a survey vehicle which is equipped with GPS, an accelerometer, gravity sensor and camera, which can be controlled by a tablet from within the vehicle.

The data captured during this process will be analysed and a detailed report developed for council’s review and consideration. “Our region has more than 900km of gravel roads, so this data will not only give us an immediate snapshot of the state of our gravel roads but also ensure that council can better respond to road maintenance issues in the future,” said Mayor Curran.

The assessment is expected to be completed in October 2019.