Assessing our national highway network: highway reviews and AusRAP – a combined approach.

RAA conducts regular reviews of South Australia’s National Highway network and combines the information collated with the results of the Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP) to develop safety recommendations, identify road funding priorities and advocate for better funding for SA’s roads. The paper describes the AusRAP protocol and examines the factors that influence the Star Ratings for a road. Examples of highways within the state are presented to allow comparison of road quality between the Star Ratings.
The paper documents RAA’s highway review procedure which includes a visual assessment of the corridor and examines the pavement condition, geometry, infrastructure, roadside hazards as well as assessing the general ride experience. The paper discusses the importance and need to visually inspect the highway network periodically to bridge the gap of information between the scientific data and the motorist’s own perception of the road. The benefits and drawbacks between the two approaches are discussed to highlight the importance of adopting a combined approached when carrying out a highway assessment.
The most common types of crash that result in fatalities or serious injuries on rural highways are run-off road and head-on collisions. The paper considers the conventional counter measures used to reduce the instances and severity of such crashes. The paper also outlines some of the latest upgrades to the Dukes Highway to illustrate the level of benchmark RAA wish to see achieved across the National Highway network in South Australia.