5.7Traffic management provisions#

5.7.1General#

The provision of traffic management at work sites should at all times address the need to maintain safe and effective traffic flow that minimises traffic delays and the risk of off-site incidents and driver frustration.

Further guidance is available in TMWOR, with regards to methods for the assessment of impacts on traffic (available at http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au).

5.7.2Works restriction#

Work shall conform to the following principles unless approved otherwise:

Work on shoulder areas – in any section, is limited to one side of the road, or of a divided road's carriageway.
Vertical clearance – not less than 4.6 metres vertical clearance shall be provided from the trafficked surface, including any side-tracks or detours, to any obstacle.
The Contractor shall make the necessary arrangements and obtain the necessary approvals from the appropriate Electricity and/or Communications Authority in the case of overhead cables.
Length of 40 km/h zone – in sections of the project where the speed restriction is 40 km/h, the maximum length of roadway with a 40 km/hr speed limit, excluding tapers and acceleration zone, shall be in accordance with QGTTM Part 3 Clause 5.5.1.
Hazardous lift events – during the erection of bridge girders, deck units and other bridge components and/or while lifting and fixing street light poles and sign gantries, no traffic shall be allowed under or within the distance the lifted item could fall. Traffic shall be temporarily stopped or diverted while such work is carried out.
Specific restrictions on work which impacts on traffic – work which impacts on traffic is not permitted on:
Thursday before Easter
Anzac Day during the period from the day prior to Christmas Day until New Year's Day, both inclusive, and
during any other event deemed by the Administrator as set out in Clause 3.1 of Annexure MRTS02.1 to be a major commercial, sporting or cultural event, where the Administrator considers that such closure would cause an unacceptable level of disruption to the traffic operations associated with such events.

Prohibition Notice – the Principal is subject to a Prohibition Notice which restricts personnel from crossing multilane divided roads with posted speed limit of 100 km/h or greater. The Contractor is to conform to the requirements of this Prohibition Notice and at all times refrain from crossing these roads, without the use of lane closures or speed reductions.

5.7.3Traffic lane restrictions#

Lane restrictions shall conform to the following principles unless approved otherwise.

Minimum lane requirements – the minimum number of lanes to be maintained on a midblock section of road will be determined from:

the requirements of Clause 3.2 of Annexure MRTS02.1 which sets out the minimum requirements for various time periods and for various locations in the work site
the requirements of Table 2.4 QGTTM Part 3, or
where specified in Clause 3.2 of Annexure MRTS02.1, the required lane availability shall be determined through a traffic operational Level of Service assessment in accordance with the requirements of TMWOR Chapter 2 Section 3.

Where the number of traffic lanes is not listed in Clause 3.2 of Annexure MRTS02.1, recent historical traffic information shall be used to provide data for the assessments under b) and c) of Clause 3.2 of Annexure MRTS02.1.

The 24-hour traffic count information at the site is to conform to the following requirements:

be less than 12 months old
not be collected during school holidays, and
be undertaken on a day of the week which is expected to have the greatest traffic volumes.

The source of the traffic count information shall be documented and, in addition to confirmation of adherence to the requirements listed above, shall be provided to the Administrator upon request.

The use and interpretation of any traffic count information is entirely at the Contractor's own risk.

The minimum lane requirements to be maintained at an intersection, shall be determined as per method (A), (B) or (C) of Clause 3.3 of Annexure MRTS02.1.

Single lane reversible flow (Shuttle flow) – where single lane reversible flow (to serve both directions) is allowed, the Contractor shall maintain traffic flow under the control of traffic controllers, or portable traffic signals, in such a way that no road user is delayed in excess of the maximum delay specified in Clause 3.4 of Annexure MRTS02.1. In all cases, the length of one-lane, two-way operation shall be limited to one kilometre. See also QGTTM Part 3 Table 5.4.

Stopping traffic in both directions – the Contractor may stop traffic in both directions simultaneously only for purposes of construction of specific work and during the specific period stated in Clause 3.5 of Annexure MRTS02.1. The maximum delay to any road user shall be as stated in Clause 3.5 of Annexure MRTS02.1.

Specific periods where lane closures are not permitted – work under the Contract involving lane closures, stop / slow arrangements, or construction traffic entering or leaving any through traffic lanes, shall not be carried out during any periods stated in Clause 3.6 of Annexure MRTS02.1 and unless otherwise stated, such restrictions shall apply 24 hours per day.

Measuring traffic delays – where stated in Clause 3.7 of Annexure MRTS02.1, the Contractor shall undertake travel time surveys prior to, and following, any changes to the TTM provisions to monitor the impact of the activities on the road user.

Travel time surveys shall be undertaken as stated in Clause 3.7 of Annexure MRTS02.1. Typical periods during which delays shall be recorded, include during full road closures and during all road closures which require detours off site. Baseline traffic conditions and travel times prior to the commencement of works shall be measured for comparison.

5.7.4Traffic management for route alterations#

5.7.4.1General requirements for traffic route alterations#

A traffic route alteration refers to the act of closing one section of road and redirecting traffic onto another road. The traffic route alteration refers to the redirection task only and once traffic is flowing safely on the new road, the traffic route alteration is deemed to be finished. Traffic route alterations include redirecting traffic to and from:

a)the road under construction
a)a detour on an existing road, and
b)a side-track.

When specified in Clause 3.8 of Annexure MRTS02.1, traffic may be altered from its existing route via one of these means.

5.7.4.2Specific traffic management requirements for detours#

When specified in Clause 3.8 of Annexure MRTS02.1, traffic may be detoured away from the works via existing roads. Detours that involve the diversion of traffic off the work site are not permitted, except for the express purpose of implementing a full carriageway closure to allow specific construction activities.

Any proposed detour shall be fully documented in the TMP and the relevant TGS. The Contractor shall provide details within the TMP to demonstrate that detours proposed for the purpose of implementing a full carriageway closure have sufficient capacity and are capable of supporting the traffic volumes expected during the use of the detour. The TMP shall show:

a) maximum extra length added to motorist trips
b) maximum extra delay for motorists
c) maximum number of hours for which a detour is to be implemented, and
d) any parking or other restrictions required to accommodate the detour.

The Contractor shall liaise with and make all necessary arrangements with the relevant Local Government(s) and/or other authorities concerned. These arrangements shall include making provision for such matters as the issuing of public notices in respect of the detour and ensuring the classification and condition of the roads concerned, are adequate for the volume and composition of traffic to be detoured.

5.7.5Over dimension, over weight and dangerous goods vehicles#

The Contractor shall not reduce pre-existing provisions for the movement of heavy vehicles including over dimension, over weight and dangerous goods vehicles that have approval from the Administrator and/or other relevant Authorities.

5.7.6Access to private property#

Existing accesses to private properties affected by the work shall be maintained in useable condition during the construction, or alternative access arrangements acceptable to the property owners / tenants shall be made. The Contractor shall permit and provide for the free movement of traffic in and out of the properties at all times, except as otherwise agreed to by the property owners / tenants.

The Contractor shall, at no expense to the Principal, make good any damage to accesses to private properties which results from the Contractor's operations during the construction of the work under the Contract.

5.7.7Vulnerable road user movements#

Vulnerable road users (VRUs) include pedestrians (children, elderly, persons with a disability, cyclists and motorcyclists. Works that impact the road, road shoulder, bike lanes, crossings or pathways, are likely to impact on these users.

Where VRUs are present, it is necessary to provide for VRU access through past, or around portions of the work under the Contract, the Contractor shall provide such temporary VRU facilities as necessary, in accordance with the requirements of the QGTTM Parts 2 and 3 and the clauses following.

The following additional resources are available regarding the management and protection of vulnerable road users:

Austroads Crossing Selection tool
Transport and Main Roads' Cycling and Pedestrian training for planners and managers, and
Cyclist and pedestrian safety at roadworks training.

5.7.7.1Pedestrians#

Pathways shall be clearly delineated, signed and fenced to prevent unintended access to the remainder of the work under the Contract. Tapes, including flag tapes, shall not be used as containment fences for VRUs (QGTTM Part 3). Signs shall be provided adjacent to the pathway to clearly indicate that access to the remainder of the work under the Contract is prohibited.

Adequate illumination shall be provided during all periods of darkness.

Where pedestrian infrastructure / routing has been impacted by the works, alternative routes shall be provided with a firm suitably skid resistant surface and no trip hazards.

Pedestrians should be redirected to facilities (permanent or temporary) with a recommended minimum width of 1.8 m, or to the same scale and to the same width as any facilities for pedestrians that existed prior to the works (QGTTM Part 3). Routes should be free of lateral / longitudinal surface steps, where surface steps are present, they shall be managed in accordance with Clause 8.12 of MRTS30 Asphalt Pavements.

Accessibility shall be maintained to the same level as existed prior to the works. For example, temporary ramps at proposed crossing points.

Special provision for pedestrians may be required where the direction of traffic flow is opposite to that normally expected.

5.7.7.2Cyclists#

Cycle paths should be maintained as existing. Where cycle paths must be closed, cyclists should be redirected onto facilities built to the same scale and to the same width as any facilities for cyclists that existed prior to the works (QGTTM Part 3).

Where on-road cyclist facilities cannot be provided, the redirection of cyclists shall be subject to a risk assessment. If cyclists are required to be merged with traffic, the speed of traffic should be ≤ 40 km/h.

For alternative routes, or changes to existing routes, the following apply:

routes shall be provided with a firm suitably skid resistant surface, and
routes should be free of lateral / longitudinal surface steps, where surface steps are present, they shall be managed in accordance with Clause 8.12 of MRTS30 Asphalt Pavements.