››› Session 61

Defining Incident Management Requirements for the Melbourne City Link

Ken Daley - Executive General Manager, Operations, Transurban CityLink

Incident management is a major activity on all urban freeways and an area which has seen significant improvement over the past decade. Increasingly there has been a recognition of the safety, economic, environmental and operational benefits associated with a planned and purpose orientated incident response capability on our primary road network. Incident management has a number of elements which in combination integrate to provide a service to the road user. For the purpose of this paper, these elements have been defined as: * Identification; * Determination; * Response; * Management * Recovery * Review and Improvement The rise in the number of toll roads and tunnels operating in Australia's major cities has added a further dimension to the importance of a high standard incident response capability. However, this is not only related to the need to ensure that access to the toll road (and hence toll revenue) is maximised. There are driving responsibilities for directors and senior management of toll road companies relating to their obligations to customers and the community to provide a safe operating environment. This paper discusses the significance of these particular drivers and outlines how the operator and owner of Melbourne City Link has responded to their obligations.

››› Session 62

Incident Management on Infrastructure Construction Projects - Case Study: the Pacific Motorway Project

Robert Higgins - District Director, South Coast Hinterland , Main Roads Qld

Keeping the traffic flowing during the reconstruction of heavily trafficked highways is always a challenge as a traffic incident can quickly lead to congestion and subsequent road user delay. Whatever the cause of incidents, the effects are the same - road users delay, frustration and reduced road safety. This paper outlines the experiences of keeping the traffic flowing during the fast-tracked reconstruction of a 43 km section of the heavily trafficked Pacific Highway link between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Queensland. This project was opened to traffic in October 2000. The paper reflects on the development of an overall Corridor Traffic Management Plan for managing traffic flow together with a range of incident management strategies implemented on the project. A number of key indicators were developed to monitor overall incident performance.

››› Session 63

Institutional and Legal Issues in Establishing Traffic Response Units in City of Brisbane

Brendan O`Keeffe - Principal, Travel Demand Management, Brisbane City Council

In early 2000 Brisbane City Council saw a need for traffic response units in the field to improve the Traffic Control Centres incident management procedures. Traffic Response Units are common practice tool used in incident management around the world. A number of options were assessed ranging from establishment and staffing completely with Council resources to total outsourcing. The latter was the option that was adopted due to its advantages in flexibility of staffing, experience, culture, and the minimisation of risk to Council in handling vehicles. The Brisbane road system is owned and managed by two different organisations, Brisbane City Council and the Department of Main Roads. As there are some roads close within the 8 kilometre radius of the CBD owned by DMR, it was logical to offer to DMR the advantages of this facility, so that a seamless service could be offered to the motoring public. Obstacles that needed to be overcome included different cultures and approaches to road management and different legislative frameworks. This paper explains how these obstacles were overcome to enable a satisfactory agreement to be made.