Adelaide Hills Council: Enhancing Community Infrastructure Through Strategic Road Management
Adelaide Hills Council, serving a population of approximately 40,000 across a picturesque region of South Australia, faces significant challenges in managing its extensive infrastructure portfolio, which includes over 10,000 assets valued at approximately AUD 800 million. Like any other geographically spread local government, council's commitment to sustainable development and community services was increasingly threatened by aging infrastructure, funding limitations, and lack of evidence based asset planning.
As the council assessed its road networks recently, it became evident that many roads were reaching the end of their lifespan, leading to higher maintenance demands. Limited financial resources would only further complicate the situation, making it difficult to prioritize necessary repairs effectively. This combination of challenges could not only jeopardize the safety and accessibility of the community but also hinder the council’s broader goals of enhancing quality of life and promoting environmental stewardship.
Recognizing the need for a comprehensive solution, Adelaide Hills Council engaged Modelve, a leader in infrastructure management software, to support its road assessment and maintenance strategy. Through the use of Modelve's advanced modeling capabilities, the council aimed to transform its approach to road management and ensure that infrastructure decisions were data-driven and aligned with community needs.
Key Takeaways
Modelve provided a tailored solution that included:
- Prioritization Framework: Establishing a decision framework to prioritise roads based on usage, condition, and safety risks, enabling the council to direct resources where they were most needed.
- Increased Funding Advocacy: Producing scenario storyboards that justifies funding programs based on target service levels, helping the council develop 20 year asset plans.
- Regular Monitoring and Assessment: Introducing national performance indicators for asset health, based on IPWEA for monitoring future performance and funding actions.
- Standardization of Condition Ratings: Using raw % data, not simply a 1-5 condition rating scale, for road assessments which facilitated fine grained prioritization of treatment actions.
The collaboration resulted in transformative insights for the council. Importantly releasing funding for maintenance on roads rated between 'Fair' and 'Good', so proactive maintenance can prevent further deterioration. Additionally, the modelling targets specific surface types, such as spray seal and asphalt, for tailored treatment approaches. Addressing these factors not only enhanced community safety and access but also aligned with the council's vision of financial sustainability.
With ongoing engagement through Modelve's software, Adelaide Hills Council has taken significant strides toward ensuring the longevity and reliability of its road infrastructure. Council next intends to integrate renewal, upgrade and maintenance cost – in order to develop more balanced budget scenario. Council will now extend the same strategic modelling capability to its other asset classes in order to use Modelve's unique capability of cross-asset optimization.
This partnership exemplifies how strategic data utilization can address pressing infrastructure challenges, ensuring that local government bodies like Adelaide Hills Council can continue to deliver on their vision of sustainable development and community engagement.
Adelaide Hills is also now applying Modelve’s modelling approach to support asset valuations in line with the new AASB guidance, specifically addressing unobservable obsolescence inputs — ensuring true alignment between finance and engineering.
