Western Australia adopts a whole of government state-wide strategy of road management. There is continuous pressure to ensure a satisfactory uniform service, justify and quantify road funding to Local Governments.
The State Road Funds to Local Government Agreement 2018/19 to 2022/23 commits funding to assess the condition of all regionally significant Local Government bituminous sealed roads. Under that program Talis was engaged in 2020 and again in 2021by the Western Australian Local Government Association to complete the following objectives:
- To perform an inventory and visual condition survey of all roads of Regional Significance.
- To analyse the survey and provide a structural, surface and drainage road condition indices for each road, Local Government network and for the regional network. The analyses could be used to substantiate project submissions, assess the present condition of the network, optimise funding allocations and track condition trends.
- To provide suitable video or photographic records that the Local Governments can use as a maintenance evaluation and planning tool and as evidence of asset function and condition when submitting claims for disaster recovery relief funding.
The 2020 visual survey of the Mid-West region incorporated sixteen local government organisations and the assessment of sealed road surface, unsealed road pavements, bridge and culvert assets, high speed data capture for all sealed roads, and associated reporting.
The data collected is instrumental in informing the condition of the road network to Local, National and State Governments.