Marvel Engineers was engaged by Westera Partners to deliver a Road Safety Audit (RSA) on a 1.9km section of Steve Irwin Way in Beerwah, Queensland. Marvel conducted the RSA following the opening of the upgraded Halcyon Dales development access and associated road and footpath modifications.
The audit aimed to identify potential safety issues within the upgraded section and adjacent segments of Steve Irwin Way.
Marvel Engineer’s Senior Engineer Lachlan Raso undertook the RSA alongside Adrian Bitzios from ABTT Consulting.
The Audit
Before attending site, the audit team met with the project team to better understand the audit extents, purpose and existing issues. The team reviewed the provided design drawings, crash history, traffic volumes and surrounding environment to gain an appreciation of the community and road user characteristics in the vicinity of the audit site.
The audit team then undertook a day-time site audit, observing traffic flow in both the morning and afternoon peak periods. The audit team also conducted a night audit to assess street lighting effectiveness and the reflectivity of roadside signs and pavement markings. The audit team completed these audits in accordance with the Austroads Guide to Road Safety, Queensland’s Guide to Road Safety, and TMR’s Road Safety Policy.
Marvel developed an audit report, summarising the findings of the RSA and identifying potential treatments to address the safety issues identified. Marvel provided the report to the project team, allowing them to respond to the findings, providing any additional background information that may be worth noting in the final audit report.
Finalisation
Overall, the audit team were pleased to observe that the recently upgraded section of Steve Irwin Way was constructed to a higher safety standard than the existing roadway. Of note were the addition of auxiliary turn lanes, safety barriers, road lighting and improved culvert headwall end treatments. To accommodate all road users including pedestrians and cyclists, a new footpath connection was also provided as part of the access upgrades.
The final RSA report verified that the upgrades represent a meaningful improvement over the existing roadway and identified practical measures to further strengthen safety performance along the corridor.
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Read more about road safety audits in our Insights article.