‘Patrol grading’ is a key component of a $15 million-plus strategy that South Burnett Regional Council is undertaking to restore its unsealed road network.

The council adopted the concept as an integral part of its three-year plan, establishing a flying squad of road maintenance units which can respond quickly and efficiently to immediate needs.

Patrol grading has already resulted in the reduction of resident complaints, according to general manager, infrastructure Aaron Meehan.

Mr Meehan, appointed to South Burnett Regional Council in 2017, has experienced the concept of patrol grading to good effect on the neighbouring Western Downs region, with a road network of more than 5500 km.

“South Burnett Regional Council has used the RACAS (Road Asset Condition Assessment System) to determine the need to change its strategy across the use of its assets,” Mr Meehan said.

The GPS-based RACAS can be mounted to any vehicle to capture high resolution pictures every 15m and record road roughness data.

“RACAS found that most of council’s unsealed roads were in poor condition and that led to a ramping up of investment in road maintenance,” Mr Meehan said.

“Where council would have budgeted $1.6 million annually to a road maintenance program, it has now committed to a three-year restoration program which could be almost ten times that amount.”

Mr Meehan said four of council’s seven graders were now assigned to patrol duties.

All would be fitted by Komatsu with the Sharq P300 blade introduced on council’s new GD655-5 grader, to efficiently break up compaction while crushing less gravel, reducing the costly need to add new gravel to the road.