Connect - 4 June 2021

Recycled road materials

The R2P Alliance has embraced our net zero emissions objective by using 8.5 tonnes of recycled glass as sand replacement for the subbase layer of the new heavy vehicle bypass road. The recycled glass was sourced from ResourceCo, a global leader in the recovery and re-manufacturing of primary resources.

The bypass road, connecting Pedder Crescent and Exeter Terrace at the Oxenham Street junction, will enable side-by-side comparison with sections that used more traditional materials. Respective performance will be assessed over a three-year period and may greenlight the use of more recycled materials in South Australian roads.

Recycling for infrastructure and road projects  is an important part of the State Government’s Climate Change Action Plan, which targets becoming a net zero emissions society by 2050.

R2P’s Anna Kordahi and Joey Vu with ResourceCo’s Daniel Kranixfeld.

Call the slick busters

Staff from across the Department have recently completed vital emergency response training, with a particular emphasis on marine pollution emergencies. Given we are lead agency for maritime incidents that include oil spills, up-to-date training is a vital component of what we do.

The training came under the banner of the Australasian Inter-Service Incident Management System, AIIMS, is followed by emergency service sectors in all jurisdictions across Australia. This key group is now fully equipped to respond effectively to maritime emergencies in South Australia.

Participants in the emergency response training.

Staff spotlight is on …

Craig Stinear, aka ‘Oolie’ (a name that has stuck from when an old friend of his mother would refer to him as ‘Minya Oolah’ - small child) started with the Highways Department in a red Bedford truck in 1981. There was no air-conditioning for the Ceduna gang back in the day when looking after the Eyre and Flinders Highways, along with the dirt road network in the Penong area.

Oolie says he has a lot of great memories, but one regret: not carrying a camera to capture some of the remarkable, and sometimes bizarre sights from 40 years maintaining some iconic stretches of our road network. “I reckon there was a book in what we saw over the years,” he says.

Still on the job as a Surveillance Officer, Oolie remains committed to the condition of our roads on the Eyre Peninsula, Nullarbor Plain, Flinders Ranges and Stuart Highway to the NT border.

Oolie Stinear, way out west.

Moving forward on T2D

The Torrens to Darlington section of the North South Corridor project is progressing well, with Phase One ground investigations almost completed for the Hybrid Plus design: a combination of tunnels , open and at-grade motorways, as well as lowered sections and some overpasses at strategic crossings.

Phase Two investigations will see approximately 250 boreholes drilled and tested on the southern section of the project between the Anzac Highway and the Darlington Interchange.

The video below captures some of the passion of the team involved in delivering South Australia’s biggest ever infrastructure project.

Catching the action

Our video production team had a big role at this year’s SANTOS Aboriginal Power Cup, filming and editing 20 road safety messages presented by the competing schools in one day.

The football carnival, held during Reconciliation Week, culminated with curtain-raiser matches for boys and girls before last Sunday’s Port versus Fremantle game at Adelaide Oval.

As part of the carnival, schools create road safety videos which are filmed by our production team then judged by a panel of stakeholders. The winning effort was then shown on the big screen at Adelaide Oval before the AFL game, becoming part of our Think! Road Safety campaign.

Our On the Right Track team also ran a careers and driver’s licence advisory stand at the carnival ahead of the video production. Well done all.

Lights, camera, action at the Power Cup.

Friday Flashback

Today’s Friday Flashback shows Hackney Tram Depot in 1909, when all the trams were new and the system had just opened. The trams are in numerical order (1-24) matching the numbered tracks of the depot.

SLSA B 28639