Page 2114 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 28 May 1991
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MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND URBAN SERVICES
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTION
QUESTION NO 411
Road Resealing - Musgrave Street, Yarralumla
Mrs Grassby - asked the minister for Finance and Urban Services:
(1) Why has Musgrave Street in Yarralumla recently been resealed.
(2) How much did this cost the ACT taxpayer.
(3) Can you explain this expenditure during this period of budgetary restraint.
Mr Duby - the answer to the Members question is as follows:
(1) Streets in Yarralumla, including Musgrave Street, have recently been resealed as part of a program to maintain and extend the life of the ACTs road assets. Resealing minimises surface deterioration which leads to costly reconstruction work. Bitumen road surfaces deteriorate due to environmental factors such as sunlight, temperature and weather variations and also from the action of buses and heavy vehicles.
Once aged road surfaces have deteriorated due to the oxidisation of the bitumen, a. loss in flexibility and resultant cracking occurs thus allowing water penetration of the pavement. Generally, bitumen in lightly trafficked streets oxidises more rapidly than busier streets. .Entry of water into the pavement leads to pavement failure necessitating reconstruction.
(2) The cost of resealing Musgrave Street was $12,574.00. Due to the deterioration in the pavement, extensive patching works were required prior to the reseal. The total cost of patching works and resealing was $28,324.00.
(3) Records indicate that there has been no resealing done in Yarralumla since 1979 and the surface of Musgrave Street is at.least 15 years old.
To extend pavement life and minimise the frequency of major expensive reconstruction work it is standard practice throughout Australia and overseas to reseal roads at intervals of up to12 years. If resealing works are not carried out within a reasonable period, ACT road assets will deteriorate to a point where more costly works will need to be undertaken. The amount of patching works required in Musgrave Street indicates the advantages in reducing the current backlog in preventative maintenance.
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