Strategic Local Government Asset Assessment Project (SLGAAP)

The NHVR’s Strategic Local Government Asset Assessment Project (SLGAAP) is an Australian Government funded initiative to optimise heavy vehicle access on the local road networks across Australia.

What do we do?

The project assists local government road managers to undertake heavy vehicle assessments of on-road assets, such as bridges and culverts. Through collaboration we deliver road asset data to support the development of the National Automated Access System, provide increased knowledge of local government freight network assets and support asset and road managers to improve road safety and productivity.

Who are we?

The Strategic Local Government Asset Assessment Project (SLGAAP) began with Phase 1 in late 2019 with $7.96 million in grant funding from the Australian Government. Under the Phase 1, 394 bridge and culvert assessments were completed.

Based on this success, an additional $12.1 million in funding was received in 2021 to continue the project over the next three years (Phase 2).  Phase 2, Round 1 commenced in January 2022 and is currently ongoing with Phase 2, Round 3 to be completed in October 2024.

A further round of funding of $6.55 million has been assigned to deliver Phase 3 across a further 2 years to 2026.  Phase 3 is due to commence in October 2024.

Phase 3 - Focus areas

Asset assessments

The NHVR will work collaboratively with the state road authorities to identify and approach priority local governments in South Australia and Victoria. Phase 3 will focus on providing bridge and culvert assessments which will complement the civil/traffic asset engineering function that many local governments have in-house.    

A priority freight vehicle routes approach will be used, coupled with asset geolocation data to identify which assets lie on the local authority routes that have the highest importance to heavy vehicle access and the freight task.  

A proactive approach will be taken to engage with councils on identified assets. This will not preclude local government making asset nominations.

eLearn - Training and education for local government

To further support local government in their challenging role as road mangers, we are developing eLearning training and resources in a new program called Access Essentials.

Access Essentials is centred around capabilities relating to bridge capacity and access decision making and includes the following critical topics: 

• The Role of the Road Manager 
• Bridge and Culvert Basics 
• Key Bridge and Vehicle Calculations 
• All about SLGAAP Asset Assessments  
• Key Tools and Approaches for Access Decision Making

Assessment guidelines

Through Phases 1 and 2 of the SLGAAP, the NHVR has developed a suite of guidelines to assist local governments to determine a reasonable estimate of capability of a bridge or culvert, as well assess their critical assets on priority heavy vehicle routes to enable whole-of-journey access outcomes for heavy vehicles.

The Asset Assessment Guide, which was developed by the NHVR to form the technical requirements for Phase 2 of the SLGAAP supplier contracts, is already being used by local councils to procure their own bridge and culvert assessments.

In addition, the NHVR is in the process of completing and publishing Assessment Guidelines which are intended to provide a consistent best practice methodology for heavy vehicle access decision making for local authorities in Australia. These include:

• AG1: Guideline for the Tier 1 Assessment of Heavy Vehicle Culvert Access 
• AG2: Guideline for the Tier 1 Assessment of Heavy Vehicle Bridge Access 
• AG3: Route Capability Assessment Guidelines 
• AG4: Methodology for Risk-Based Assessment of Heavy Vehicle Access to Bridges

National Automated Access System (NAAS) 

The National Automated Access System (NAAS) for heavy vehicles in Australia and New Zealand will be a single system intended to support road managers, road authorities, local government and third parties, in providing efficient access decisions, and driving productivity and safety across jurisdictions.

The NAAS will include interfaces with NHVR’s Portal and other applications. The NHVR Portal and National Network Map provides the seamless interface for the heavy vehicle industry and governments to undertake their journey planning and has been designed specifically to connect to bespoke systems. The NHVR is currently working with the jurisdictions to ensure different systems, including the Heavy Vehicle Access Management System (HVAMS) in Tasmania and Queensland, Heavy Vehicle Structural Assessment Permit System (HV-SAPS) in Victoria, and the Bridge Management System in Western Australia, to support interoperability with the NHVR Portal.

Through Phase 3 of the SLGAAP program, the NHVR will accelerate the collection of local government asset data in Victoria and South Australia and make it available in a format suitable for use by various systems.

The NHVR is committed to the development of the NAAS and is an active participant in the NAAS advisory group and oversight committee.

Support desk

Local governments are able to obtain advisory support through online channels and, from time to time, live support to enable local government to undertake assessment and related activities.

Asset Assessment Overview

Asset Capability Module

The Asset Capability Module is a self-service asset information system available via the NHVR Portal. Nearly 5000 assets have now been added to the Asset Module.

Priority Routes

SLGAAP Priority Heavy Vehicle Routes fact sheet (PDF, 299KB) - Priority Routes is a national map of heavy vehicle routes owned by local government, aimed at supporting the project in identifying and prioritising asset assessments.

This map is an important tool to ensure the project is funding engineering assessment for assets on priority routes that play a critical role in transporting freight and connecting regions and communities across Australia.

Vehicle Comparison Tool for Bridges (VCB)

To support access decision making by road managers and to improve heavy vehicle access to road infrastructure and to enhance the safety and productivity of supply chains, the NHVR have developed a Vehicle Comparison Tool for Bridges (VCB).

The VCB will provide the means to compare permit application vehicles against a pre-determined bridge capability with appropriate support.

The VCB will provide an interim means for local government to assess permit vehicle applications until the NAAS is rolled out.

For information on accessing the VCB contact the SLGAAP team.

Current project status

Phase 2 close-out

SLGAAP Phase 2, Round 3 commenced in September 2023. This round will see a further 400+ asset assessments and inspections on key heavy vehicle routes across 53 councils.

Upon completion of this stage, SLGAAP will have conducted over 1,000 engineering assessments and inspections across 109 councils nationally, fostering a deeper understanding of bridge and culvert capabilities and informing heavy vehicle access.

Completed assessment Phases and Rounds