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.

The project assists local government road managers to undertake heavy vehicle assessments of on-road assets, such as bridges and culverts. Working collaboratively with engineering consultants and local government road managers, the project supports councils to better understand their asset capability and inform heavy-vehicle access decision-making.

What is the status of the project?

Phase 2 commenced in January 2022 and is currently ongoing until mid-2024. 

Phase 2 focuses on four pillars: Understand, Prioritise, Enable and Educate.

  • UNDERSTAND - recognising strategic assets located on heavy vehicle road networks and the contribution to the local, state and national freight task. 
  • PRIORITISE - identifying assets on key routes for whole-of-journey network improvement and undertaking targeted asset assessments.
  • ENABLE - providing road managers with access to self-help tools, such as the bridge family framework to enable digital modelling and the Vehicle Comparison Tool for Bridges (VCTB) within the NHVR Portal, which completes Tier 1 asset assessments in minutes.
  • EDUCATE - delivering resources, tools, webinars and structured learning via the Knowledge Hub, which will support road managers and industry to better understand the relationship between asset capability and across a range of vehicle configurations.

Phase 2 initiatives

Asset assessments

During Phase 2 - Round 1, 71 bridges and culverts were assessed, bringing the total to date to 465. The commencement of Phase 2 - Round 2 was officially announced in Tasmania on 11 April 2023, advising that 125 local government assets across 33 councils are planned for assessment. This will bring the total assessments completed by the project to 590 nationally, across 88 local council areas. Each assessment includes an engineering report that enables road managers to better understand their asset’s true heavy vehicle capability and to support informed decisions on network access.

Asset Module

The Asset Module is a self-service asset information system available via the NHVR Portal. More than 4000 assets have now been added to the Asset Module and nominations for SLGAAP are now completed via the Asset Module to support road manager utilisation of the platform.

Vehicle Comparison tool for Bridges (VCB) 

Work is progressing on the Vehicle Comparison tool for Bridges (VCB) (formerly known as ARAT) with the stand-alone prototype now being incorporated into the NHVR Portal.

The VCB will allow road managers to quickly compare vehicles they nominate as being representative of bridge capability to other vehicles requesting access to the network.

The NHVR is currently planning a trial of the VCB with select Local Governments before progressing to a pilot with a broader group. It is planned that these trials will take place from June 2023 onwards. The NHVR looks forward to updating our partners with more information when the trial becomes available.

Priority routes

A total of 1986 heavy vehicle priority routes have been identified nationally on local government roads. The benefits of this activity include more targeted prioritisation and assessment of local government assets that deliver whole-of-journey improvements that play a critical role in transporting freight and connecting our regions and communities. Priority routes identified will be verified and amended through direct engagement with local government via collaborative workshops and events.

Find out how to get involved and hear the latest news on the SLGAAP Project website

What were the outcomes of Phase 1?

Phase 1 officially concluded in December 2021. During Phase 1, the project delivered 394 bridge and culvert assessments, working with 74 councils to better understand their asset capability and inform heavy-vehicle access decision-making. SLGAAP assessment benefits identified in Phase 1 included potential for improved productivity and efficiency for both industry and local councils.

What has the Australian Government invested in this project?

The project commenced in late 2019, with the Australian Government providing the NHVR with $7.96 million in grant funding over two years.

The success of our initial Phase 1 project delivery highlighted an ongoing need for bridge and culvert assessments across more of Australia’s road networks. In support, the Australian government provided an additional $12 million to fund SLGAAP Phase 2 for another three years.

Road manager webinars

To support road managers in undertaking heavy vehicle assessments of their bridge and culvert assets, the NHVR ran a series of webinars from July-August 2021

The recorded webinar series is available, covering the following topics:

  • Webinar 1 - The Strategic Local Government Asset Assessment Project
  • Webinar 2 - Basic Vehicle/ Bridge Interactions
  • Webinar 3 - Asset Assessment Framework
  • Webinar 4 - Tier 1 Assessments
  • Webinar 5 - Engineering Reports on Assets
  • Webinar 6 - Vehicles and Route Assessment
  • Webinar 7 - Applying Conditions for Heavy Vehicle Access
  • Webinar 8 - NHVR Portal Digital Asset Management
  • Webinar 9 - Pre-approvals for key routes

Video recordings of the webinars, slides and other resources can be found on the project website: SLGAAP Road Manager Webinars.

Further information

For more information on the NHVR Strategic Local Government Asset Assessment Project, contact the project team on roadassetproject@nhvr.gov.au.

Strategic Local Government Asset Assessment Project (SLGAAP) Phase 2 Round 1 - Information Sheet (PDF, 428KB)