1. Removing Vegetation around posts

One of the problems that is inherent of the current method of roadside maintenance is that slashing does not effectively remove the vegetation from around roadside posts.  While this may sound like a trivial problem, this is a liability for councils and road authorities and therefore must keep this verge trimmed at all times.

Current Methods:

Currently during roadside maintenance, when the operator of the slasher approaches a roadside post, they simply manoeuvre the slasher around the post and continue slashing the strip.  The vegetation around the posts is then removed using one out of two methods:

a. Mechanically

In this instance, each post and guard rail is manually trimmed using a mechanical cutting device (usually a whipper-snipper).This is the preferred method from an environmental perspective as it mechanically cuts the grass, which in-turn decomposes. This process is incredibly time consuming and is therefore a very expensive process. In this instance, each post and guard rail is manually trimmed using a mechanical cutting device (usually a whipper-snipper).

This is the preferred method from an environmental perspective as it mechanically cuts the grass, which in-turn decomposes. Along with the expense of the process, the worker is completely exposed to potential collisions as they are often located on the side of busy freeways.

b. Chemically

In this instance, each post and guard rail is manually sprayed using a harsh chemical that restricts growth for approximately 2 - 3 months. This process albeit being a secondary process is fairly time efficient.  In some cases the spray is applied from quad bikes or it can be carried out from the safety of a vehicle.

The downside to this secondary process is that the chemicals are extremely harsh to the environment (with calls to industry to ban the process).  The process also requires traffic management due to the slow speed of the vehicle applying the spray which can be equally as costly as the chemical process itself.

2. Inefficient Secondary Processes

Performing the traditional method of slashing the roadside, a secondary process needs to be implemented to clear the vegetation around the posts or hard-to-get-to areas.  Due to this extra process, the efficiency of roadside grass slashing is drastically reduced as every stretch of road needs to effectively be covered twice.

4. WHS Considerations

There are lots of different brands of machinery that are traditionally used in vegetation management, with varying levels of consideration to worker’s health and safety.  Some of the common problems that are experienced are:

• Rear mounted slashers - causing the constant turning around of operator

• Workers that aren’t in protected cabin exposed to potential car collisions.

• Extremely hot weather conditions over long periods of time

3. The Use of Chemical Spray

The use of chemical spray in this industry is widespread due to it’s cost effectiveness compared to manual trimming.  There are however major adverse effects with the use of chemical spray en masse.  These adverse effects are being acknowledged by both councils and roadside authorities with some areas already initiating bans on its use.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE Detrimental effects of chemical spray

5. Traffic Management

Traffic management is a very expensive component of any roadside maintenance due to the high labour component.  Due to this high cost, a lot of ‘less than ideal’ compromises are made in alerting traffic on the road to the works being executed.  In the best case scenario, the vegetation management operations are followed by traffic management trucks with signage at set intervals before the works. In other cases, the signs are manually placed, collected and replaced along the roadside by the operator  as the works are executed.