VicRoads has published a new PBS Level 2B interactive map for heavy vehicle combinations
The Container Transport Alliance of Australia (CTAA) has welcomed route access improvements for higher productivity freight vehicles (HPFV) in Victoria.
The changes, which were announced in by VicRoads on Monday, are applicable across metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.
Operators with combinations up to 30.0 metres in length and 68.5 tonnes can access a significant portion of the arterial road network under an annual permit provided they comply with the PBS Level 2 standards.
The announcement came with the publication of a new PBS Level 2B map for cubic/volumetric heavy vehicle combinations.
One key aspect of the new network is the need for operators to obtain a permit (above and beyond an NHVR permit) from the over dimensional load (ODL) team within transport for Victoria to cross rail level crossings.
“This is because there’s a legal obligation for combinations longer than 26.0 metres to obtain permission prior to accessing a rail level crossing,” VicRoads heavy vehicle productivity acting manager Ian Mond explains in a correspondence to CTAA.
Director Neil Chambers says CTAA is working with state government and VicRoads to “achieve HPFV access at mass limits higher than 68.5 tonnes GVM, and the work needed to be done to upgrade roads and bridge structures to achieve this is well underway in Victoria”.
The map is based on research conducted by the National Transport Commission (NTC) that highlighted how longer, but not heavier, combinations can result in major productivity benefits.
The report was backed by transport ministers in May.
Victoria is the first state to publish such a map that focuses solely on longer but lighter combinations.
For more details read VicRoads PBS Level 2B (Cubic) Access Policy – July 2017, the policy that underpins this map.