Road repairs and demolition in flood aftermath
Many parts of Queensland have experienced disastrous flooding this year, resulting in wide-spread damage to properties, buildings and infrastructure, including roads.
While road repairs are underway, councils and road construction businesses must have controls in place to protect their workers and ensure the safety of traffic controllers. Traffic controllers perform high risk construction work and a safe work method statement identifying all the risks and controls must be prepared and followed.
No matter how big or small the pothole, and how much work is required to repair it, the same process applies. You must manage the risks to the workers repairing the roads and controlling the traffic during the set-up and clean-up phases, as well as while the work is being done. If you aren’t sure what is required, review the Traffic Management for Construction or Maintenance Work Code of Practice 2008 (PDF, 0.8 MB).
In some cases, buildings or properties may need to be demolished. Demolition work is classified as construction work. Some of the hazards involved with demolition work are falling structures or debris, operating mobile plant (sometimes in confined spaces) and airborne contaminants.
While demolition as a result of the floods may not be notifiable to WHSQ, a licence is still required to carry out the work and it must be done in accordance with the regulations for construction work. Renovations or repairs to buildings and other structures is also classified as construction work and must meet the regulations for construction work.