Non-Transport Utilities Management and Design Manual
Background - Draft for consultationTransport and Main Roads has developed the Non-Transport Utilities Management and Design Manual to align to non-transport utility design standards within state-controlled roads. The alignment of the departments and non-transport utility design standards was to develop utility specific minimum design standards that attend to both the departments and non-transport utility needs in state-controlled roads. One purpose is to limit avoidable costs on future projects and reduce outage impacts to utilities' customers. We have conducted a review of the design standards for each utility type and respective objectives together with their interaction with relevant departmental guidelines, standards and requirements as they relate to state-controlled roads. The main items reviewed included:
The review of current and future requirements revealed some conflicts. The presence of conflict did not necessarily result in a view that the utility standard was inadequate. Instead, in some cases, it was resolved that the departments current documents (including TN163 Third Party Utility Infrastructure Installation in State-Controlled Road Technical Guidelines) may not have been specific enough, or in some cases the department's design standard contained more granular requirements that are not detailed in the same way in the utility design standards, codes and guides. Consultation to dateWe commenced the consultation process with Industry bodies and Committees in September 2023 by releasing a consultation paper and conflict register outlining items for review and inviting feedback. Following initial feedback, a draft manual was developed to support further consultation. The draft manual (2023) was a compilation of existing departmental standards, guidelines and policies with supplementary conditions relevant to the conflicts highlighted in each respective utility design code, guide and standard. Consultation is still ongoing. Consultation was extended to the broader industry with a revised DRAFT (2024) to contribute to the collaborative process for the development of the final manual. Important note: Concurrent consultation with Industry bodies and Committees is still ongoing via a separate process. The draft manual consultation has now been extended to end users (developers, civil contractors and consultants). Only relevant and constructive feedback / suggestions in line with the manual intent of collaboration will be considered. |
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Broader Industry Consultation
To download the DRAFT Non-Transport Utilities Management and Design Manual and have an opportunity to provide comments / feedback please request a copy via email [email protected]
This draft is not for distribution or implementation.
Consultation closes COB 7th April 2025.
While there is no opportunity of extension to meet the above consultation timeframes, this will not be the last opportunity to provide feedback or discuss the manual. The department revise standards and manuals on a regular basis and an email will be available for post publication for feedback and/or enquiries, in line with other departmental technical documents released to the public.
- Last updated 23 January 2025