A question that I get often asked is: “Is there a standard for designing mining roads?” The answer is that there is no such standard, and in fact, there are no standards for designing public roads either.

When dealing with traffic management and traffic safety (in general), some of the most relevant standards that should be considered include:

• AS 1742, Manual of uniform traffic control devices
• AS 1158, Lighting for roads and public spaces
• AS 1906, Retroreflective materials and devices for road traffic control purposes
• AS 2890, Parking facilities

In addition to the above, the various guides developed by Austroads (e.g Guide to Road Design, Guide to Road Safety, etc.) are considered to be de-facto standards in Australia. State road authorities also have standards and guidelines that apply to their roads.

The above standards have been developed for, and apply to, public road networks. Not all of their aspects will be applicable to a mining environment. However, by using these standards, where appropriate and possible, mining organisations can achieve a higher consistency across their road networks and provide a level of familiarity with conditions encountered on public roads. Consequently, mining companies are advised to follow these standards to the maximum practical extent.

It should be understood that if something has been designed to a standard (or a formal guide / manual), this does not mean that the end result will necessarily be safe. Standards are intended to be generic so that they can be used in many applications. Standards do not guarantee safety, but they are an important starting point and their application can remove many hazards.

Sometimes there are comments made along the lines of: “Ah, yes, but they have done this on the highway nearby.” Due to budgetary restrictions, road authorities do not always build and manage public road networks in accordance with the standards or best practices. If a feature exists on a public road, it does not necessarily mean that it is safe and appropriate.

Update: After this article was posted, in 2019 the Queensland Department of Resources published the Recognised standard 19 Design and construction of mine roads. Although this standard is legally only enforceable in Queensland, it sets an expectation for the design standards for mining roads in other jurisdictions as well (possibly even internationally). However, as always, standards only set minimum requirements. Mining operators can apply a different approach to the design of roads on their sites if they can justify that this approach is superior to that outlined in the Department of Resources Standard.