Building a case for resilient roads in South Adelaide

More extreme climate events are increasing risk and costs to councils in South Australia. These risks can include bushfire, heatwave related morbidity and damage, coastal erosion, sea level rise and damage from storm surges, flooding and storms. 

The Resilient South is a collaboration between the Cities of Holdfast Bay, Marion, Mitcham and Onkaparinga that aims to strengthen southern Adelaide and build resilience in the face of a changing climate.

CSIRO, Value Advisory Partners and the University of Adelaide are working with the Resilient South councils to enhance their decision making and governance practices regarding asset management and investment. 

 

Phase 1 | 2022-2024 | Resilient Asset Management Project (RAMP) 

Research in recent years has found that a systems approach is needed to achieve resilience. This means thinking beyond the resilience of assets themselves to how the assets contribute to the resilience of the system. It requires consideration of how to strengthen the asset network as well as the place, city and region. 

The RAMP project assessed the suitability of market-ready and in-development products for assessing climate change risks to assets and the impact of these risks. It identified options to mitigate the risks and build regional resilience. This assessment led to the development of guidance and tools to build the capacity of council staff to understand and manage climate risk to assets. It also identified mechanisms for funding the preferred risk management approaches. 

 

Phase 2 | 2025-2026 | Enhanced Resilient Asset Delivery program (ERAD)

The current phase of work focuses on the City of Holdfast Bay and how to improve their asset management and investment practices with a specific focus on road corridor assets. Holdfast Bay is facing several urgent environmental challenges, including rising sea levels and increasing temperatures, which significantly elevate climate-related risks for road corridors and other essential infrastructure. These conditions create a meaningful context in which to examine adaptive governance, resilient asset management, and the enhancement of road corridors to ensure long-term functionality and safety under changing climate conditions. 

The City of Holdfast Bay are collaborating with CSIRO, Value Advisory Partners, the University of Adelaide and the Monash Sustainable Development Institute to enhance their decision-making and governance practices for increased resilience. It is anticipated that the Holdfast Bay case study will provide insights that are applicable to all Resilient South and other South Australian councils. It is anticipated that our collaborative approach with local councils will lay the foundation for the practical application of the ERAD tools and processes, leading to local government creating a more climate-resilient future for the region. 

This project is part of the broader Enabling Resilience Investment initiative led by CSIRO in collaboration with its partners. The ERI includes system-based approaches to enhance resilient planning at the regional level. This entails considering not only the maintenance and performance of individual assets but also emphasising the interdependence of these assets within the context of the locality, city, and region.