AI improving road maintenance in the Clarence Valley

• Project typeCivil Services

Clarence Valley Council is using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve how we detect and repair road defects across the region.

Asset AI® is a digital tool led by Transport for NSW (TfNSW), developed in collaboration with IPWEA Roads and Transport Directorate and Canterbury-Bankstown Council. The technology supports asset maintenance teams by improving the planning, management and repair of road infrastructure.

By enabling early detection of issues such as potholes, cracking and surface failures, the technology has revolutionised inspection and maintenance of the Clarence Valley’s extensive 2,475-kilometre road network.

Council has been utilising AI for both road and footpath inspections since July 2024, with integration into internal systems completed in October 2024.

Benefits

• Faster detection of potholes and road defects
• More frequent and consistent road inspections
• Improved road safety for all users
• Better use of Council resources and funding
• Data-driven decision making for maintenance planning
• Reduced need for manual inspections and road closures
  
  

How it works

Previously

To do an inspection, a staff member would drive along the road, get out to take photos, take measurements of the defect, record details manually, complete calculations to determine the defect’s priority, and enter all details into the system. The repair job would then be programmed, prioritised, and allocated to a maintenance crew.

Now

Using AI, the process is fully automated. A staff member simply gets into a vehicle fitted with a specialised, purpose-built data camera and drives along the road, while the technology takes care of the entire process.

For footpath inspections, Council uses a bicycle to cover the majority of the kilometres across the footpath and cycleway network, significantly reducing the time taken to complete an inspection.

The technology also creates interactive maps that enable staff to conduct customised searches for different types and levels of defects.

This means more of the road and footpath network can be inspected more frequently, with data able to be used more efficiently, resulting in better management of the network.

How repairs are prioritised

In an ideal world of limitless resources, every pothole, crack, corrugation, or surface failure would be repaired immediately. But in the Clarence, with an area of over 10,440 square kilometres and a road network of 2,475 kilometres, it just isn’t practical.

So, we have to prioritise. The Roads Policy sets out how we decide what to repair and when, based on five criteria:

• road classification
• defect severity
• workforce workload
• climatic conditions
• available funding
  
  

Read the Roads Policy that shapes how road defect repairs are prioritised.