Crossovers

Generally a crossover can be in any location that suits Councils adopted standards, these include the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia, Tasmania division (IPWEA), Austroads and the relevant planning scheme.

When designing and constructing a driveway and access, the details below should be taken into account:

Council has a range of sample technical drawings to assist you with the design and construction of your access and driveway.

If you would like further advice, or have any other questions please contact Council and we will be happy to assist.

Location

  • Where a property has multiple frontages, the access is to be from the road with the lowest class (smallest use);
  • The access must be located to allow safe intersection sight distance (SISD). This distance is dependent on the design speed of the connecting road and can be found on TSD-RF01-v1 of the Tasmanian Standard Drawings. Vegetation removal/thinning and localised site benching may be required to facilitate this and must be shown on the plans submitted with the permit application.
  • An access must be located no closer than 6m from the tangent point of any adjacent road intersection
  • Accesses must be located no closer than 2 metres from any AURORA Pole or stay and 1m from any Telstra pits or other infrastructure.

Construction

  • Construction standards are as per the Tasmanian Standard Drawings TSD-R09 for urban access and TSD-R03 and TSD-R04 for rural access.
  • An urban access (TSD-R09-v1) is required where there is existing or planned kerb and channel
  • Where the connecting road has a table drain, swale or evidence of water flow across the frontage, a piped crossing must be installed. This includes a minimum class 4 concrete pipe(s) and pre fabricated concrete end walls (In some circumstances, a shallow swale may be permitted in lieu of a piped culvert);
  • Where there is drainage infrastructure, guideposts must be installed adjacent to the end walls;
  • The access must be constructed with a minimum amount of cover over any pipe and on top of this cover, a minimum 200mm compact base course;
  • The pipe and adjacent drains must have a minimum 1% fall to allow for water flow;
  • The wearing surface must be constructed of the same type as the connecting road. i.e. If the road is sealed, the access must be sealed for a distance of 6m from the road edge;
  •  The access and internal driveway should be appropriately graded and drained so any excess run-off and sediment does not enter the connecting road;
  • The access must be a minimum of 3.6 metres wide and have 1metre flares at the frontage and this width must be maintained up to the property boundary. Internally, the driveway can be no less than 3 metres wide;
  • Any gate must be setback to allow for vehicle standing room off the road, generally 6 metres from the road edge. Also, the gate must swing into the property.

Generally

  • It is important to note that bushfire ratings will often require a specific standard of road construction (4c modified access road) for access and driveway construction, and this standard will generally be higher than the above. When in doubt, design and build to the higher standard.
  • The general principles above are used when assessing an accesses location and design for a domestic driveway. Whether it is rural or urban, caters for trucks or industry or many other factors will affect the criteria.
  • All works within the Road reserve require an Application to Carry Out Works within a Council Road Reserve as any activities within the road reserve, such as constructing or altering a driveway crossover require an approved permit prior to works commencing.
  • State roads within Tasmania are assessed by a different body, being the Department of State Growth. If you are unsure of the road asset owner, please contact Council who can guide you on the requirements.