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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
House of Assembly—No 67
As laid on the table and read a first time, 8 December 2004
South Australia
Roadwork
(Regulation) Bill 2004
A Bill For
An
Act to regulate the carrying out of roadwork that may have a severely adverse
affect on the flow of traffic or the conduct of business; and to create a right
of action in damages against an authority that carries out certain roadwork
without taking appropriate action to minimise loss to businesses conducted in
the vicinity of the work.
Contents
1 Short title
2 Commencement
3 Interpretation
4 Roadwork to which this Act applies
5 Preconditions to be satisfied before
roadwork to which this Act applies is carried out
6 Carrying out of roadwork to which
this Act applies
7 Right to
compensation for unreasonable interference with business
The Parliament of South Australia enacts
as follows:
This Act may be cited as the Roadwork (Regulation)
Act 2004.
This Act will come into operation 2 years after the day on which
this Act is assented to by the Governor.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention
appears—
council means a council under the Local
Government Act 1999;
road authority means—
(a) the Commissioner of Highways; or
(b) a council; or
(c) any other body that is vested by statute with the care,
control and management of a road;
roadwork means—
(a) the construction of a road; or
(b) the maintenance or repair of a road; or
(c) the alteration of a road; or
(d) any other work related to a road.
4—Roadwork to which this Act applies
(1) This Act applies to roadwork that—
(a) is likely to have a severe and prolonged
adverse affect on the movement of vehicular or pedestrian traffic; or
(b) is likely to harm (temporarily or
permanently) businesses conducted in the vicinity of the roadwork.
(2) This
Act does not however apply to roadwork if the roadwork is urgently required to
deal with an emergency or a problem requiring an urgent solution.
5—Preconditions to be satisfied before roadwork to which this Act applies is carried out
(1) A road authority must, before embarking on
roadwork to which this Act applies, obtain from a competent person or
organisation that is independent of control by the road authority a roadwork
impact statement—
(a) setting out—
(i) the likely effect
of the proposed roadwork on vehicular and pedestrian traffic; and
(ii) the likely effect (if any) of the roadwork on business
conducted in its vicinity; and
(b) containing recommendations for minimising possible adverse
effects of the roadwork.
(2) If the likely adverse effects of the
proposed roadwork are severe, or the roadwork impact statement recommends the
submission of the proposals to public scrutiny under this section, the roadwork
authority must publish a notice in a newspaper circulating generally throughout
the State—
(a) giving reasonable details of the proposed roadwork ; and
(b) stating that the roadwork impact statement is available for
inspection at a particular website or a particular address (or both); and
(c) inviting written suggestions (to be made within a reasonable
time stated in the notice) for minimising adverse effects of the proposed
roadwork.
6—Carrying out of roadwork to which this Act applies
In carrying out roadwork to which this Act
applies, the road authority must give effect, as far as reasonably practicable
and economically feasible—
(a) to recommendations for minimising the adverse effects of the
proposed roadwork contained in the roadwork impact statement; and
(b) if a notice inviting written suggestions for minimising
adverse effects of the proposed roadwork has been published under this Act—to
reasonable suggestions made in response to the notice.
7—Right to compensation for unreasonable interference with business
(1) If
a road authority fails to take reasonable steps to minimise adverse effects of
roadwork to which this Act applies on businesses conducted in the vicinity of
the roadwork, the failure is actionable as a tort by the owner of any such
business who has suffered loss as a result of that failure.
(2) In any such action, it is a defence for the road authority to establish that it has complied with its obligations under this Act in relation to the relevant road work.