Post Lockdown Activity on Bogong High Plains ?

[stry]

Wondering if anyone has noticed a big increase in outdoor ed activity on BHP ?

It occurred to me that outdoor ed groups might be trying to catch up on lockdown curtailed programs, leading to swarms of them all over the place.

Any observations ??

[Xplora]

It is generally too late in the school year to run these programs. Private schools close up early (thinking some have already) but there will be plenty of activity on BHP with post lockdown adults. Many of the school programs are run by private companies like OEG and I heard they had shut down for the year. Staff would be looking for other jobs so it could be hard for them to put a crew together for any program. Could be wrong. Mittagundi are not running any programs this year but plan to start again next March.

[paidal_chalne_vala]

Last Dec. in 2019 I saw swarms of trail runners on the BHP. They are taking over from us bushwalkers as the NO. 1 green season users of this region.

[stry]

Thank you both. That's helpfully comprehensive Explora.

[CaptainC]

BHP has become much more popuar since the road had bitumen put down.

[Xplora]

BHP has become much more popular since the road had bitumen put down.

That is one reason and it is growing. I was reading legislation the other day (as you do) and it appears the sealing of BHP road by the Alpine and EG shires may have been illegal. BHP road from the dam wall down to Shannonvale is part of the park. Some roads are excised from the parks but it has not been. Legislation prohibits any modifications to a road in a park which will increase its vehicle carrying capacity. Within 5 years of sealing it had hit the national blackspot road list. Almost every fatal and serious crash involved a motorcycle (one push bike and one car). The seal was done so poorly and on the cheap that it actually needs ripping up and is becoming more dangerous. I remember when it was dirt and under the control of the shires. It was pretty rough but nobody died.

[north-north-west]

Within 5 years of sealing it had hit the national blackspot road list. Almost every fatal and serious crash involved a motorcycle (one push bike and one car). The seal was done so poorly and on the cheap that it actually needs ripping up and is becoming more dangerous.

I shudder to think. Given the climate up there it needed to be done properly if it was done, but it was looking the worse for wear just after the first winter. Serious issues even in the few seasons I used it after the sealing. With an extra seven years under its belt ... *cringe*

[paidal_chalne_vala]

The BHP road from the Dam wall down to the Omeo Hwy. is deteriorating and needs to be ripped up and resealed PROPERLY . Every green season the Mt. Hotham road is given some kind of maintenance work which is necessary.
This does not happen along the BHP rd..

[Xplora]

The BHP road from the Dam wall down to the Omeo Hwy. is deteriorating and needs to be ripped up and resealed PROPERLY . Every green season the Mt. Hotham road is given some kind of maintenance work which is necessary.
This does not happen along the BHP rd..

The simple answer is the GAR is Vic Road managed and BHP is managed by two shires and neither want to spend money on it. Vic Roads handed it back to the shires and gave them some money for maintenance. There are a few different stories about what happened. Some say Falls Creek resort did not want black bitumen as it would heat up more and effect the cross country groomed snow track. The base for it came out of the tunnel which was built for the hydro scheme. It was close and cheap but it was also the wrong stuff to use as a base. The dirt road was not even graded before sealing and the seal was as simple as pouring on the mix over the dirt followed by a second seal. Drainage was never considered and major earthworks would have been more problematic as lengthy approvals would have been required. You can feel and see the corrugations in the road on some of the bends from Trapyard gap to the highway from before it was sealed. There is a section of road near Langford West camp which actually moves up and down like a water bed at the end of winter and that is just with my 80kg frame. This is the reason why the road does not open at the end of the ski season even if there is no snow on it. It has to dry out. Heavy machinery cannot drive on it to clear drifts, such as the big one near Cope, until it is dry.

As a part of the Federal Government blackspot funding program, EG shire was give a sum of money to make safety improvements. It spent the money painting a centre line on a road which is not wide enough to legally have a centre line and then put in orange road markers. All the white markers were pulled out. The reasoning for the orange markers is they are safer on a snow road. Trouble is they are covered in snow during winter and the road is closed. I suggested it would have been better erecting more railing on a few dangerous bends but that was rejected. A few weeks after my suggestion was rejected, a car went off the road on one of those bends and started a bushfire. I suggested a better way to reduce road trauma would be to reduce the speed limit. That was also rejected and it remains 100 kph. The Alpine shire management strategy is to not do any work and put up temporary hazard and speed reduction signs. Vic Roads is aware of what is happening and was trying to negotiate something when I last spoke with it but it seems to have failed. As you can see, I have intimate knowledge of the problem and have come to the conclusion it would be better for it to go back to dirt and also back to Vic Roads.

As for the GAR, every year it melts in summer and there are warnings placed for the Hotham area. How does Australia's highest road melt? Perhaps it is closer to the sun. There seems to be a problem there. In contrast, the Omeo Hwy was given $14M for upgrade and sealing. The job was completed before the scheduled time and $1M under budget. It was also done extremely well and the company took the time to get all the drainage sorted first. There are a few places needing work each year but that is normal. Sometimes the snow plough will cut a bit deep and damage the road but in general it is holding well on the new sealed sections.

I know this is all a bit off topic. Sorry if it breaches the code but it may help people to understand.

[Baeng72]

How does Australia's highest road melt? Perhaps it is closer to the sun. There seems to be a problem there.

It's such a small fraction closer to the sun as to be irrelevant. 2000m is a small fraction of 147.3 million Km.
The Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun in Summer, hence the more direct, stronger solar radiation heating the environment.
The atmosphere would be slightly less dense at the top of the GAR, but you're still well in the Stratosphere.
I think the road melts there for the same reason it melts near the sea. More solar radiation in Summer.
Happy to be shown wrong however.

[north-north-west]

Wouldn't the quality of the tar and/or gravel/tar ratios have a big impact on that?

[Baeng72]

Wouldn't the quality of the tar and/or gravel/tar ratios have a big impact on that?

Yes, you're correct.
I was just thinking about the effect of the sun on the road, ignoring other factors.
It would probably be multi-factorial.
Near sea level, some roads melt, some don't. It's probably a combination of road material, how the road was constructed, micro-climate (an area is particularly hot on a sunny day or receives more afternoon sun), and just being hotter in summer.

[peregrinator]

How does Australia's highest road melt? Perhaps it is closer to the sun. There seems to be a problem there.

It's such a small fraction closer to the sun as to be irrelevant. 2000m is a small fraction of 147.3 million Km.
The Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun in Summer, hence the more direct, stronger solar radiation heating the environment.
The atmosphere would be slightly less dense at the top of the GAR, but you're still well in the Stratosphere.
I think the road melts there for the same reason it melts near the sea. More solar radiation in Summer.
Happy to be shown wrong however.

I get the feeling that Xplora's delicious irony has not been perceived.

Icarus also had a problem with the sun.

[Baeng72]

How does Australia's highest road melt? Perhaps it is closer to the sun. There seems to be a problem there.

It's such a small fraction closer to the sun as to be irrelevant. 2000m is a small fraction of 147.3 million Km.
The Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun in Summer, hence the more direct, stronger solar radiation heating the environment.
The atmosphere would be slightly less dense at the top of the GAR, but you're still well in the Stratosphere.
I think the road melts there for the same reason it melts near the sea. More solar radiation in Summer.
Happy to be shown wrong however.

I get the feeling that Xplora's delicious irony has not been perceived.

Icarus also had a problem with the sun.

Ah well, after a dull, possibly misunderstood, joke about the media treatment of Button Man yesterday, I decided to play everything will a straight bat today. That'll teach me.
Consider me gotten.

[Heremeahappy1]

On ya Baeng, well taken. Roads rates and rubbish. Seemingly mundane yet so significant. What have the Romans ever done for us... The roads go without saying don't they.

[neilmny]

...................As for the GAR, every year it melts in summer and there are warnings placed for the Hotham area. How does Australia's highest road melt? Perhaps it is closer to the sun. There seems to be a problem there. ..............

This happened on the Maroondah Highway over the Black Spur. The new sections of surface were flowing and weeping at around 33 degrees.
Clearly a formula stuff up of some sort. The log trucks tore it to shreds in very short time. Driving on it sounded like driving through water.
Road surfaces are fluid, I'm guessing in the case of the GAR etc. the formula serves a purpose of protecting
the freeze from busting it up. The GAR seems to survive but the BHP road surface is complete crap (scientifically speaking).

[Xplora]

It's such a small fraction closer to the sun as to be irrelevant. 2000m is a small fraction of 147.3 million Km.
The Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun in Summer, hence the more direct, stronger solar radiation heating the environment.
The atmosphere would be slightly less dense at the top of the GAR, but you're still well in the Stratosphere.
I think the road melts there for the same reason it melts near the sea. More solar radiation in Summer.
Happy to be shown wrong however.

I get the feeling that Xplora's delicious irony has not been perceived.

Icarus also had a problem with the sun.

Ah well, after a dull, possibly misunderstood, joke about the media treatment of Button Man yesterday, I decided to play everything will a straight bat today. That'll teach me.
Consider me gotten.

Yes, as I was writing I was thinking who will I get. We are even now. The joke came from a comment made by a local to the area. It was going to be a very hot day and we decided to head up to Charlie Macs hut for the day as it would be cooler at the higher altitude. He actually thought it would be hotter because it was closer to the sun. He wasn't born locally so no jokes about that. He is from Melbourne. Room for plenty of jokes now.

[stry]

The road digression has explained to me why that wretched light coloured road metal was used on BHP.

I have ridden the the BHP and the GRA several times on a motorcycle, at brisk but (to me) sensible speeds, although not for a few years.

The drop down into Shannon Vale was always potentially treacherous because of the light colour. Made it very, very difficult to pick where the hard pack had similarly coloured loose stones laying on top and acting like marbles. The light colour seemed to take away the contrast that would usually make such things easier to see.

[paidal_chalne_vala]

It is only a matter of time until the BHP road becomes utter poo... and visibly begins to fall apart .It will be allowed to be slowly demolished by way of neglect. To formally rip it up would involves two shires agreeing on something , anything!.

[Xplora]

It is only a matter of time until the BHP road becomes utter poo... and visibly start to fall apart .It will be allowed to be slowly demolished by way of neglect. To formally rip it up would involves two shires agreeing on something , anything!.

It would only take one shire to rip up its section of road to dramatically decrease the amount of traffic on it. None of this will happen in reality and BHP road will not improve until it is handed back to Vic Roads. From another perspective, it may be good for the road to fall apart as that will decrease its popularity with motorcycles and push bikes. There are warning signs at Mt. Beauty to indicate the road is not suitable for caravans but that is largely ignored. Perhaps the other thing could be a blanket 40km speed limit which is common place in most parks. I would be happy for it to go back to dirt but it will never happen.

I have had a few trips up there of late and it is still quite busy. Pretty Valley camping area is now overrun with mountain bike campers. All the usual trail head carparks are full and cars are often parked on the edge of the road. People are parking cars in the middle of the road just to get out and look at the flowers. I am dreading my next trip over which will be towing a horse float with a young and nervous horse onboard.

If you know where to go then there are still some places you can get to and avoid the crowds but as I have said before, I will never mention them on social media. That would be the end of them.