Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) has released new research revealing the cost of digging a hole on taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects across Australia.
According to BYDA CEO Mell Greenall, the research found that the cost of digging a single hole before work begins on a typical civil construction project starts at $4,000 per metre.
“Once other pre-construction requirements such as traffic control, locating services and other mobilisation items are factored in, the cost for clients becomes $11,000 for one day’s work,” she said.
Such pre-construction work is essential. Before any major infrastructure project can begin, utility assets need to be located and identified to reduce the risk of damage and additional costs.
As the national not-for-profit organisation that operates Australia’s free pre-excavation referral service, BYDA advocates for utility damage prevention and safety.
“The reason we undertook this analysis was to begin tackling the issue and cost of utility strikes and, just as importantly, the productivity challenges that characterise a typical building or infrastructure project. Too often, we hear lots of talk about tackling productivity but no action. You can only manage what you can measure,” said Greenall.
“Excavation damage to utilities is a $5 billion a year economic problem, though our data strongly indicates it is likely three or even four times this amount. If this isn’t enough, governments actively budget for utility strikes occurring, in some cases by as much as 12 per cent. That is billions and billions of taxpayer dollars being deliberately wasted on preventable utility damage.
“Our aim is to identify the substantial costs and time sinks in granular detail so policymakers, engineers and contractors can make more informed decisions about public infrastructure spending and development and maintenance that delivers better value for clients, consumers and taxpayers.”
