Kris Croft: Road safety: starts with smart design

Canterbury Road Traffic Accident Trauma Charitable Trust recognised Dr Bryan Pidwerbesky’s role in helping people stay on the road. The recognition shone a light on an essential but often understated part of road safety.

Bryan, Fulton Hogan’s Technical Director for Pavement and Materials, was awarded the 2019 Canterbury Road Trauma Prevention Award.  

Fulton Hogan Chief executive Graeme Johnson said Bryan’s work brings something special to Fulton Hogan’s customers.

“They know that with Bryan on the team they have world-class expertise in road surface design and production. Many of the gains in road quality and safety across New Zealand over the past three decades can be traced back to the name Bryan Pidwerbesky,” Graeme says.

 The son of a highway maintenance manager, Bryan wanted to be a road engineer from the age of 10. With a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Masters in Science in Transportation and Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan, he came to Christchurch in 1986 as a lecturer in pavement engineering at Canterbury University.

Among his innovations has been establishing the first national laboratory for measuring PSV – polished stone value – to measure the degree and speed at which stones ‘polish’, and hence become less adhesive. As a direct result of this work all New Zealand quarries now routinely PSV test their stones.  

Bryan is also widely acknowledged leader in the research into recycled plastic and rubber in roads on both sides of the Tasman, for performance and environmental gains. This has led to Fulton Hogan’s leadership in this area with PlastiPhalt®.