Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Michael McCormack officially opened the multi-million dollar National Transport Research Centre in Port Melbourne on Wednesday, September 5.

It will be the home of ARRB – the National Transport Research Organisation – providing a one-stop shop for Australia’s road and transport research.

ARRB (Australian Road Research Board) is Australia’s key provider of road and transport research to governments, road agencies and academia on issues like driverless vehicle research, road safety and smart city design.

Based in the Fisherman’s Bend precinct, Australia’s largest urban renewal project, the National Transport Research Centre features world-class research labs and more than 100 staff working on everything from driverless vehicles and road safety to new smart pavements and what smart cities of the future should look like.

The state-of-the-art workspace at 80A Turner St, Port Melbourne, was created by workplace consulting specialists Amicus, who concentrated particularly on successfully integrating technology into the workplace.

The new facility also contains 18 meeting rooms, including a large auditorium, and a purpose-built webinar, radio and video studio to help ARRB be at the centre of knowledge transfer within the road and transport industry.

Mr McCormack paid tribute to ARRB’s work, which will be furthered by the state-of-the-art facility.

“The George Jetson philosophy and visions of the future are happening right before us, and you at ARRB are front and centre of that,” Mr McCormack said.

“This facility is going to be front and centre of everything our nation is relying on (in roads and transport) with your world-class facilities.”

ARRB Chief Executive Officer Michael Caltabiano says the new facility will allow ARRB and Australia to further its research into future transport challenges facing the nation.

“Our aim is to build towards a connected mobility future for all Australians, and this new facility will allow us to provide enhanced, cutting-edge research to governments, road agencies and academia on all aspects of roads and transport,” Mr Caltabiano says.