Asphalt milling, paving & compaction

Caterpillar says a new fume extraction system on its latest generation of Pavers will make working operations safer and more comfortable. The new system was recently demonstrated to customers at Caterpillar’s European paver facility at Minerbio in Italy. Independent French research is said by Caterpillar to show that a high percentage of fumes are removed or redirected from the leading construction firm’s new pavers, benefiting not only its operators but screed operators as well.

An innovative solution was put forward to support slip roads on a Dutch motorway. Patrick Smith reports. The 2010 opening of the A7 motorway extension on the southern ring road of the city of Sneek, The Netherlands, brings an end to local traffic misery. By using innovative Tensar Geocell Foundation Mattress technology over weak estuarine clay, MNO-Vervat Noord, the main contractor, constructed a key junction and its slip roads in weeks instead of months, with considerable cost savings.

Praslin, the second-largest of the Seychelles Islands with roughly 6,500 inhabitants, is a tropical paradise of white sandy beaches, dense jungle and crystal clear seas. Tourism is the island's main source of income, and luxury tourism at that. A road had to be diverted for a new five-star hotel and property development project which will create jobs for around 400 people. The road would have obstructed the residents' access to the sea. Sey-Afrique Exporters from Pinetown, South Africa, won the contra

Shem Oirere reports on plans for a major highway to Rwanda to other parts of Africa Construction of a 78km highway stretch that links Rwanda to the rest of Eastern Africa will start in May. State Minister in Charge of Transport Dr Alex. Nzahabwanimana said the contract for the US$54 million project has already been awarded to German construction company Strabag International.

Contractor FM Conway is working on a three year contract with Dover Harbour Board to reconstruct and resurface busy access routes and large vehicle parks within the port. One of the major factors for this contract being awarded was the company's strong green credentials. The contract is based around small and large individual paving projects within the Eastern Docks, which can range in time scales from three weeks to six months. The first phase of work, which started in early May, was to fully reconstruct

Special fabrics are often used in civil engineering works, including highways, to make soil stronger Geosynthetics have been used in roadway construction for thousands of years with natural materials being mixed with soil to improve quality and stability. While today's products are much more sophisticated, the principles are the same. For example, when used with soil, geotextiles (permeable fabrics) can filter, separate, reinforce, protect, or drain, and they are often made from polypropylene or polyester,

Naue Geosynthetics says its Secugrid offers a solution for a host of ground preparation problems, and for use in reinforced retaining walls. Secugrid is a geogrid made from extruded monolithic flat bars with welded junctions, for soil reinforcement in earth, landfill and road construction as well as in hydraulic engineering applications. Among its benefits are said to be its high strength and low elongation thanks to the extruded elements.

Geosynthetics have a wide variety of uses and these include providing extra strength in highway construction. Demand for geosynthetics in the United States alone is projected to increase 4.4% per year through to 2010 to more than 727 million m². Geosynthetics, used worldwide in the highway sector for strengthening, include geotextiles, geomembranes, geonets, geogrids, geosynthetic clay liners, preformed geocomposites, geocells and geofoams. The US advances will be fuelled by a recovery in nonbuilding constr

The ongoing Highways Agency A66 Carkin Moor to Scotch Corner project involves upgrading the original single carriageway to address safety concerns, particularly at junctions and crossings. Where differential settlement is threatening a remodelled junction, Tensar International's new TriAx geogrid provides an additional dimension of stability, saving design and build contractors Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering Limited (BBRCEL) the heavy time and costs inherent in conventional remedial solutions and

Using geosynthetics for soil reinforcement is highly effective but requires a high quality and trusted geogrid. When it comes to deciding which geogrid is best for a specific project, a number of product parameters must be taken into account. In the design of steep slopes, the most important parameter is the available long term design strength (Pdes). Recently, Colbond has significantly increased this factor for its high performance Enkagrid product, recognised with a newly updated BBA (British Board of Ag