Features

Modern weighing equipment helps road operators tackle the costly business of road damage caused by overloaded trucks as Patrick Smith reports. Overloading of commercial vehicles has a major impact on the life expectancy of road networks. The cost of premature road failure and repairs is a major burden on many governments particularly in developing countries where this problem diverts vital funding that could otherwise be spent on health and education.

IRF's Washington Programme Centre provides an update on some latest developments in the 2010 Budget plan There has been further recent action from both Congress and the White House on budget plans that will guide the Transportation Reauthorization Bill for the next six years. On 7 May, President Obama proposed large increases for rail and highways in his 2010 Budget plan, including the largest amount of funding that any President has sought for Amtrak, or for the development of high-speed rail in the United

Concrete barriers offer a highway safety solution - Mike Woof writes. Concrete safety barriers are being installed on many of Europe's major highways, particularly for use as centre lane dividers. The strength and durability of concrete barriers can help reduce the risk of cross over accidents, one of several topics raised at a conference in Brussels on concrete highway barriers organised by the European Concrete Paving Association, EUPAVE. The conference was opened by Yves Deceoene of the IRF's Belgian ex

IRF BPC calls for more effective implementation of Noise Reduction Maps According to the European Union Directive 2002/49/EC relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise (END), the Member States of the European Union have committed to abide by a strict timetable of milestones and deliverables, all aimed at reducing current levels of noise and improving the life of Europe's citizens. As part of this overall strategy, European leaders were required to submit national noise action plans by

Carlos Jofré, technical director of the Spanish Institute of Cement and its Applications (IECA), introduces, on behalf of EUPAVE*, a sustainable technique to rehabilitate fatigued pavements Recycling of pavements is a technique whereby an existing degraded pavement is modified and transformed into a homogeneous structure that can support the traffic requirements. More specifically, it involves reusing the materials from the existing pavement for the construction of a new layer, including the pulverisation o

Borum Industri's BM350-2 and BM500-2 road marking machines, introduced more than three years ago, represented a major improvement in function and reliability for customers, says the company. While feedback from customers and Borum's own service and after sales department shows the machines have performed very well, suggestions from customers offered ideas for further improvements.

Research into driver behaviour has identified that driver safety and decision-making can be positively influenced by clearer and higher performing road markings. Patrick Smith reports. Bare roads will lead to total vehicular confusion. Markings are painted on the road to direct, guide and regulate the road user, and include all lines patterns, words and colours applied on or attached to the road surface or kerb for these purposes.

Special reinforcements can extend the life of an old or new road, and also offer environmental benefits. Patrick Smith reports. Asphalt reinforcement can extend the service life of a resurfaced road by a factor of 3-4, says Huesker, developers of the HaTelit range of asphalt reinforcement. Aimed at preventing the propagation of reflective cracking from an old asphalt layer through a new surface course, Huesker claims the formation of reflective cracking is considerably delayed or even completely prevented u

The 37th ASECAP Annual Study and Information Days held in Krakow, Poland, gathered some 300 road transport CEOs, experts and government decision-makers making the event "a huge success." Patrick Smith reports Toll road operators from across Europe have met to discuss the state of their businesses in the current economic climate and how to tackle it. Fabrizio Palenzona, the outgoing President of ASECAP (the European professional Association of Operators of Toll Road Infrastructures) and president of AISCAT (

Delegates from around the world discussed the future of global transport at the 2009 International Transport Forum in Leipzig, Germany In the face of the global economic downturn, transport will play a key role in supporting economic growth and in the creation of new confidence in the world's economic future, the delegates of the 2009 International Transport Forum (ITF) agreed. As almost all global threats have strong, central links and impacts, the transport sector will remain at the forefront of most glob

High speed, high quality concrete paving can be achieved in the demanding airport environment using the latest equipment. Minnich Manufacturing has developed a novel dowel pin drilling machine and has successfully tested this equipment at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida. The A-5SCW is a self-propelled, cantilevered machine that features a wireless remote control and is designed to install five dowel pins simultaneously. The control system has been developed by Wisconsin Kar-Tech and uses prov

Airport runway, taxiway and parking areas make high demands on paving requirements, both with concrete and asphalt techniques. Mike Woof reports. High quality surface finishes are required in airport environments for runways, taxiways and aircraft parking areas. Because of the speed at which aircraft take off and land and the massive forces exerted due to the weight of the aircraft, particularly during landing, runway structures need to be incredibly strong. The surfaces also have to be constructed to very

Petroplus Bitumen has been awarded the sole UK licence for the Low Energy Asphalt (LEA) franchise, and as exclusive distributor will promote how the technology can help to reduce the environmental impact of highways construction and maintenance in the UK. It offers asphalt manufacturers the opportunity to reduce their carbon footprints by achieving up to 50% energy and emission savings, while maintaining the appearance and performance of conventional asphalt. LEA involves the manufacture and laying of aspha

As overall traffic volumes increase, the contribution from commercial vehicles with increased axle loads is growing, putting ever more strain on roads and highway maintenance budgets. Highway authorities are looking for products that will be able to cope better and are more cost effective over the life of a road. Technical innovation is the only way to answer this challenge effectively, says BP Bitumen, one of a number of specialist companies involved in bitumen technology.