Products

Some friends in the US decided to turn a toy Barbie Mustang car into something rather more entertaining. The men fitted a Honda motorcycle engine and new driveline components, including go-kart tyres. This allowed a top speed of 115km/h, which it could reach in just six seconds, making it rather lively and spirited and also difficult to control. The vehicle is definitely not likely to be made road legal any time soon and nor is a model with a similar performance ever likely to be available from the original

Kobelco now offers its new narrow track excavator model for the 20tonne class. The SK210SNLC variant is aimed particularly at customers in the Alpine Region in Italy, allowing it to be transported along narrow and twisty roads. The model was designed following an intensive research programme that included consultation with the local market and customer feedback. According to the firm, this model offers the same lifting and digging capabilities as the standard machine despite its narrower track, which mea

There has been a steady increase in mechanical loads applied to road surfaces in the global highway sector. This stems from a combination of increasing traffic volumes, plus heavier trucks. To prevent roads from cracking up under the strain, it has required the development of innovative new asphalt mixes able to cope with the increased mechanical loads. As a result, the research sector and the asphalt producers have been working together to develop special asphalt mixes, which often require special material

A new generation plant from Ammann is proving useful for an asphalt supplier in India. The firm is using an Ammann ABA UniBatch asphalt mixing plant, which is utilising recycled asphalt in the mix. The firm, RKC Infrabuilt, is based in Ahmedabad, India. The machine’s ability to utilise recycled asphalt (RAP) in place of fresh aggregate is the key cost saver. In addition, the ABA UniBatch plant is also able to maintain high mix quality while repurposing the RAP. “The plant provides excellent asphalt mix,”

A project carried out by LYNCH, one of the leading contractors in the south-east of New England, provided for the placement and compaction of asphalt on a road near Douglas, MA. A BOMAG BW 190 ADO-5 was used on the 3km section being redeveloped; this was assigned to work on the 60mm thick asphalt binder course and the 25mm thick top layer. The special feature of the project was in the application of the WMA process (Warm Mix Asphalt – low-temperature asphalt). In the course of this process, additive is add

Caterpillar is introducing a new rubber tyred compactor designed for use on granular materials and all types of asphalt-mix designs. The firm says that its new CW16 pneumatic roller is available as a standard nine-wheel model with a 1754mm compaction width or as an optional 11-wheel model with a 2,132mm compaction width. The CW16 is designed for efficient performance on highways, city streets, county roads, lane additions, industrial sites, overlays, or other mid-size jobs. Depending on ballast used (inclu

Volvo CE is expanding its offering for the asphalt compaction market with the availability of a new model that features oscillation. The firm says that the DD 105 OSC is first of a new generation of double drum asphalt compactors from the firm that it says have been developed to deliver high compaction performance while offering a low fuel consumption. Offering oscillation type compaction is a major development for Volvo CE, a package that broadens the firm’s road machinery range. The advantage of the osci

Hydrodemolition is being used for repairing airport runways, making the process faster and improving quality. According to Aquajet Systems, its high-pressure water jets can be used for the controlled removal or scarification of concrete, as well as the removal of paint and rubber, leaving a fresh surface. The Aqua Cutter hydrodemolition robots are said to be highly efficient when working on concrete runway surfaces. The operator controls the high-pressured ceramic nozzles from a distance, adjusting the s

SunWest Construction Development Corporation has been using a concrete paver from Power Pavers at the new Bicol International Airport in the Philippines. The machine has been used to pave a runway, taxiways, and aprons for the US$105 million project underway in the Daraga municipality of Albay province in the Bicol Region. The new facility has been built as a replacement to the single runway Legazpi airport, which is located in an urban area where future expansion is not possible. SunWest used its Powe

The US-based specialist Asphalt Systems Inc (ASI) says that if used properly, its GSB products can maintain asphalt pavement condition for decades. The company says that field trials and studies support the asphalt life extension claims for the product. During the 1990s, an ASI GSB sealer was evaluated through two independent field trials in Oregon – Portland International Airport (PDX) and Mulino State Airport (4S9). In both cases, the sealer was applied as a part of a preventive maintenance programme, and

StreetLight Data, a mobility analytics company, has launched Traffic Diagnostics, a tool to better understand the causes of traffic jams and identify solutions. StreetLight said that the tool, which assists multimodal planning and travel demand management, is available to its customers in the US. The tool is an addition to StreetLight Data's InSight, a platform for turning big data from mobile devices into transportation data analytics. StreetLight’s Traffic Diagnostics offers an overlay that locates traff

England’s Staffordshire County has replaced speed detection loops at a busy junction with the AGD above-ground 318 Traffic Control Radar. The council, as with many local authorities, is avoiding in-ground detection wherever possible as a smart solution to wear-prone loops and magnetometers. “Because the road surface was in such poor condition where the [below-ground] loops would have been installed, the AGD 318 radar gave us an ideal, non-intrusive solution for detection,” said Martin Fenlon, principal si