A steady flow of new technology and systems is ensuring the highway barrier sector is seeing major gains in safety. Mike Woof reports A combination of technological development and tougher regulations are ensuring a constant flow of new safety barrier solutions for the highway sector. Issues such as containment and deflection are high on the technical agenda, while a wide array of technologies is being developed to meet specific needs for certain applications. Both in the US and Europe, an increased focus o
Machine manufacturers and construction companies around the globe are currently searching for ways to achieve the goal of climate-neutral construction. The challenge here is to successively reduce emissions of CO2 and other harmful gases (summarized to CO2 equivalents: CO2e) around the world to zero over the coming decades. In the road construction sector, this transformation is inextricably linked to the improvement and further development of production and working processes. In the future, machines and construction materials will also be assessed based on the climate-harmful emissions arising from their production and use. However, the focus should not be on individual machines, but on the entire process leading up to the finished product – a road. Ultimately, the decisive factor is the emissions generated per kilometer of newly built or rehabilitated road – the “CO2e per work done”.
Innovative materials testing technology will allow the road sector to boost pavement quality, Mike Woof and Patrick Smith report. With billions being spent on highway construction worldwide, governments are looking to make sure their investments last as long as possible.
Mention the letters MTV and most people will think you’re referring to Music Television, the firm that revolutionised the music video. But in the road construction sector the letters have another meaning: Material Transfer Vehicle.
Roadtec pioneered the MTV concept with its Shuttle Buggy, which it introduced in 1989. The concept was a novel one, providing a transition between the truck hauling the asphalt to the site and the asphalt paver. The idea of the machine was that it would provide a buffer system
