Tensar’s Spectra Pavement Optimisation system at work in Durham

Tensar’s flexible and reactive approach to optimising pavement design has delivered cost savings on a project to expand a science and technology park in England. The US$6.7 million NETPark Phase 3A Infrastructure project in county Durham will see construction of a spine road and side roads. The road will open up 10.5ha of development land at the North East Technology Park. The ambitious expansion plans will create additional space for research and development companies which need room to prototype and scale
August 3, 2017 Read time: 3 mins
Tensar’s Spectra Pavement Optimisation system incorporates TriAx geogrid
340 Tensar’s flexible and reactive approach to optimising pavement design has delivered cost savings on a project to expand a science and technology park in England.

The US$6.7 million NETPark Phase 3A Infrastructure project in county Durham will see construction of a spine road and side roads. The road will open up 10.5ha of development land at the North East Technology Park. The ambitious expansion plans will create additional space for research and development companies which need room to prototype and scale-up to manufacture on site.

Tensar’s Spectra Pavement Optimisation system, incorporating TriAx geogrid, has mechanically stabilised the roads’ granular layers, enabling them to be built over the site’s weak and variable ground. The system mitigates the risk of differential settlement and reduces the amount of imported material.

“The TriAx interacted with the aggregate to create a mechanically stabilised layer, which increased flexural rigidity and allowed the total pavement thickness to be reduced,” said Craig Andrews, Tensar’s highways manager.

“The granular particles partially penetrate through the geogrid apertures, which confines and restrains the stone from moving both vertically and laterally. This helps to deliver road pavements capable of carrying anticipated traffic loads.”

Tensar worked closely with 1284 Durham County Council to develop the initial pavement design for the roads, which was adjusted once the CBRs were taken. On-site California Bearing Ratio – CBR - tests are used for evaluation and design of flexible pavement components such as base and subbase course and subgrades and for other applications (such as unsurfaced roads) for which CBR is the desired strength parameter.

“Because ground conditions are so varied, we finalised the optimal pavement design as the underlying ground was exposed and tested,” Andrews said.

This approach meant that, rather than using a one-size-fits-all design to cope with the weakest ground, thicker pavements could be used in these areas, while thinner sections could be used over stronger ground. As a result, material use was reduced and construction was faster and more cost-effective.

“We used three mechanically stabilised layers above the very weak ground, reducing this to two layers over slightly improved areas,” said Andrews. “Where ground conditions were more favourable, we were able to design the capping layer out completely and only a single mechanically stabilised layer was needed.”

A total of 10,000m² of TriAx was laid at NETPark by Durham-based Groundwork Services, which was working on behalf of main contractor ESH Group.

Tensar manufactures subgrade stabilisation and soil reinforcement solutions, including high-performance geogrid and geotextile products used in road, rail and other infrastructure.
Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Securing safer transportation infrastructure through non-destructive technology
    June 16, 2014
    Kevin Vine reports on the use of non-destructive testing for structural analysis of bridges Seven years ago, the overpass collapse in Laval, Québec that led to the death of five people brought to light severe issues with the state of the country’s bridges and transportation infrastructure. More recently, a crack in the Champlain Bridge to Montreal that forced over 160,000 commuters to find alternate routes to work reaffirmed a need for greater emphasis on early detection before a crisis occurs.
    Read More
  • Innovative low temperature asphalt and aggregate options and advances
    May 16, 2014
    Studies show the asphalt sector has options for materials use that can lower costs and emissions, as well as increasing the use of recycling One study in the UK led by the Carbon Trust and Lafarge Tarmac has found that low temperature asphalt (LTA) could be used as an alternative to conventional asphalt on roads. Conventional asphalt is made when aggregates and bitumen are bound together at temperatures of between 180ºC-190ºC. However, the trial found that the alternative is able to bond road materia
    Read More
  • Technology helps earth moving and paving
    August 18, 2014
    Located in Meeker, Colorado and serving the area for air transportation is Meeker Airport, a C-II general aviation airport. The FAA designation of C-II means the airport can accommodate aircraft with wingspan of less than 24m. Runway 3-21 at the Rio Blanco county-owned Meeker Airport had reached a point of wear and deterioration that required full reconstruction and upgrades to remain compliant with the FAA’s C-II requirements.
    Read More
  • Benefits of bitumen technology research
    March 15, 2012
    Bitumen technology is benefiting from years of research and development - Kristina Smith. On a 2.7km loop of road in Auburn in Alabama, US, a lorry driver drives his triple-truck round and round. During his eight-hour shift, he will have covered 544km, with another driver waiting to take over from him for the next shift. Their mission is to seriously damage the road. This is the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT), where sponsors from states and private companies pay to test out new materials and
    Read More

Highlighted Content