Asphalt paving in island paradise

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
April 10, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The Vögele paver is coping with tough conditions

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 contract to build the new, approximately 1.5km stretch of road, and the company chose a 1194 Vögele paver for the construction work.

Temperatures of between 35-40°C with relative humidity of over 90% made this a physically gruelling job. The topography, with gradients of more than 20% and tight hairpin bends, was also tricky.

The small SUPER 800 which handles pave widths from 0.5-3.2m, was said to be ideal for the job. Its asymmetrical material hopper allows it to work close to the edges, even in tight bends.

To obtain asphalt on an island just 12km long and 5km wide, Sey-Afrique Exporters had to revive an old government-owned mobile asphalt mixing plant in order to prepare bitumen-coated material.

Although the mix did not meet the standard asphalt specifications, the SUPER 800 was able to produce good results with it. Combined with an AB 200 extending screed in TV version, the paver placed two asphalt layers on a roughly consolidated base. The first, a level-regulating layer between 3 and 12cm thick, was paved to equalise the considerable unevenness of the base. Then a 5cm wearing course followed.

Around 80tonnes of mix was paved every day for the roadway, which varied in width between 7.5m-10.5m.

Helmut Bethge from 2395 Wirtgen South Africa trained and supervised the paving team throughout the job.
Asphalt milling, paving & compaction

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Electric paving becoming a reality
    July 21, 2025
    Electric asphalt paving machines are becoming a reality – Mike Woof writes
    Read More
  • High performance, high mobility of wheeled pavers
    February 14, 2012
    New generation wheeled pavers aimed at use in territories such as the UK, Italy, South Africa and Southern Germany are now coming to market. Pavers in these countries are often expected to be driven from one part of a site to another or for short distances, which is why the additional mobility of the wheeled machine is preferred in many instances over similarly-sized tracked models. This preference for wheeled units comes in spite of the greater stability offered by tracked machines. BOMAG, Caterpillar and
    Read More
  • Fast and efficient asphalt paving for rural road rebuilds
    January 22, 2013
    The rural roads near Brandýs nad Labem, in the heart of the Czech Republic, may not be as heavily travelled as their counterparts in Prague, about 25km (15.5 miles) to the southwest, but they are nevertheless crucial pipelines to the rural and agricultural areas of the country. An assessment by regional authorities indicated that these roads are in need of repair. That led to cold planing and paving work on a series of rural roads near Brandýs nad Labem. Regional authorities have two key requirements: The r
    Read More
  • Bitumen technology ideal for road repairs
    July 4, 2012
    Mike Woof discusses some novel developments relating to bitumen In the developed countries of Western Europe there is an increasing shift away from new highway construction to maintaining and rebuilding existing roads. In Germany alone, a network of asphalt roads extending more than 600,000km will have to be maintained or repaired. Highway maintenance techniques do vary between European countries but some commonalities exist. There are techniques that have been sidelined in the last few years but which now
    Read More

Highlighted Content