Skip to main content

Crack infill system ideal reinstatement solution

Overnight repair work on a major English motorway has avoided the major traffic disruption and significantly increased road surfacing costs that would have occurred if left untreated.
February 17, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Overnight repair work on a major English motorway has avoided the major traffic disruption and significantly increased road surfacing costs that would have occurred if left untreated.

The problem affecting a large stretch of the M42 close to Birmingham Airport and the nearby NEC Arena in the Midlands region was completed using highways maintenance products from 2314 Stirling Lloyd. It concerned fretted joints in the wheel tract to the road surface.

Faced with the prospect of completely removing the road surface if left untreated, Amey Area 9 (sole provider to the 2309 Highways Agency of management services and maintenance of the motorway network throughout the Midlands) quickly set out to find an effective and durable repair method.

Its search concluded that Stirling Lloyd's HAPAS [Highways Authorities Product Approval Scheme]-approved Safetrack Crack Infill system "was the ideal reinstatement solution." Based on an advanced, fast-curing reactive resin, this high-performance road maintenance system is designed to arrest further decay of the road surface by filling cracks or fretted joints, supporting the edges of the asphalt while preventing water penetration.

Given the stretch of motorway affected and the heavy traffic experienced along this route, Amey Area 9 understandably wanted to test the system on an initial 100m section of the road over a six-week period before committing to the full works. The Safetrack Crack Infill system proved highly successful, both in application and performance, so was selected to complete the remainder of the repair, approximately 17,000m.

To minimise disruption to motorists the works were carried out over a series of night-time closures between 11pm and 4am. Within this five-hour window, specialist contractor, Line Markings, had to set out the traffic management, prepare the crack, apply the Safetrack Crack Infill and remove the traffic control.

Despite the tight time constraint the system's simple but speedy application technique and its fast cure enabled the treatment of approximately 1,000m of motorway per night shift.

Line Markings was able to complete the works in under three weeks, one week ahead of schedule. According to Stirling Lloyd, so impressed was Amey Area 9 with the performance and speed of Safetrack's application that the contractor was asked to return a few weeks later and complete the reinstatement of a further 3,600m of the motorway.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • The MBT-1 from Mobile Barriers now protecting workers in the UK
    July 16, 2019
    Two giant US-made 21m-long mobile barriers are now keeping highway maintenance workers safe in England. The 16tonne barriers were made in by Mobile Barriers, based in Denver, in the state of Colorado. They have been deployed in the West Midlands region of England in collaboration with UK highways maintenance contractor Kier. With yearly operating costs of US$17,000, the MBT-1 can pay for itself with nominal usage, according to the manufacturer. This could be in less than two years with 10-15 lane clos
  • Road marking system providers’ latest technology in-demand
    April 3, 2014
    The latest road marking systems from leading manufacturers are in demand in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America. Guy Woodford reports Ennis-Flint recently saw its Third Generation Waterborne Fast Dry Paint with low VOC applied on a Portuguese motorway by Trafiurbe and F.L Gaspar, two of the country’s leading contractors. The line marking is said to have been applied in response to demands from Portuguese authorities for higher specifications of line markings across the country’s highway net
  • Roadtec machines rebuild key highway in Texas
    December 16, 2013
    In the middle of central Texas lies Blanco County, which is in the state’s Hill Country. West of Austin and north of San Antonio, the county is traversed by the Blanco River and the Pedernales River, and two major highways, US Highway 290 and US Highway 281. Because of the proximity to two major cities, the highways carry heavy traffic volumes and US 281 in particular was in need of repair.
  • Tensar’s Glasstex makes the grade in UK’s Smart Motorway upgrade
    February 27, 2017
    A Stress Absorbing Membrane Interlayer is delivering stronger, safer and more reliable surfaces for the UK’s M3 Smart Motorways project in the southern England.