Skip to main content

Paving on Algeria's mega highway

A fleet of 53 Dynapac machines is being used by a Chinese consortium to build the central and western sections of the 1,216km Algerian East-West Expressway. The consortium comprises CITIC and CRCC and was awarded the contract for the 169km central and 359km western sections of highway.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Craig Walker with staff from the Jiangsu Transportation Research Institute (JSTRI) after training on Cooper Technology equipment at the central testing lab in Oran, Algeria
A fleet of 53 206 Dynapac machines is being used by a Chinese consortium to build the central and western sections of the 1,216km Algerian East-West Expressway.

The consortium comprises CITIC and CRCC and was awarded the contract for the 169km central and 359km western sections of highway.

To help meet the tight schedule, tough conditions and remote locations, CITIC-CRCC opted to buy equipment from Dynapac. The new Dynapac fleet comprises 20 F141C pavers; a F182CS paver; 18 CC624HFs and 14 CC622HF tandem rollers. The machines are being used to pave and compact the base course, binder course and wearing course.

French asphalt mixtures and testing procedures have been specified, and the testing laboratories were equipped with large wheel trackers, automatic large roller compactors, trapezoidal bending machines and Duriez testing machines. Among those supplying equipment is UK company 5941 Cooper Technology.

"The French asphalt mixture design method is an advanced, performance-based asphalt mixture design method. French asphalts such as EME2 are expensive due to a bitumen content which is around 1% higher than in conventional mixes, but prove cost effective in terms of life cycle cost analysis," said Mr Jia Yu, Vice Chief Engineer at the Jiangsu Transportation Research Institute in China.

For high modulus asphalt concrete mixture, there are two categories: EME is used in base course and BBME is used in binder and surface course. The two materials are both used in the Algeria East-West Expressway with a wearing course of BBMA.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New Doha highway under construction
    March 18, 2016
    Construction is now underway on the New Orbital Highway in Doha, Qatar. This project is called The New Orbital Highway contract 2 and is one of the largest projects being delivered through the Qatar’s public work authority Ashghal. The work consists of the design and construction of 47km of highway with a five-lane dual carriageway for light vehicles and two truck lanes in each direction. It also includes six viaducts, 17 bridges and underpasses and a 320m cut-and-cover tunnel. This last is particularly
  • Efficient construction leads to quality roads
    November 30, 2012
    Technology to assist the installation of quick laying, yet top-quality, road surfaces requiring less frequent repair, thus limiting costs and the number of construction sites, is being sought by highways authorities the world over. The European Union devised project ASPHALT (Advanced Galileo Navigation System for Asphalt Fleet Machines) for satellite navigation and fleet management may have found just what such authorities are looking for. Within the scope of the ASPHALT research project MOBA, together wit
  • Advances with soil compaction technology
    November 25, 2019
    New advances in soil compaction technology will help deliver speedy construction to tight quality standards - Mike Woof writes
  • Underground routes for highways
    July 20, 2012
    Increasingly, and where possible, roads are being built in tunnels often for environmental reasons, writes Patrick Smith As part of the new M7 motorway development in the southwest of Ireland, the four-lane route crosses the River Shannon near Limerick, before it flows into the Atlantic. Centrepiece of the 10km long Limerick Southern Ring Road is the required tunnelling (675m long), which including the north and south entrance and exit ramps, means it will be 915m long. Completion of the work is planned for