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

  • Construction materials and road design in East Africa
    June 25, 2013
    An envisaged shortage in the supply of angular rock or crushed stone in Tanzania and a determination to conserve the environment by Kenyan authorities dictated the engineering design of a multi-national road linking the two largest economies in Eastern Africa. Shem Oirere reports The cost of buying crushed stone or hiring a site for mining the material and the expenses of moving it from the crushing site to the project area, saw designers opt for an intermediate alignment and discarding of the inner and out
  • New Benninghoven plant in Norway
    March 21, 2023
    A new asphalt plant in Norway is helping to further the use of recycled asphalt in high-quality mixes for road construction.
  • Tunisia is benefiting from key highway expansion
    November 28, 2012
    Work is underway in Tunisia on the westbound Highway from capital Tunis towards the Algerian border. This 60km link will run from the town of Oued Zarga to Boussalem and the work is being carried out by Italian contractor Todini and local company Soroubat. The bidding process for the 100km highway from Gabes to Medenine is now being opened, while bidding for the 92km road from Medenine to the Libyan border outpost of Ras Jedir opened in October 2012. Bids for the construction of the 61km of peripheral roads
  • Austrian firm recycling materials with mobile machinery
    March 18, 2016
    An Austrian firm is recycling road materials using mobile machines supplied by Rockster. The R900 and RSS49 units are being used by Austrian specialist Neuberger to recycle materials from an array of construction and demolition sources. The products are then used in an array of applications including road base materials, earthworks and slope construction. The family-owned firm runs a large gravel pit in Ehrwald and uses its Rockster RSS49 scalping screen RSS49 for recycling construction waste and RAP. The f