Newly constructed low-noise asphalt surface fails

Questions are being asked over the construction of a new section of the A1 autobahn in Germany. The highway stretch is being scrutinised due to surface failures and lies close to the city of Bremen but has been open for less than three months.
May 15, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Questions are being asked over the construction of a new section of the A1 autobahn in Germany.

The highway stretch is being scrutinised due to surface failures and lies close to the city of Bremen but has been open for less than three months.

The road carries around 70,000 vehicles/day and its construction was intended to reduce congestion between the port cities of Hamburg and Bremen. Numerous potholes are reported to have appeared in the surface of the highway. Given the recent severe weather, failures of older road surfaces are expected but these problems should not occur on links that have been so recently completed.

The investigations will focus on how water penetration into joints could have already caused the freeze-thaw process to break up the running surface or whether other problems such as material segregation or incorrect mix design could have been factors. The low-noise asphalt surface is crumbling at various points along the 73km section recently opened.

Asphalt milling, paving & compaction Highway & Network Management

Related Content

  • Dutch road widening benefits from 3D software
    February 24, 2012
    Modern software is stretching traditional design boundaries on a motorway widening in the Netherlands, reports Adrian Greeman There was a time when civil engineering and aesthetics did not mix too well, especially on roads. The artistic ideas of an architect did not blend with the stringent requirements of structure. But modern three-dimensional modelling software is helping this change. Design notions that might have been overly complicated in the past are now attainable with hi-tech analysis tools.
    Read More
  • Duisburg double for lift specialist Sarens
    June 5, 2024
    Heavy lift specialist Sarens overcame challenging wind and water conditions during installation of two strategic road bridges - the Oberbürgermeister Karl Lehr Brücke and the Hafenkanalbrücke - in the German city of Duisburg.
    Read More
  • Spanish contractor Sorigué has the edge with VÖGELE SprayJet
    March 21, 2016
    Spanish contractor Sorigué, the first to use the SUPER 1800-3i SprayJet from Vögele, has pioneered paving thin overlays and the development of new mixes. The company won the contract for rehabilitating the surface course of the 3km-long dam, 10m-wide promenade in the Catalonian port city of Tarragona. Sorigué’s idea was to overlay the existing surfacing with a thin layer applied to a spray seal of polymer-modified bitumen. The spray seal prevents water penetrating inside the structure – a major advant
    Read More
  • Fast resurfacing work in UK by contractor Eurovia
    May 15, 2017
    In the UK the contractor Eurovia has recently carried out a challenging resurfacing job within a tight timescale. The firm had to contend with live traffic on a busy stretch of motorway, while carrying out the work close to shared intersections. The traffic was particularly heavy also during part of the job due to a holiday period and large numbers of tourist vehicles using the stretch of motorway.
    Read More

Highlighted Content