Skip to main content

Retexturing crucial UK route

Contractor Balfour Beatty Mott MacDonald has used Klaruw’s advanced longitudinal grooving system, GrooveTex, to retexture sections of concrete surface on the M20 in the UK. The GrooveTex system improves and restores surface skid resistance by creating micro longitudinal grooves using closely spaced diamond-tipped saw blades at a predetermined width and depth. While being based on proven diamond-grinding techniques, Klaruw’s system is said to be optimised to provide significant improvements.
July 21, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Klaruw’s new grooving system has been used in the UK to improve skid resistance and boost safety for drivers

Contractor 1530 Balfour Beatty Mott MacDonald has used Klaruw’s advanced longitudinal grooving system, GrooveTex, to retexture sections of concrete surface on the M20 in the UK.
 The GrooveTex system improves and restores surface skid resistance by creating micro longitudinal grooves using closely spaced diamond-tipped saw blades at a predetermined width and depth.  While being based on proven diamond-grinding techniques, 2311 Klaruw’s system is said to be optimised to provide significant improvements.

Unlike traditional grinding systems, GrooveTex adjusts to and follows the profile of the surface. The surface levels after treatment remain the same as the surrounding surface, avoiding the need for removal and reinstatement of road markings, road studs or ironwork.

Productivity is also said to be higher, as the machine has a retexturing width of 2m, said to be the widest of any unit available at present. A full lane width can be treated in a single pass using two GrooveTex machines in echelon.  The benefits mean that the GrooveTex treatment is less costly than competing systems, according to Klaruw.

The technology has been tested successfully on the M20 and is likely to be used elsewhere in the UK, to boost safety for drivers. Unaffected by wet weather, Klaruw successfully completed the GrooveTex treatment within the specified timeframe and with minimal disruption to motorway users. The system also has the potential to reduce road/tyre noise levels generated by concrete.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • German Autobahn receives new concrete surface
    September 11, 2014
    Precision paving performance has been achieved on a major road project in Germany, using Wirtgen slipform pavers. The SP1500 and SP1500L models have been used to help upgrade a stretch of the BAB A9 Autobahn in Thuringia. The BAB A9 Autobahn is one of Germany’s most important roads, connecting the German cities of Berlin and Munich over a total distance of 529km. The route runs from Brandenburg through Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Thuringia and into Bavaria.
  • New developments are pushing the pace of progress in asphalt paving
    January 4, 2013
    New developments will broaden the asphalt paving market - Mike Woof reports. A new approach to materials could help address rising bitumen costs. Increased use of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) in road construction can cut a major chunk from paving costs, with an array of technologies now available. In the US, RAP is one of the most widely recycled materials and current techniques allow roads built with this material to perform well for all traffic conditions. Some European countries are also making widesp
  • Energy efficient cement testing solution
    February 27, 2012
    In determining the mechanical strength of cement, the European Standard EN 196 prescribes both compressive and flexural tests, so when Italian company Tecnotest designed its current generation of cement testing machines, the aim was to obtain highly accurate results over the full scale despite the wide range involved by implementing a dual scale in a single test bay, using load cells as dynamometers.
  • Quality assured with asphalt testing equipment
    March 15, 2012
    Equipment for checking out the various qualities required of asphalt in road construction is becoming more sophisticated