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

  • Simex: Road Maintenance
    October 26, 2023
    In the world of road maintenance and paving, as well as construction, the issue of recovering material deriving from demolition and scarification is becoming increasingly urgent, with the dual objective of combining environmental protection with economic savings. Those who work in the sector are well aware of the huge costs of transporting and disposing of asphalt and material from demolition, as well as the costs for the purchase and transport of new raw materials to the site. Now, as never before, the sector features its own circular economy, particularly in regards to bituminous conglomerates: road paving can be recycled several times, in full compliance with the regulations in force.
  • New milling technology from leading players
    February 9, 2018
    Two major manufacturers, Caterpillar and Wirtgen, are introducing new milling machines. Both firms say that these new, high-production units will offer increased output compared with earlier generation equipment. From Caterpillar come the new PM820, PM822 and PM825 machines, which are half-lane milling machines able to handle full-depth removal of asphalt and concrete pavements in a single pass. The firm claims that these units are highly productive and highly manoeuvrable. In operation the machines weig
  • More investment needed for road maintenance
    March 13, 2014
    As the Northern Hemisphere recovers from yet another tough winter, the road system in many countries can be seen to have taken a heavy battering. Potholes abound in many countries, the legacy of cold weather, and this has been made worse by heavy rain that has caused widespread flooding and also damaged bridges.
  • New M90 surfacing in the UK gain praise
    January 8, 2013
    Early evaluation of surfacing work on the M90 at Rosyth – the first major application of Scotland’s new TS2010 specification – has earned positive praise. Transport Scotland’s determination to obtain pavement that is durable, long lasting and safe (especially in early life) is clearly apparent on the M90 just north of the Forth Road Bridge. Here surfacing has been carried out this spring to TS2010, a tough new specification designed to ensure thin surfacing pavements that work. And the initial prognosis is