Skip to main content

Italian highway link completed

A challenging road construction project is being carried out in Italy within a tight timeframe, with assistance from a new Marini asphalt plant. The project is for the Salerno-Reggio Calabria highway and the work has to be completed before the end of 2016. Local contractor Bulfaro is carryiing out the work to complete surfacing work to the Macrolotto 3.2; a 40km section of the highway between Laino Borgo and Campotenese. This section of the route is at an altitude of over 800m but the work was complicated b
January 24, 2017 Read time: 3 mins
A Marini mobile asphalt plant is playing a key role in the construction of a new highway in Calabria in Southern Italy
A challenging road construction project is being carried out in Italy within a tight timeframe, with assistance from a new 273 Marini asphalt plant. The project is for the Salerno-Reggio Calabria highway and the work has to be completed before the end of 2016. Local contractor Bulfaro is carryiing out the work to complete surfacing work to the Macrolotto 3.2; a 40km section of the highway between Laino Borgo and Campotenese. This section of the route is at an altitude of over 800m but the work was complicated by the fact that the road runs through the Pollino National Park situated in the Calabrian Apennines.

The Italian government set the tight time schedule for the work to be completed and Bufaro took on the surfacing work on behalf of CMB Ghella. The contractor realised it would require a highly mobile, versatile and productive plant for the job and opted to utilise the Marini XPRESS 2500 as a result.

The plant comprises separate trailer units for the cold-feeders, the dryer, the filter and the mixing tower with the hot elevator. A key feature is that the plant can be erected without the need of a crane, which was highly important given the location of the working area for this project. The mixing level is raised up by hydraulic jacks while the screen, transported at the back of the trailer to ensure the unit remains within transport restrictions, is winched on tracks into position above the aggregate hopper.

For this job the machine was specified with five cold feeders, two bitumen hot-oil tanks, one 30m3 self-erecting silo and one 25m3 mobile asphalt storage bin. The plant can deliver a maximum production level of 200tonnes/hour, with an average production over 160tonnes/hour. A high percentage amount of RAP can also be used through the recycling feed into the dryer drum and the mixer.

For this job the plant has already delivered 110,000tonnes of asphalt, comprising both binder and base. This was laid over two and a half months, with up to 10% RAP in the mixer and 20% in the dryer. Once the project is complete the contractor will have produced close to 200,000tonnes of asphalt, including base, binder and wear course and the project is well on track to completion.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Runway rebuild for key Bulgarian airport
    August 21, 2013
    Varna Airport in north-east Bulgaria provides an important international link for the country, with a runway rebuild helping improve capacity. The airport is of particular importance for Bulgaria’s tourist trade as it provides a major connection for visitors to the Black Sea coast. And the reconstruction work at Varna Airport’s only runway will ensure the facility is able to handle the area’s increasing visitor numbers. The project had to be carried out quickly and efficiently to prevent delays to f
  • Advanced asphalt plants being developed
    April 7, 2017
    The Fayat Group is developing its asphalt plant range with its Marini-Ermont product offerings - Mike Woof writes The Fayat Group is a major player in the global asphalt plant sector with its Marini and Ermont brands and is further developing both product ranges. The latest machines have been designed to cater to a wide array of customer needs, from large, fixed high-production plants to its compact super portable units, as well as from high sophistication down to more basic technology for developing mar
  • UK contractor operating sophisticated Benninghoven asphalt plant
    April 27, 2015
    A sophisticated Benninghoven asphalt plant is now in use by a UK contractor close to London - Mike Woof writes UK contractor FM Conway is now operating a second highly advanced asphalt plant in the London area. As with the first unit supplied a few years ago, the plant was designed and constructed to FM Conway’s specific needs by leading producer Benninghoven. This latest plant is located to the west of London (the earlier plant is to the east of the city) and close to Heathrow Airport. Being situated
  • Asphalt plants looking at greener production systems
    April 11, 2012
    A wide variety of new equipment and technology to assist production at asphalt plants is about to be launched onto the market, while asphalt producers are continuing to look at greener working practices. Guy Woodford reports Lintec, in partnership with Loesche, recently created what they say is the world's first containerised Coal Mill Plant for independent coal dust supply at the jobsite which offers mobility and high economic efficiency through the substitution of gas or oil with coal. The mobile co