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

  • Lintec developing novel asphalt plant solutions
    March 16, 2016
    Highly innovative, LINTEC’s new LEP 95 system is a new, patented warm mix asphalt solution. This can be configured to produce both hot and warm mix asphalt depending on demand at the job site. A major reduction in energy consumption and emissions can be achieved by the LINTEC system working in a temperature range of 95°C-100°C. This unitcan be fitted to new or existing plants and is said to produce a smooth and stable foam for an optimum mixing result at low temperatures, while it is reliable and has low ma
  • RAP extends road maintenance and construction budgets
    October 26, 2020
    As fuel tax revenue disappears in the pandemic, the city of Janesville, Wisconsin is seeing savings and performance benefits
  • Airport's high demands on asphalt and concrete techniques
    July 11, 2012
    Airport runway, taxiway and parking areas make high demands on paving requirements, both with concrete and asphalt techniques. Mike Woof reports. High quality surface finishes are required in airport environments for runways, taxiways and aircraft parking areas. Because of the speed at which aircraft take off and land and the massive forces exerted due to the weight of the aircraft, particularly during landing, runway structures need to be incredibly strong. The surfaces also have to be constructed to very
  • Advanced road recycling with Wirtgen
    November 4, 2019
    Wirtgen has developed its high-performance W 380 CRi cold recycler to meet requirements for roads requiring structural rehabilitation. This innovative machine is said to highly productive, allowing it to carry out structural road rehabilitation more quickly and with greater cost-effectiveness and quality than previous equipment.