Skip to main content

Asphalt paving innovation from Aggregate Industries

The firm developed this new surface course in a bid to match increasing traffic volumes on the UK’s road network. According to Aggregate Industries, this material can speed up road surfacing by more than 40%. There is a major need to repave many UK roads, with the country’s vehicle population having increased by 10 million in the last 10 years. This has triggered an increased need for infrastructure maintenance. But the time needed to carry out road repairs can cause major problems for motorists.
October 20, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
A low-temperature asphalt solution has cut paving time on a trial project in the UK

The firm developed this new surface course in a bid to match increasing traffic volumes on the UK’s road network. According to 2297 Aggregate Industries, this material can speed up road surfacing by more than 40%. There is a major need to repave many UK roads, with the country’s vehicle population having increased by 10 million in the last 10 years. This has triggered an increased need for infrastructure maintenance. But the time needed to carry out road repairs can cause major problems for motorists. The latest solution from Aggregate Industries is a low-temperature, 20mm, SuperFlex surface course that can be laid in a single layer at depths between 100mm and 130mm to achieve a minimum surface texture.

The SuperFlex surface material removes the need for two separate treatments, a binder course and surface course, delivering pavement treatment in one, saving money and time.

Aggregate Industries trialled the new SuperFlex in March 2017, resurfacing the A3 Kingston Bypass, one of the busiest roads in South London, as part of the London Highways Alliance Contract (LoHAC). The trial saw SuperFlex help reduce the time needed to complete the project by 55%.

Martin Freeman, Area Manager for the South East Contracting at Aggregate Industries said, “By using the new 20mm Superflex instead of a traditional course pavement treatment, the team delivered an astounding 43% time-saving. This allowed the contracting team to surface an average of 600tonnes/night – with an unprecedented 700tonnes surfaced on 15th March.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Bitumen additives raise environmental questions
    February 14, 2012
    New products, including additives, are coming onto the market to help reduce the cost of producing bitumen. Patrick smith reports. According to Eng. Paolo Visconti of Iterchimica, environmental issues and the health and safety of operators of manufacturing plants and workers laying bituminous mixes have raised long debates on the possible harmfulness of fumes which are emitted when heating these mixes at the temperatures (160-180°C) required for their production. "If, on the one hand, the effects on operato
  • Road recycling saves time and costs, reduces emissions
    February 13, 2012
    Stabilisers bring recycling improvements to roads in the UK and Armenia. The local road authorities near the UK city of Bath have saved nearly €250,500 on the cost of repairing a 400m long section of the B3110 Midford Road. This saving has been achieved by opting to recycle and strengthen in-situ the existing surface, instead of using conventional full depth pavement reconstruction.
  • Innovative low temperature asphalt and aggregate options and advances
    May 16, 2014
    Studies show the asphalt sector has options for materials use that can lower costs and emissions, as well as increasing the use of recycling One study in the UK led by the Carbon Trust and Lafarge Tarmac has found that low temperature asphalt (LTA) could be used as an alternative to conventional asphalt on roads. Conventional asphalt is made when aggregates and bitumen are bound together at temperatures of between 180ºC-190ºC. However, the trial found that the alternative is able to bond road materia
  • Skanska and Kraton boost RAP use with called SYLVAROAD™ RP1000
    November 23, 2017
    The city of Västerås in central Sweden is known as a centre for industrial automation and information technology. Innovation abounds here and with it comes strong environmental efforts – meeting carbon reduction goals and maximising the recycling process, for example. A road construction project just outside this picturesque city highlights such innovation.