Features

The use of recycled materials continues to be a key issue for asphalt plant development, but other advances are also being introduced to meet market needs - Mike Woof writes The asphalt plant market has been a focus for a series of technical developments in recent years. Warm asphalt solutions and new technology for the use of recycled asphalt have been high on the R&D priority list for manufacturers of both continuous and batching type plants. However, new developing technology is not the only driver f

A milling machine from Bomag has been carrying out an important portion of the work needed for a four-lane expansion of a busy route in Southern Germany Widening work has been carried out on the B85 route from Amberg to Pittersberg in Bavaria to boost its capacity. The 2.6km section was prioritised as being in urgent need of improvement by the Federal transport Ministry. Construction work commenced in mid-2017, starting with preparation works and the project includes a cloverleaf interchange to connect t

Equipment from Wirtgen has played a key role in the rehabilitation of a major route in Cape Town. The scenic Camps Bay Drive provides access to Camps Bay and Hout Bay Based on the project brief and geometric analysis, Camps Bay Drive required widening to cope with high volumes of tourist traffic and MyCiti buses. In order to minimise the impact on traffic, the design brief targeted construction outside the summer peak tourist season and also required investigation into shortened construction periods. The

Formwork and shoring are no longer isolated services that stand outside the design process of infrastructure projects, as Simon Dowd* explained In recent years, the roles of suppliers have changed as client and main contractors require more visibility and data from their construction sites. Due to the requirements of BIM - building information modelling - and the adoption of digital processes, it is no longer the role of a temporary works business to simply provide formwork and shoring. Simon Dowd said

Formwork specialist Meva is helping replace the longest motorway bridge, the Neckar River viaduct in Germany’s south-west state Baden-Wuerttemberg Work on the 1.3km Neckar viaduct, part of the A6 motorway at Heilbronn, should be finished by 2022. It is part of the A6 expansion project between the Weinberger junction and Wiesloch/Rauenberg. The project is officially the new Neckar viaduct BAB 6 at Heilbronn. Federal Motorway 6, the A6, is also known as the BAB 6. The 477km motorway starts at the French b

A major new road tunnel project is being constructed in Switzerland – Mike Woof writes Construction work is now underway in Switzerland for the new Belchen Tunnel bore, a project that has resulted from the country’s long-term infrastructure planning. The building of this latest tunnel is important for Switzerland economically as it will deliver an upgraded link for a major transport infrastructure connection. When it is complete, the tunnel will form part of the vital A2 route between Basel, in the north

Europe’s political patchwork is getting a low-emission zone overlap, according to Malcolm Kent* By now, pretty much everybody in the industry will be aware of the Low Emission Zone in London, UK. But awareness of similar European zones about to start or expand might be more patchy. The background to all of these schemes is the problem of air quality, particularly European Union rules setting limits on acceptable pollution levels. It was found some years ago that several member states’ cities, including

Partha Pratim Basistha took a look at the major exhibition showcasing solutions on safety, sustainable road construction and rehabilitation at the 18th IRF event Micro surfacing solutions was one of the major exhibits at the IRF exhibition among other products. Sharing details with World Highways on the utility of micro surfacing solutions, Debatosh Roy, director, Innovative Infratech from India said, “The solution is technically more competitive than hot-mix as it is almost 30% cheaper than the latter.

The IRF World Road Meeting 2017 was held recently – World Highways’ India correspondent Partha Pratim Basistha reports The 18th World Road Meeting of the International Road Federation took place between 14-17 November 2017 in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh at Greater Noida near India’s capital New Delhi. Close to 1500 delegates and visitors across the world - including India - from the road infrastructure fraternity participated at the global event. The Cross Roads meeting, coinciding with an ex

NCC Industry in Södra Sandby, Sweden has been using Sandvik’s latest screening media technology, the WX6500, for over a year The company reports that the first fine screening test panels are still in place and performing reliably. NCC Industry's Stone Materials division said that it has long chosen rubber screening media over wire mesh. The choice is crucial in Södra Sandby, where abrasive quartzite produces excessive wear on metal components. Yet despite its preference, the company said that it had stru

A new super-modifier is born from waste plastic in Italy and a soybean-based rejuvenator from the US spreads from its home market. By Kristina Smith The two bitumen technologies featured this month come from almost opposing sources. One emerges from the human-created plastic waste plaguing our planet, the other from a plant. However, both technologies have been created with the same aims: to increase the life of roads, saving cost and ultimately reducing the impact of road building on the planet. A coll