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Leaving no stone unturned - The new direction in road maintenance… Traditional ‘dig out and replace’ road maintenance methodology might be big business but the technology is no longer sustainable either financially or environmentally. By proactively preserving the road surface and adopting new, more effective repair technologies, we don’t have to ‘pump’ ever increasing amounts of taxpayers’ money into treating the symptoms of road deterioration. Nor do we unnecessarily create millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions. The background The business of ASI Solutions plc is based on some very straightforward facts: ? The road network is the Government’s largest single asset – 683,000km of roads and footpaths, with 320 million tonnes of surface material; ? Road defects, such as potholes and crazing, have worsened by 70% in the last 10 years; ? Almost all local authority road maintenance budgets are unable to keep pace with the amount of remedial work that is required; ? Resurfacing creates 59kg of CO2 emissions per m2. With 94% of a road surface comprising long-lasting aggregates, it is only the failing of the 6% of bitumen binder (glue) that causes the surface degradation. Industry statistics clearly illustrate that our current approach towards road maintenance is outdated and simply does not work. Asphalt preservation Asphalt and other road surfaces do age. Every time we re-surface or lay a new road, we are happy to stand by and let it deteriorate. No council or contractor would dream of installing wooden ‘post and rail’ fencing without applying a preservative but we do it all the time with the nation’s largest and most expensive asset, our road network. The concept of asphalt and macadam preservation is very easy to grasp and sits comfortably within the framework of the Government’s asset management initiative for its road network. A proven asphalt preservation process, Rhinophalt, is now available in the UK where a single cost-effective application can extend the functional life of an asphalt surface for many years. And this innovation is not just for new surfaces; it can be used to halt further ageing on existing surfaces and can be re-applied every few years, just as we do with wood preservative, to provide a truly sustainable road maintenance solution. Rhinophalt is in the final stages of receiving Highways Agency approval (HAPAS). This particular process has been used in the US for 30 years. To date, in the US, it has been applied to 250 million square metres of highway and 17 million square metres of airfield. Asphalt and macadam road repairs Given the current degraded condition of our road network, coupled with diminishing maintenance budgets, councils will understandably have to ‘make do and mend’ for many years. However, this is also an area where new technology can make an immediate and permanent difference. HAPAS approved infrared road repair technology is now available and this innovation allows engineers, for the first time, to permanently repair potholes, cracks and utility trenches. This technology, known as Rhinopatch, is available without any of the health and safety implications or disruption associated with traditional road repairs, where the digging out and replacing of the old asphalt places growing pressure on our landfill sites and requires the need for the ongoing extraction of natural aggregates. Councils that already use the Rhinopatch process, find that repairs are not only truly permanent, but they can also, in many cases, treat two or three times the number of defects per day compared with traditional techniques. This makes better use of public funds and improves the driving experience and safety for all road users. Rhinopatch is unique in its methodology. It works by first heating the damaged area of road for a few minutes, turning over the then warm and workable existing material and spraying on a proprietary bitumen rejuvenator that chemically reengineers the existing binder. All surface materials are recycled in-situ to completely eliminate the traditional and wasteful practice of lorry loads of aggregate being tipped away and new aggregate being brought in to use in the repair. If this practice was eliminated from all the streets of London, it would save upwards from 180,000 lorry movements each year. As the infrared process makes use of the existing material to effect the repair, the requirement for new material is reduced by around 90%. The repaired area is then compressed into the hot surrounding road surface resulting in a joint-free patch. The final stage of the process is to spray on the Rhinophalt Gilsonite-rich preservative treatment that delivers the proven longevity of the Rhinopatch reinstatement. The repaired area can be re-opened to traffic within minutes. ASI’s road maintenance technology is not rocket science. It is a simple solution based on road engineering knowledge and a powerful ingredient, natural Gilsonite ore, a 99.9% mineral asphalt, which is harvested in Utah. When the Gilsonite-rich Rhinophalt material is applied to the road surface, it prevents oxidisation and the loss of essential oils and resins in the road’s make-up. It is also extremely resistant to traffic wear and tear. A recently discovered, and hugely important, benefit of changing to modern repair and preservation processes is the massive reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared with conventional repair techniques and resurfacing. To preserve the surface of our roads with a spray-on treatment every four to five years, rather than resurfacing the road every 10-12 years, reduces carbon emissions by 94%. To repair the road with the infrared, Gilsonite-based Rhinopatch process reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 76% when compared to traditional road repair processes. One of the biggest problems with traditional roadworks is that the damaged asphalt and surrounding surface is broken up by using pneumatic drills. This approach is noisy, slow, wasteful of perfectly good aggregate, and causes the often very severe problem of Hand Arm Vibration Sickness (HAVS or Whitefinger) in many road operatives. Rhinopatch does not require this noisy machinery and eliminates the dangers of HAVS completely. London, York and Stockport Transport for London recently issued a news release after its Streets team reapplied the preservative treatment, Rhinophalt, to the Chiswick Flyover following the success of the initial treatment three years ago. The flyover was built as a temporary one-way bridge almost 40 years ago to relieve congestion at the busy Hogarth Roundabout interchange of the A316 and M4, and was never designed to withstand the volume of traffic now using it daily. Previously the bridge, which has a very thin, poor quality road surface, had to be closed every six weeks for routine repairs. Before applying the preservative, TfL had any failed joints and potholes fixed with permanent and joint-free patches using the Rhinopatch process. By following these repairs with an application of Rhinophalt to the whole bridge surface, they have extended the life of the existing surface and significantly increased the intervals between bridge closures for routine maintenance and safety checks. Further north, the City of York Council adopted the Rhinopatch repair process earlier this year. They saw the benefit not only to their operatives and the environment but also to their road maintenance budget. This benefit was evident despite the initiatives they already had in place for recycling ‘waste’ aggregate. Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council was one of the earliest adopters of the Rhinopatch process. They have recently reported that Rhinopatch has been so successful they have simply run out of potholes. With conventional repair methodology there is a joint around the patch and this means water ingress and inevitable cracking. Without joints, water cannot seep beneath the surface. At the annual conference of the Institute of Asphalt Alliance, the Highways Agency blamed the major problem with the state of our roads to the ingress of water beneath the surface. In the London Borough of Southwark their use of Rhinopatch over five years has halved their patching costs. ASI – the answer Budgets are never going to be as big as ‘we’ all would like, so we’re going to have to find ways of working smarter and delivering more for less. Rather than answering the calls of traditionalists to ramp up the funding to maintain our roads, ASI Solutions argues for the use of available and proven products and processes to more than double the life of our existing roads for half the cost. ASI Solutions is convinced it will eventually see its processes widelyadopted by local authorities, contractors and utility companies. It is a reality that we can maintain the country’s most important asset for significantly less money than we are currently spending. Meanwhile, authorities try desperately, and fail, to stop roads deteriorating faster than they can mend them. The frustration of the general public and road users increases as the quality of our roads decrease. ASI has an answer.
Article Source: http://modirac.com
ASI Solutions is author of this article on Infra-red road repair . Find more information about Infra-red road repair here.
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