A new work has begun in Essex in order to completely change the way public highways are resurfaced. The project is being undertaken by Ringway Jacobs and Essex County Council in Chelmsford.
Ringway Jacobs, which supplies highway services to Essex, involved in the project Eurovia UK and, in particular, their specialist asset management consultancy Jean Lefebvre UK (JLUK) with Iterchimica.
Key to the innovation is Gipave which is added to a traditional surfacing material, in this case, for the first time in UK, added to a hot rolled asphalt (HRA).
Gipave contains graphene, which is 200 times stronger than steel, making the asphalt far less susceptible both to hardening and cracking in cold temperatures and softening in warm temperatures. It also increases the elasticity and strength to reduce the wear, particularly under high loading.
Gipave further reduces environmental impacts and carbon emissions (up to 70%) as it contains a specific type of selected hard plastic, which is usually considered non reusable, avoiding less sustainable disposal methods.
As the Ringway Jacobs Managing Director said, innovation is the key to offering the highest quality and best value services to the clients.
It was a good example of collaborative work; we are glad to transfer our know-how to Essex!