Advice

by pure

18 Jan 2010

[1] As far back as biblical times inc. Greeks and Romans use was made of a natural material - mastic asphalt to waterproof,fill cracks, holes and generally construct with......some still exists today…

[2] Modern engineers, however, mostly persist in using "brown sugar" style quarried/coated material; full compaction is not feasible in restricted circumstances and poorly adheres once in place .... particularly if the hole has not been prepared well…… the result is often a combination of future water /freeze /thaw penetration plus ensuing traffic pressures soon cause the filling material to come out…… This provides endless employment for Local Authority gangs yet does little to properly address the problem... as a result up to 30% of road life is lost variously by reinstatements/potholes etc. which the motorist pays for wearing several tax paying hats as does the insurance industry whose premiums have to inevitably reflect the claims experience..further penalizing the motorist..

[3] Modern paving grade mastic asphalt is produced in a “warmed porridge” like state, includes high volumes of recovered hardstone (from planings etc.) plus the end product is also fully recyclable several times over, with a whole life well in excess of 100 years! It fills in a voidless compaction free manner. In too many cases the situation is budget driven….i.e. confronted with 1000 holes and having a £1000 then a £ a hole is the thinking instead of reflecting on the fact that it costs 10 times and sometimes more, the cost of any material placed in mobilisation costs, which have to be borne repeatedly when reinstatements fail..

[4] As it is, quality is too often ignored for the expedience of budgets - ironical given the state of the economy - to leave fallow a UK innovative solution that present work practices / budgets often chose to ignore......