Only the necessary pavement thickness depending on traffic and the climate must be applied to get a durable, cost-effective and sustainable road.
In Belgium, for a major highway (Class B1), the thickness of a concrete road and an asphalt road will be similar, but for lower traffic category roads (Class B5 and even B9) there can be larger differences. With a concrete pavement, the structural thickness will never be less than 180 mm, whereas with asphalt a lower minimum may be used either in staged construction or for lower volume roads.
More information on High-performance Asphalt Pavements - Watch YouTube Video
Increases in the European road freight transport, vehicles weight and frequency of extreme climatic events are deteriorating the European road network at an anomalously fast rate, bringing it close to the end of its service life and requiring more frequent maintenance operations. In this unfavourable scenario, road transport is also nowadays experiencing one of the greatest revolutions of its history, with the arrival of new users, such as the autonomous, electric and high-capacity vehicles, which will help mankind to fight Climate Change and increase road safety. However, all these new vehicles have also characteristics, which may reduce the durability of the road pavements. This third video of the EAPA Series “Generation Asphalt”, analyses the potential risks of the new mobility and how the asphalt industry is getting ready for the challenge.
From:
Winning with Asphalt
