With the current climate crisis, it has never been more important to choose low impact environmental options to reduce your carbon footprint when maintaining and constructing roads and runways.
Fortunately, with new innovations in materials and techniques, it has also bever been easier to opt for more sustainable surfacing.
Here are three ways you can reduce your environmental impact on highways and airfield maintenance projects:
For asphalt surfaces that are suffering from latent defects or damage from cold temperatures and water infiltration, Rhinophalt offers a treatment that mends and preserves the bitumen.
Quick to lay, application can cover up to 40,000m2 within a handful of hours. However, the real advantages come from the results. When introduced into the asset management plan, the Rhinophalt preservation treatment can extend the life of the asphalt by 50%!
This makes it a much lower cost option than surface replacement but what’s the cost to the environment?
Very little! Rhinophalt boasts an impressive list of environmental benefits. Most notably, it provides a 94% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to traditional resurfacing. Read more about Rhinophalt
The latest Trackjet technology goes beyond the traditional rubber and line removal and can also be employed to deliver effective surface retexturing. It works by utilising the power of ultra-high-pressure water jets, which quickly and effectively remove lines and debris from roads and runways – without damaging the concrete or asphalt underneath.
With something this powerful, you’d be forgiven for assuming it would consume a great deal of fuel and water – but you’d be wrong.
Trackjet uses 70% less fuel to power the engine than other similar methods and only one-tenth of the water consumed by other customary water jetting systems.
That equates to just 2.5 litres of water per square meter. The machine can also work an entire shift without needing to stop and refill the water supply. Furthermore, it uses no chemicals in the water, making it more eco-friendly than other cleaning methods. Learn more about Trackjet
Longitudinal diamond grinding (LDG) is being increasingly used to improve the friction and acoustic characteristics of aged but structurally-sound concrete. This means that local authorities can improve safety and respond to noise complaints without spending out on expensive surface replacement or remedial work.
This not only brings advantages in terms of lower material consumption, as it avoids the need for quarrying and resourcing new material, it also utilises an environmentally efficient process. Other than a small amount of water for the diamond blades, the process doesn’t use any consumables or chemicals when cutting the concrete. It also comes with an inbuilt vacuum system which effectively removes residue leaving the surface clean and clear of debris and waste.
Results are excellent in terms of reducing acoustic disturbance from traffic, improving the environment for both the immediate community and neighbouring wildlife, too. Discover more benefits of Longitudinal Diamond Grinding
To find out more about low carbon footprint options for road and runway surfacing, contact Roadgrip.