The motorway is the north-south connection from Basel to Chiasso. South of the well-known Gotthard Road tunnel, the 10km four-lane section of motorway is currently undergoing a complete renovation that will be completed in 2022 at an estimated cost of €236m.
Large quantities of gravel and asphalt were required for the project and, if brought in from off-site, it was estimated these would require 25,000 truck journeys. A further problem was that a high-performance asphalt recycling plant was required – and the nearest such operation was 70km from the jobsite.
For these reasons an area next to the motorway was provided for asphalt preparation and production. The space includes an old military airfield for the installation of an asphalt crushing plant, an asphalt-mixing plant and a gravel washing plant with sludge press.
Swiss-based Ammann says its ABP HRT (High Recycling Technology) mixing plant is ideally suited for production on the project with a high proportion of recycled asphalt. An integrated, parallel drum system directly above the mixer optimises the material flow and at the same time minimises wear and tear within the recycling system.In the RAH100 system, the recycled asphalt is heated by a counter-current process. Thus rocks and bitumen are indirectly and evenly heated and protected from overheating. RAP addition rates of 100% are possible.
The plant is capable of producing between 240-310 t/h of asphalt, depending on moisture. The aggregates are stored in hoppers of 15m³ each. Two silos (120m³ and 60m³) store the self-filler, while another (55m³) houses lime hydrate. The four bitumen tanks hold 80m³, and mixing is done in a 4-tonne mixer. The loading silo holds 300 tonnes in four chambers.
Ammann, through its dealer Avesco, also supplied an ARP 95 Pivot-Steer Roller and an ART 280 Pneumatic-Tyred Roller for the construction project.
