Concrete milling, paving & compaction

Chicago Pneumatic (CP) has unveiled its comprehensive new concrete equipment range. In applications from walls to floor slabs, the range has products to cover every step of the job, from vibration and levelling to finishing and cutting. Freshly poured concrete has air voids which must be removed by vibration to increase its density and finished strength. Depending on the concrete’s depth and slump, this can be achieved using a poker or screed. Customers can now choose mechanical, electric or pneumatic p

When New York State Thruway wanted to experiment with unbonded concrete overlays, they chose an 8km, four-lane section of Interstate 90 near Hamburg as their test section. Surianello General Concrete, based in Buffalo, New York, won the bid to pave the 22.9cm thick concrete overlay. The age and the design of the original roadway created a major paving challenge. It was built in the 1950s and didn’t conform to current geometry requirements for superhighways. “They built it with a standard crown sectio

A novel technique is now being introduced in the UK that can help cut construction costs, as well as the time needed for road repairs. Connect Plus, the company that finances, operates and upgrades the 400km M25 network on behalf of the UK’s Highways Agency, has pioneered an innovative method for the replacement of life-expired concrete motorway The introduction of this method is helping reduce the delays experienced by drivers by as much as 80% in the sections of road where it is now being implemented.

Italian firm CONTROLS is expanding its operations with the acquisition of Australian firm IPC Global. The Australian firm offers advanced material testing technologies for asphalt, soil and unbound materials and this deal will both strengthen the international profile of CONTROLS by adding the Australian facilities but will also further develop its portfolio of solutions. IPC Global will continue to be run as an autonomous operation according to CONTROLS as this will allow the Australian company to capitali

Two of the leaders in the concrete paving sector are broadening their range of technology, with new systems now coming to the international market The concrete paving market is a niche segment of the construction equipment business, with only a few specialist firms competing. North America is the home of concrete slipforming technology and it is no surprise that all but one of the leading firms in the sector are based in the US. The technology is used worldwide however and with asphalt prices at a high, c

The machine control sector has been lively in recent months with a major acquisition, the unveiling of new software innovation and landmark testing of new technology to monitor paving temperature. Guy Woodford reports The state road construction authority in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt (LSBB Saxony-Anhalt) has become the first nationally to test MOBA’s new PAVE-IR Scan temperature measurement system at a works site.

Leading formwork manufacturers have secured some impressive contracts in Africa, as the continent’s transport infrastructure continues to improve at a rapid pace. Meanwhile, other bridgework equipment companies are also seeing their products in demand in Africa, as well as North America and Australia. Guy Woodford reports

Advanced machine control technologies are speeding site layout and construction operations Canadian house building firm Mattamy Homes has brought in a contractor that has used sophisticated equipment to build the roads around its new development in Oakville, Ontario. The site is just 30 minutes drive from Toronto. Phase 1-A of the project is under construction and nearly every one of the 550 homes that will be built there has been sold already. Additional phases will bring the total number of homes to 1,800

Two important routes in Germany, the A9 and A6 autobahn highways, have benefited from the use of the latest Wirtgen slipforming machines. The A9 is a particularly important route in Germany as this 529km link connects capital Berlin with the southern city of Munich, running through Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Thuringia and Bavaria.

In Tucson, Arizona, contractor McNeil brothers is using a two-track GOMACO concrete slipformer on a 3.2km stretch of highway. This project is for the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and involves widening Interstate 10 to four lanes of traffic in each direction between Ruthrauff Road and Prince Road in Tucson. This new stretch was needed to better handle increasing traffic demands in the city and includes rebuilt entrance and exit ramps to improve access to the city.