Heidelberg Materials UK has supplied an advanced low carbon solution for road repairs in North Yorkshire. The firm secured a highway framework contract with North Yorkshire Highways. The deal is for maintaining and improving the county’s road network. The 12-month agreement followed a competitive tender process and will see the company supply around 35,000tonnes of asphalt.
Low carbon solution
The first project carried out under the new agreement has been for the resurfacing of the High Street in Pateley Bridge. The company used a lower carbon asphalt solution that includes its CarbonLock biogenic asphalt and locally sourced aggregate from its Coldstone quarry. The asphalt was produced and supplied from its Pateley Bridge asphalt plant, located on the quarry site, 5km from the High Street.
“The project was technically challenging as cobbles lie under the asphalt in some areas and the High Street has a very steep gradient,” said James Playford, Area Director Aggregates, Asphalt and Recycling at Heidelberg Materials UK.
Optimising durability
“As a result of the reduced planning depth, the binder course included our Tufflex stress absorbing membrane interlayer (SAMI) solution, to optimise durability. And, to provide the high skid resistance specified, the Tufflex D surface course included aggregates with a PSV (polished stone value) of 68.”
The work was carried out at night to minimise disruption and both the binder and surface course Tufflex asphalts include CarbonLock. This material contains biogenic material within the binder that absorb and store CO₂ from the atmosphere during their life. This CO₂ is locked into the asphalt, even when it’s recycled at the end of its life, reducing the carbon footprint of the asphalt. This low carbon technology is said to be environmentally friendly.
“North Yorkshire Highways was keen for us to supply the asphalt from our Pateley Bridge plant due to its proximity to the project site,” explained Ian Farley, Asphalt Territory Sales Manager.
Beauty spot
“As the plant is within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), we sought approval from North Yorkshire Council to supply at night, outside of our usual permissive hours, rather than from our Leeds asphalt plant.”
James Cox, Head of Commercial at North Yorkshire Highways, added: “Working closely with Heidelberg Materials UK throughout the development of the specification enabled us to explore a range of material options and identify a solution that met the technical requirements of the scheme. Their support and collaborative approach throughout the process helped ensure the project was delivered successfully.”
