How can highway maintenance technology be transformed into an environmentally friendly direction to promote green and sustainable development of transportation? This question was answered at a recent highway pavement preventive maintenance quality engineering demonstration and exchange meeting hosted by Ningxia Communications Expressway Management Co., Ltd.
At the pavement maintenance construction site of the Pingjibao section of the Uma Expressway, we saw that the newly paved road was smooth, comfortable, clean and tidy. According to reports, the pavement smoothness, water seepage coefficient, rutting and other indicators tested after construction have all improved. "This is due to our improved SMC new technology and many optimizations in terms of mix ratio, structural depth, construction technology, etc." Duan Xuefeng, director of the Shizuishan Business Department of Ningxia Communications Expressway Management Co., Ltd. said.
The core material of SMC warm mix asphalt mixture ultra-thin overlay is SMC asphalt modifier, using waste tires as the main raw material. This process enables asphalt to be constructed and applied at 140 degrees Celsius, while the traditional process requires asphalt temperatures to reach 180 degrees Celsius for construction. Not only that, the scientific addition of SMC asphalt modifier can reduce carbon emissions by more than 35% during the production process of asphalt and reduce various harmful gas emissions by more than 50%.
It is understood that the Uma Expressway pavement preventive maintenance project demonstration project has a total length of 71.765 kilometers. After the Uma Expressway was opened to traffic, as the traffic volume continued to increase, some early diseases gradually occurred on the road surface. According to the analysis of the 2021 road surface inspection report, the road health index of this section dropped significantly. In order to delay the development of pavement diseases and extend the service life of the pavement, Ningxia Jiaotong Expressway Management Co., Ltd. implemented a preventive maintenance project on this section of the road. SMC warm mix asphalt mixture ultra-thin overlay technology can not only be used for normal construction in low temperature weather, but also extend the construction season and shorten the construction cycle. It can also improve road safety and alleviate noise pollution. After using this technology, the anti-skid index of the road surface can meet the technical requirements of new high-grade road surfaces, and the occurrence of cracks caused by damaged road conditions can be delayed for three years, and the tire noise during vehicle driving is also far less than that of conventional roads.
The project is about to be completed, and relevant departments will analyze and summarize the accumulated experience data, which may be promoted and applied to a wider range in the future.