InfraStructures - March 2011 - A New “Beach” Made of Colored Asphalt

A New “Beach” Made of Colored Asphalt

When constructing a promenade for the State Garden Show in Hemer, Germany, VÖGELE pavers delivered a premiere performance: three SUPER 1800-2 paved sand-colored asphalt “hot to hot” across a width of 24 m – the widest area of colored asphalt ever paved.

Summer, sunshine and gorgeous blooms. These are the ingredients that lure thousands of visitors to Germany’s garden shows each year. When preparing for this year’s garden show in Hemer in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, VÖGELE pavers also played a starring role. With the widest ever surfacing made of colored asphalt, they transformed “Forumsplatz” square into a beach. At temperatures near freezing point, Hans-Joachim Greitemeier, site manager of Dortmund-based company Möllmann Straßen- und Tiefbau GmbH, gave the go-ahead for the paving work and creation of a summery promenade.

The contractor’s team first paved base courses. Möllmann tackled this job using a SUPER 1800-2 with AB 500-2 TV Extending Screed built up to an impressive pave width of 8 m. Crushed-stone base, 15 cm thick, was laid on the existing antifreeze-layer followed by 8 cm of asphalt base placed on the crushed stone.

“Hot to hot” for a flawless colored asphalt
Once this work was completed, two more SUPER 1800-2 arrived on the scene. The landscape architects wanted the surfacing to be paved in strips featuring impeccable joints. To achieve an excellent result, the three machines paved the sand-colored mix, 3 cm thick, “hot to hot”. In order to ensure a good bond of layers despite the low temperatures, the base course was heated up before paving wearing course. For grade and slope control, the first paver tracked the curbstone with a variable mechanical grade sensor. The other pavers used multi-cell sonic sensors referencing from the previously placed layer. For the wearing course, too, all three AB 500-2 Extending Screeds in TV version were built up to pave widths of 8 m. The paving team made swift work of laying the yellow asphalt, conjuring the perfect illusion of a 4700 m² sandy beach in Sauerland in just two hours.

Colored asphalt needs clean machines
Paving colored asphalt requires just one extra step when preparing the machine for the job. “We clean the paver as usual and then run hot chippings of 200°C through the machine,” explained Mr. Greitemeier. “The black bituminous residues stick to the chippings. Then the machine is ready for paving the light-colored mix.” Everything else proceeds in the same way as when paving conventional black mix.

The team had cleaned the machines thoroughly, as proved by the asphalt surfacing, which was flawless right from the start – not only in terms of color, but also of precompaction, evenness and paving quality. For the job, Möllmann used rented machines from VÖGELE, as the company intended to put the compact but powerful SUPER 1800-2 through its paces. Both the site manager and the paving team were much impressed with the laydown rate, the efficient and economical drive system, the easy supply with mix, as well as the logical and ergonomic operation of the SUPER 1800-2. And after completion of the project, the company ordered a new SUPER 1800-2 from VÖGELE – in its white company livery.

Source: Wirtgen Group