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The Idiots' Guide to Highways Maintenance
Copyright © 2000/08, CJ.Summers

THIS IS A GUIDE TO WHAT REPORTS ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE COUNTY SURVEYORS SOCIETY, AND THE CSS, RELATING TO ROAD PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE, GIVING AN INDICATION AS TO WHAT THE REPORTS CONTAIN
Report list and associated information

CSS - FORMERLY THE COUNTY SURVEYORS SOCIETY


The County Surveyors Society was formed in 1885, and was a society made up of county surveyors.
In 1997/98 it changed its title to just CSS, nothing else, just CSS.

It is now a body which represents the Directors of :-
Strategic Planning, Transportation, Environment, Waste Management and Economic Development throughout the U.K..
CSS membership is primarily the Chief Officers of the local county highway authorities in England and Wales and the Department of the Environment (Northern Island) Roads Service.

These officers are not necessarily of a civil/road engineering background, and not necessarily directly employed by local government.
The objectives of the CSS are to promote the acquisition and exchange of knowledge and experience in management and in the science and technology of highway engineering, transportation, the environment, waste disposal and related activities.

Unfortunately the choice of new name of the society has caused a great deal of confusion, many people thinking CSS is just a short form of saying County Surveyors Society, this is not so, the format of the body has changed. 

The CSS has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Highways Agency which acts as the Highway Authority for Motorways and Trunk Roads in the U.K., to formally set out how they co-ordinate work on local and trunk road management.
Also, an "accord" has been agreed by TAG ( Local Government, Technical Advisors Group) and CSS.


HAPAS - Highway Authorities Product Approval Scheme


This is a recently introduced scheme to "approve / certificate" new products for use in highway maintenance and construction, so that individual authorities do not need to undertake their own trials.
It has been set up by the Highways Agency, CSS and the British Board of Agrement (BBA).
It would be sensible to wait and see what form the trials take and how thorough they are in determining how fit for purpose the various products will be.
The development of
HAPAS is administered by the British Boaard of Agrement (BBA), closely advised by the Highways Technical Advisory Committee (HiTAC), certificates are issued by the BBA acting on recommendations from HiTAC.
Specialist groups are created for each product type put forward for consideration, and the group will report back its findings to HiTAC.

The reports in this list, although carrying the CSS suffix, are predominantly reports commissioned when the County Surveyors Society was the County Surveyors Society (i.e. a society of actual Local Authority, County Surveyors) and not the CSS.

Many of the reports could be classed as out of date, but the actual information on the subjects they refer to is still relevant and they are all excellent reading.

NOTE : There have recently been some major changes in the way the "CSS" presents itself for access on the internet,
please read the Summer 2007 Newsletter for further details.


For quick access to the "CSS" website, press here ---------------------------------------------------------> www.cssnet.org.

There is reference to a wider range of reports than included here, and contact information is likely to be more up to date, as this changes form time to time between participating authorities.
However you may not now be able to purchase copies of these reports unless you are a member of "CSS".



CSS A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO HAUNCHING


See also :- TRRL REPORT PA/SCR243


CSS ENG/1-94 - RECYCLING IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE


The full title of this report is :-
CSS ENG/1-94 : Use of Recycling for Road Pavement Construction and Maintenance
It is a fairly comprehensive study of materials, processes, specifications and testing that can be used in recycling.


CSS ENG/1-97 - PERMANENT COLD LAY BITUMINOUS MATERIALS - PCSM's


The full title is :-
CSS ENG/1 - 97 : Permanent cold lay bituminous materials
Copies used to be available from Gill Bowler, CSS Administrative Assistant, Derbyshire.

The report actually comes as four reports in one, reports one and two are a state of the art review at this time,
report three is related to environmental issues,
report four deals with specifications and procedures for approval of materials.
It includes appendices A10 and A11 from the Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways relating to the stiffness and thickness of laid PCSM's,
also HAUC Advice Note 3, relating to PCSM's, and the National Joint Utilities Group, (NJUG), Approval Verification Procedure for PCSM'S.


CSS ENG/2-94 - MATERIALS FOR CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE


This report was put together for the CSS by the Soils, Materials, Design and Specification Group.
The full title is :-
Materials for Construction and Maintenance.
The report is a step towards providing a document which sets out a policy framework for organisations who need to procure "materials for construction and maintenance".


CSS ENG/2-97 - RECYCLING IN ROAD MAINTENANCE


The full title is :-
CSS ENG/2-97 : Sustainable road maintenance - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
This report is a collection of "papers" relating to "Sustainable Road Maintenance" which were presented at the CSS conference held at Leamington Spa on the 18th. of November 1997.
It is very informative and useful reading on the subject.
The report was put together for the CSS by the Soils, Materials, Design and Specification Group.


CSS ENG/3-94 - POLYMER MODIFIED SURFACE DRESSING BINDERS


The full title for this report is :-
Polymer Modified Binders for Surface Dressing
The purpose of the report is to investigate the use and performance of polymer modified binders used in surface dressing.
It is an informative report and well worth reading.


CSS ENG/3-95 - SKIDDING RESISTANCE OF ROADS - PSV


The full title is :-
The Achievement of Skidding Characteristics for Road Pavements;
Volume 2 - PSV values for Aggregate in UK Roads
This report is Volume 2 of a fairly comprehensive discussion document on many aspects of skid resistance in relation to road surfaces.
The volume consists of a number of information sheets of PSV and other aggregate qualities of the main producers of high PSV aggregate in the UK.


CSS ENG/4-94 - PROVISION OF SOILS & MATERIALS ENGINEERING SERVICE


The full title is :-
The Provision of the Soils and Materials Engineers Service
The purpose of the publication is to consider the provision of services of a Soils and Materials Engineer, and how these services can best be arrived at.


CSS ENG/5-95 - NAMAS ACCREDITED LABORATORIES AND TESTS


This report consists of a number of lists displaying NAMAS accredited county laboratories and the tests they are able to perform.


CSS ENG/6-94 - PAVEMENT DESIGN MANUAL


This manual has been produced for the County Surveyor's Society by their Soils and Materials, Design and Specification Group.
It is an excellent concise document containing useful direct information, and reference to other appropriate standards.
Some knowledge of the basics of pavement design is needed to obtain the full benefit of this manual,
in fact it does say, "it has been assumed the advice and expertise of a specialist materials engineer will be utilised".


CSS ENG/6-95 - SOILS & MATERIALS ENGINEERS - LABORATORIES - TESTING


Full title is :-
A Specification for the Provision of the Soils & Materials Engineering Service
"The purpose of the publication is to consider the provision of the Soils and Materials Engineer's Services and to provide an outlinespecification for its provision."
This is an excellent report giving a good outline of what is required of a soils and materials service / laboratory, with lists of further useful reference works.
It also includes tables of of types of testing for particular materials and the frequency of testing required.


CSS ENG/7-94 - SKIDDING RESISTANCE OF ROADS - EFFECTIVE PSV - AAV


The report is Vol.1 of a comprehensive discussion document on many aspects of skid resistance in relation to road surfaces.
The "new" term EFFECTIVE PSV is mentioned, i.e. modifying laboratory found PSV's by a plus or minus factor in view of on site SRV results.
It includes sections on aggregates, polished stone values (PSV), aggregate abrasion values (AAV), road surfacing materials including surface dressing and new "thin wearing courses".
It also discusses methods of testing for PSV of aggregate, and skid resistance value of road surfaces, ways of categorising road surface needs are suggested.


CSS ENV/5-93 - SURFACE DRESSING TRAFFIC SAFETY AND CONTROL


The full title is :-
CODE OF PRACTICE FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL OF SURFACE DRESSING OPERATION
A comprehensive amount of information on the subject is contained in this report.
This code is produced by the COUNTY SURVEYOR'S SOCIETY, and you used to be able to obtain copies from :-
Dorset County Council,
Transportation & Engineering Dept.,
County Hall,
Dorchester,
Dorset,
DT1 1XJ


CSS REPORT NO.3/6-1988 - NUCLEAR DENSITY METER - COMPACTION


The full title is :-
Nuclear Moisture / Surface Density Gauge : Code of Practice for Safe Use and Storage
It may be a little out of date but it is still a good guide to the intricacies of owning, storing, and using a piece of apparatus that has a radio-active source as part of its construction.


CSS REPORT NO.5/10-1988 - ROAD ASSESSMENT EQUIPMENT


The full title is :-
A Directory of Pavement Assessment Equipment
An extremely useful report, with pictures and explanations of all the main pavement assessment equipment.
This includes :-
Deflectograph, SCRIM, Falling Weight Deflectometer, High Speed Road Monitor, Ground Radar, High Speed Texture Meter, Bump Integrator, Portable Skid Resistance Tester, Rolling Straight Edge, Griptester, Road SurfaceHardness / CBR Probe


CSS REPORT NO.5/14-1989 - WINTER MAINTENANCE CODE OF PRACTICE / MANUAL


The full title is :-
Winter Maintenance Manual and Code of Practice
It may be a little out of date, but it is still an extremely useful source of information on most aspects relating to winter maintenance.

CSS ENG/3-2000 : RSDA / CSS Code of Practice for Signing at Surface Dressing Sites

This code is published jointly by the Road Surface Dressing Association and the CSS. 
It has been designed in accordance with the principles set out in Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual, but is not meant to supersede any part of Chapter 8.

Copies are available from :-
CSS, Derbyshire County Council, Environmental Services Department, County Hall, MATLOCK, Derbyshire, DE4 3AG
Tel. and Fax. Matlock, 01629 585730 (CSS office)
 
CSS ENG 4/2002 : RSDA / CSS Code of practice for signing at surface dressing sites

This code is published jointly by the Road Surface Dressing Association and the CSS, and is an update of the previous report relating to surface dressing signing. This report was published in September 2002.

Copies are available from :-

CSS Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, Lincolnshire County Council, City Hall, LINCOLN, LN1 1DN

Tel. 01522 553098    Fax. 01522 512335
I believe the cost is £30:00, to members.

CSS Report ENG 1/2003  -  Advice Note for the Specification of Thin Surfacing

This Advice Note was published in July of 2003.
This is an excellent Advice Note and its content relates to the specifying of "Thin Surfacing Systems". 
I believe it is necessary reading if you are considering the use of any of the range of the proprietary bituminous mixtures now offered by the industry, these being known as "Thin Surfacing Systems".  

Copies are available from :-
CSS Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, Lincolnshire County Council, City Hall, LINCOLN, LN1 1DN

Tel. 01522 553098    Fax. 01522 512335


Cost is £5:00 to members and £10:00 to non-members 

However,
After the conference, "Highway Maintenance 2006" organised by the industry journal Surveyor on the 6th. of June at the East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham, the document, 
"Best Practice Guidelines for Specification of modern Negative Textured Surfaces (NTS) on Local Authority Highways"
 
has been published and is available to download as a .pdf file on the website,  www.roadscodes.org

I am still not happy about the explanation of what is a HAPAS approved system and how it relates to the production of individual proprietary bituminous mixtures, but I am very pleased that the published "Guidelines" include a revised copy of the CSS, 
"Advice Note for the Specification of Thin Surfacing", (Report Eng/2003)
.
If you do decide to purchase proprietary materials use this specification, all of it, but especially the sections "Declaration of Design", and "Cold Weather Working".

 


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