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The Idiots' Guide
to Highways Maintenance |
UPDATES
I
thought it a good idea to create this page so that people who visit the site
regularly may be made aware of any additional material that may have been added
to a particular page, or indeed the addition of a new page.
With existing pages, only if there has been a significant change to the page and the information it
contains or how it is presented will I make reference to it.
If I have only corrected a found spelling mistake or re-phrased a sentence or
two to make its meaning more apparent, then that will not be considered worth an
individual mention.
PLEASE NOTE THAT FROM NOVEMBER 2010 ALL PAGES WILL BE FORMATTED PRIMARILY FOR DISPLAY ON 1280 X 1024 SCREEN RESOLUTION
26th. March 2013
The page
SKID RESISTANCE AND HIGH FRICTION
SURFACING
has received important recent information in relation to skid resistance
policy on new bituminous road surfacing.
8th. February 2013
The page
DRAINAGE (CONTROL OF WATER) IN ROAD PAVEMENT CONSTRUCTION
AND MAINTENANCE
has received an informative addition relating
to highway drainage.
21st. January 2013
The page
BITUMINOUS (THERMOPLASTIC) MATERIAL TEMPERATURES
has received an important change in
presentation and reference to important specifications and documentation.
17th. January 2013
The page
ROAD SALT
FOR WINTER SERVICE / MAINTENANCE
has received additional information.
12th. December 2012
The page
SKID RESISTANCE AND HIGH FRICTION
SURFACING has
received an important additional reference to a recent TRL report.
The page A GUIDE TO "TRL" PREFIXED REPORTS RELEVANT TO HIGHWAYS MAINTENANCE, GIVING AN INDICATION OF THEIR CONTENT has received an important additional reference to a recent TRL report.
12th. October 2012
The page
SKID
RESISTANCE AND HIGH FRICTION SURFACING
has received an important update,
the link to the information to be found at the top of the page.
3rd. August 2012
The page
BS EN STANDARD SPECIFICATION LIST AND ASSOCIATED
INFORMATION
has been updated to included reference to standards
relating to bulk density and void content of bituminous mixture specimens.
9th. May 2012
The page,
A
GUIDE TO AVAILABLE (BITUMEN) COATED MACADAMS, AS
SPECIFIED IN THE NOW SUPERSEDED BS 4987: COATED MACADAM (ASPHALT CONCRETE) FOR ROADS AND OTHER PAVED
AREAS
has received some additional information.
28th. March 2012
New references to "official" research related
to the spreading of salt on highway networks has been included in the page,
ROAD SALT
FOR WINTER SERVICE / MAINTENANCE .
16th. December 2011
The page
PROPRIETARY
"THIN SURFACING" & "NEGATIVE TEXTURED SURFACE" BITUMINOUS MIXTURES
has received additional text, as well as a
new section bringing your attention to the recent publishing, in December 20011,
of the Interim Advice Note
157/11 Thin Surface Course Systems - Installation and Maintenance
indicating the nature of its contents.
8th. December 2011
Two links to very informative websites
relating to low energy asphalt production have been placed on the page,
LINKS TO WEBSITES I
HAVE FOUND INTERESTING AND REWARDING.
24th. November 2011
The page
BITUMEN
VISCOSITIES FOR BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
has received an important addition.
17th. November 2011
The page
PATCHING
WITH BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
has received an informative and interesting update.
26th. September 2011
The page
PATCHING
WITH BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
has received a new menu link to access a case study of an excellent example of
permanent patching that is part of the Autumn 2011 newsletter.
16th. August 2011
It has been necessary to remove a number of
links on the page,
LINKS TO SOURCES OF
INFORMATION ON OFFICIAL AND SEMI-OFFICIAL WEBSITES,
this is because they no longer work. I have tried to find new links to the
information but have been unsuccessful in most cases.
I am beginning to doubt the relevance of this page as Google (or the search
engine of your choice) is so good at finding the relevant information, if it is
still available, providing you use appropriate key words.
10th. August 2011
The page,
A GUIDE TO "TRL"
PREFIXED REPORTS
RELEVANT TO HIGHWAYS MAINTENANCE, GIVING AN INDICATION OF THEIR CONTENT
has received further information relating to recently published TRL reports.
29th. July 2011
The page
A
PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SURFACE DRESSING
has received a useful update to allow easy
access to the recently presented Road Surface Dressing Association (RSDA) videos
on surface dressing, these are well worth watching.
25th. July 2011
An important addition has been made to the
page
PROPRIETARY
"THIN SURFACING" & "NEGATIVE TEXTURED SURFACE" BITUMINOUS MIXTURES.
22nd. July 2011
The page
CARRIAGEWAY
SLURRY MACADAM / MICRO ASPHALT
has been improved with more and better images
and some increase in text.
2nd. June 2011
The page
ON SITE RECYCLING BY HOT PATCH TREATMENT
has received a significant makeover with
more and improved images and some additional text.
2nd. February 2011
A significant update has been added to the
page,
THIS
IS A GUIDE TO WHAT REPORTS ARE
AVAILABLE FROM THE CSS
FORMERLY THE COUNTY SURVEYORS SOCIETY, AND NOW RESTRUCTURED AS ADEPT
11th. January 2011
Small but important updates have been placed
on the page,
BITUMINOUS
MIXTURES / PROCESS DIAGRAMS .
16th. December 2010
Further useful additions have been made to the page,
AGGREGATE
PROPERTIES.
4th. December 2010
There has been an important update to the page,
AGGREGATE
PROPERTIES.
5th. November 2010
The page
ROAD SALT
FOR WINTER SERVICE / MAINTENANCE
has received significant further information.
27th. August 2010
The page
ROAD
SURFACE RETEXTURING PROCESSES
has received additional information.
20th. July 2010
Additions have been made to the pages,
RAISING
IRONWORK FOR BITUMINOUS OVERLAYS
and
A
PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SURFACE DRESSING
.
9th. June 2010
The page
ROAD MARKING WITH WHITE THERMOPLASTIC
has received a substantial updating with new
topics, text and images.
24th. May 2010
The page
THE LAYING
AND APPEARANCE OF 14MM. STONE MASTIC ASPHALT (SMA) - A CASE STUDY
has received substantial updating and additions, photographs and text, and is
now presented in the form of a case study.
10th. May 2010
The page
HOT ROLLED ASPHALT AND PRECOATS
has received substantial improvement with new images
and text.
29th. April 2010
The page
BRITISH STANDARD BITUMINOUS
MIXTURES THAT CAN BE LAID THINLY, USING TACK COATS, AND BOND COATS
has been developed to include an increased amount of
information on tack coats and bond coats.
14th. April 2010
Some of you may have noticed that I have
slowly been slowly updating the date on all the pages. This gives me the
opportunity to look at all the pages and make any "tidying" changes that I
thought necessary.
There may have been a few minor updates in the text or presentation or the
inclusion of new or improved quality images but nothing significant or it would
have had an individual mention on this page.
This process also allows me to make a few notes as to which pages I can improve
with the the new library of pictures I now have from the scanning exercise of my
library of 35mm. negatives.
So gradual improvements of the pages will continue, but I am not intending to
create any more pages, hopefully actually decrease the number by merging existing
pages, so removing duplication of information.
It will all depend upon time, so it may not take place until Autumn.
10th. March 2010
I have replaced/improved some of the pictures
on the page
BITUMINOUS
MIXTURES / PROCESS DIAGRAMS
and made slight revisions/additions to the
text.
6th. February 2010
There has been an important addition to the
page
BITUMEN
VISCOSITIES FOR BITUMINOUS MATERIALS.
25th. January 2010
There has been a new addition to the web
page,
LINKS TO WEBSITES I HAVE FOUND
INTERESTING AND REWARDING
I have also done some "housekeeping" on this page to remove websites that have become "dead" links, find the correct new link, or just remove some websites because they have become purely commercial, offering little if any genuine information or guidance and usually needing to "log on" and leave contact details.
22nd. January 2010
The pages,
A guide to "TRL"
prefixed reports relevant to Highways Maintenance, giving an indication of
their content
and
A guide
to some of the BS EN
(European) Specifications, relevant to Highways Maintenance and Construction
have received additional information.
24th. December 2009
The page
ROAD SALT
FOR WINTER SERVICE / MAINTENANCE
has received an update.
21st. November 2009
The page
BITUMEN
VISCOSITIES FOR BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
has received an important update relating to the specifying of paving grade
bitumens.
Also the page
A GUIDE TO SOME OF THE BS EN (EUROPEAN) SPECIFICATIONS,
RELEVANT TO HIGHWAYS MAINTENANCE AND CONSTRUCTION
has received additions.
11th. August 2009
The page
BRITISH
STANDARD BITUMINOUS MIXTURES, THAT CAN BE LAID THINLY
has undergone a substantial update, with additional text being added.
3rd. August 2009
The page
A GUIDE
TO CONCRETE AND CONCRETE RELATED SUBJECTS / PRODUCTS
has received a little extra text, some
updating and some "tidying".
2nd. August 2009
There has been significant additional text
added to the page,
THE BASICS OF CONCRETE
.
30th. July 2009
The page
AGGREGATE
PROPERTIES has
received new images and some qualifying text.
19th. June 2009
The following pages have
received updates worthy of mention,
A
GUIDE TO SOME OF THE BS EN (EUROPEAN) SPECIFICATIONS, RELEVANT TO HIGHWAYS
MAINTENANCE AND CONSTRUCTION
CARRIAGEWAY
SLURRY MACADAM / MICRO ASPHALT
FOOTWAY
SLURRY SEAL
A
PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SURFACE DRESSING
26th. May 2009
The page,
PROPRIETARY
"THIN SURFACING" & "NEGATIVE TEXTURED SURFACE"
BITUMINOUS MIXTURES
has received important
information in relation to the recent changes in the availability of "Guideline
Documents" for Thin Surface Course Systems, the requirement for a
longer guarantee period on Motorway and Trunk Roads networks, and the the initial texture depth
requirements for surface course on Motorways and Trunk Roads.
I hope that you have also noticed that all pages should now be able to be
successfully (more or less) viewed at a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels,
and hopefully at most other similar aspect ratios.
29th. April 2009
The page, A
GUIDE TO WHAT REPORTS ARE AVAILABLE
FROM THE COUNTY SURVEYORS SOCIETY
has received additional introductory text, and some improvement in presentation
of content.
27th. April 2009
I am slowly updating all the pages on the
website with regard to their formatting, this is so that pages will present
better in other screen resolutions than 800 x 600 pixels, for which the pages
were optimised. The pages displayed at other resolutions will not be perfect but
they will be better, certainly at 1024 x 768 pixels, and hopefully at other
resolutions also.
Whilst performing this process pages may receive some updating, if it is slight
I will not mention it here.
The pages,
A GUIDE
TO AVAILABLE (BITUMEN) COATED MACADAMS
and
BITUMINOUS
MIXTURES / PROCESS DIAGRAMS
have received updating worth a mention.
16th. February 2009
The page PATCHING
WITH BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
has received some updating.
20th. January 2009
The page
A
GUIDE TO "TRL" PREFIXED REPORTS RELEVANT TO HIGHWAYS MAINTENANCE
has received reference to new, interesting and
topical, TRL Published Project Reports (PPR's)
30th. November 2008
I try to create as few new pages as possible,
I think there are enough pages already, however to draw a conclusion to the
"case study" I have been following on generic bituminous mixtures laid
thinly I have produced the page,
FAILED
THIN 6MM. BITUMINOUS WEARING COURSE ON A SECOND SITE, 9 YEARS AFTER LAYING
On the above page I have shown the nature
of the failure, and non failure. I have discussed the possible reasons of the
failure, and the reasons why it has remained durable for a considerable period
of time in some areas of the site.
I have also taken the opportunity to discuss a number of aspects on
"real" highways maintenance, and the bituminous materials that I
prefer, to ensure the longevity of a surface course on a highly stressed site.
I hope that you find this page of interest.
9th. November 2008
Additional items of news have been placed on
the Autumn 2008 Newsletter.
22nd. October 2008
The page,
"TRL"
PREFIXED REPORTS RELEVANT TO HIGHWAYS MAINTENANCE, GIVING AN INDICATION OF THEIR
CONTENT
has received an update, with reference to TRL
Road Notes.
Two of them being the recently published TRL Road Notes 41 & 42.
I have only had access to, TRL Road Note 42
- Best Practice Guide for the Durability of Asphalt Pavements,
and found it contained a large amount of excellent advice and
guidance.
I strongly recommend that you read the entire document from front cover to back
cover to obtain all the information that you can derive from the document.
However I personally would not regard the content as "specific"
advice, but more a reference to general good practice. I also feel that it does
not sufficiently embrace the recently encountered problems with the
"new" bituminous mixtures employed in the construction and maintenance
of road pavements, an opportunity missed, but perhaps it was not the remit of
this focus group.
Road Notes 41 & 42 are available to be downloaded free from the TRL website,
providing you supply them with fairly comprehensive personal details. I do not
recommend this route to obtain a copy, but I leave it to you to decide.
Perhaps access to these documents will be placed on the Highways Agency website
as HA personnel were amongst those steering the "Best Practice Focus
Group", that supplied advice, which helped in the preparation of the Guide.
The submission of personnel details is not required to download the majority of
the free specification/guidance documents on the Highways Agency website, www.standardsforhighways.co.uk.
12th. October 2008
The page BITUMINOUS
MIXTURES / PROCESS DIAGRAMS
has received additional text relevant to recent changes in initial texture depth
requirements of road surfaces.
20th. September 2008
Important information has been added to the
following page, SKID
RESISTANCE AND HIGH FRICTION SURFACING
relevant to recent changes in
initial texture depth requirements of road surfaces.
19th. September 2008
The page ROAD
SALT FOR WINTER MAINTENANCE
has received an update of a considerable amount of relevant information,
including useful links.
11th. September 2008
I have added some extra text to my
"advert" for Aspho-Chip'
& 'Aspho-Chipless,
this is prompted because of conversions I
have had with old contractor acquaintances who tell me hot rolled asphalt is
making a comeback, it has never gone away in my locality.
9th. September 2008
The page SPREAD
RATES OF BITUMINOUS MIXTURES, DENSITY, VOIDS
has received further text and references.
28th. August 2008
The page THE
LAYING AND APPEARANCE OF 14MM. STONE MASTIC ASPHALT (SMA)
has received further informative text.
25th. August 2008
The page BITUMINOUS
(THERMOPLASTIC) MATERIAL TEMPERATURES
has received significant updating.
11th. August 2008
The page THE
LAYING AND APPEARANCE OF 14MM. STONE MASTIC ASPHALT (SMA)
has received significant updating text.
25th. July 2008
Important additions have been made to the
pages,
A
GUIDE TO THE SKID RESISTANCE OF HIGHWAY SURFACES, AS INDIVIDUAL TOPICS
and
SKID
RESISTANCE AND HIGH FRICTION SURFACING
6th. July 2008
For the first time I have included an update
item in a past newsletter, none of the existing text has been altered.
I have done this because "Google Analytics" tells me that this is an often
accessed page, and I believe the added item is supportive of the existing text.
So, the newsletter,
Summer
Edition 2006 has
received a well indicated update item.
6th. July 2008
The page, LINKS
TO SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON OFFICIAL AND SEMI-OFFICIAL WEBSITES
has received an additional topic to direct access to the BBA/HPAS website, this
is to indicate where it is possible to download
the assessment
"Guidelines Documents" for various HAPAS certificated products,
including the item, "Guidelines Document for the Assessment and
Certification of Thin Surfacing Systems"
5th. July 2008
The page HIGHWAYS
AUTHORITY PRODUCT APPROVAL SCHEME, (HAPAS)
has received an important update relating to
the recently provided facility from BBA of downloading the assessment
"Guidelines Documents" for various HAPAS certificated products,
including the item, "Guidelines Document for the Assessment and
Certification of Thin Surfacing Systems"
While on the BBA website you may like to
download, BBA HAPAS Information Bulletins Nos. 1 & 2
4th. July 2008
The page A
PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SURFACE DRESSING
has received additional text, downloads, and
images to complete a significant updating of this page.
29th. June 2008
The page A
PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SURFACE DRESSING
has received additional text to provide
information on the recently published 6th. edition of, Road Note 39 - Design
Guide for Surface Dressing.
Other minor updates have taken place, but a complete appraisal of the page has
not taken place at this time.
26th. June 2008
The page SURFACE
DRESSING BY PICTURES - SOME BASIC KNOWLEDGE ON THE PROCESS
has received significant amounts of extra text and some new images.
12th. June 2008
The page A
LIST OF ITEMS THAT WILL GIVE YOU A GUIDE TO SURFACE DRESSING
has received considerable updating, and the addition of further text where
appropriate.
2nd. June 2008
The page SAMPLING
MATERIALS USED IN HIGHWAYS CONSTRUCTION / MAINTENANCE
has received updating with some additional text.
1st. June 2008
The page ROAD
SALT FOR WINTER MAINTENANCE
has received updating with additional text.
29th. May 2008
The page RUBBERISED
HOT ROLLED ASPHALT WEARING COURSE has received updating and
extra text.
19th. May 2008
The page ROAD
SURFACE RETEXTURING PROCESSES
has received some extra text and images.
6th.May 2008
The page,
A
LIST OF ITEMS GIVING GUIDANCE TO RECYCLING IN HIGHWAYS MAINTENANCE &
CONSTRUCTION
has received significant revision
and additional text.
29th. April 2008
The page BITUMINOUS
MIXTURES / PROCESS DIAGRAMS
has received additional text.
28th. April 2008
The page
RECYCLING
IN HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE - OFF SITE RECYCLING
has received a substantial amount of additional text.
23rd. April 2008
The page,
PROPRIETARY
"THIN SURFACING" & "NEGATIVE TEXTURED SURFACE",
BITUMINOUS MIXTURES
has received revision and additional text.
17th. April 2008
The page MODIFIED
BITUMEN AND BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
has received some revision and addition of text.
15th. April 2008
The page PATCHING
WITH BITUMINOUS MATERIALS has
received some revision and a considerable amount of new text.
13th. April 2008
The page COMPACTION
TESTING has received
some additional text and updating.
11th. April 2008
Some reformatting, and the inclusion of
additional text, has occurred to the page,
A BRIEF
PHILOSOPHY OF BITUMINOUS MATERIAL PRODUCTION AND LAYING.
7th. April 2008
Further text has been added to the page
THIS
IS A GUIDE TO SOME ASPECTS OF ROAD NOISE.
3rd. April 2008
I have added one or two further comments
regarding highways maintenance/engineering "news" on the,
NEWSLETTERS
page.
28th. March 2008
The page,
JOINT
AND CRACK SEALING has
received some changes.
19th. March 2008
The page,
STONE
MASTIC ASPHALT (SMA), A STUDY IN PICTURES
has received additional text.
18th. March 2008
The page,
20MM. HOT
ROLLED ASPHALT PRECOATS - SPREAD RATES
has received some further descriptive
text, including a slight change in the page title.
16th. March 2008
The page,
HOT
ROLLED ASPHALT AND ASPHALT CONCRETE (BITUMEN MACADAM), INFORMATION PRESENTED AS
INDIVIDUAL TOPICS, has
received considerable revision and updating.
13th. March 2008
The page HOT
ROLLED ASPHALT AND PRECOATED CHIPPINGS
has been updated and received
additional text.
7th. March 2008
The two menus of web pages, that mainly
consist of images of processes and materials, have now been combined in one
menu,
PAGES
THAT ARE MAINLY PHOTOGRAPHS OF HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE MATERIALS AND PROCESSES
now that all the images are
of .jpg format.
18th. February 2008
The page,
ROAD
PAVEMENT AND FOOTWAY DESIGN
has
been updated.
17th. February 2008
The pages,
ROAD
PAVEMENT INVESTIGATION BY CORING
and
A
GUIDE TO REPORTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE
FROM THE CSS (FORMERLY THE COUNTY SURVEYORS' SOCIETY)
have received updates.
16th. February 2008
The page,
PICTURES
OF CORES THROUGH BITUMINOUS ROAD PAVEMENTS,
AND NOTES ON HIGH
MODULUS (STIFF) DENSE BITUMEN MACADAM BASE (ROADBASE)
has had a general
updating.
27th. January 2008
The pages,
THIS
IS A GUIDE
TO AVAILABLE (BITUMEN) COATED MACADAMS, AS SPECIFIED IN,
BS 4987: COATED MACADAM (ASPHALT CONCRETE) FOR ROADS AND OTHER PAVED AREAS
and
THIS
IS A GUIDE TO AVAILABLE HOT ROLLED ASPHALT MATERIALS, AS
SPECIFIED IN,
BS 594:HOT ROLLED ASPHALT FOR ROADS AND OTHER PAVED AREAS
have
received important updates in the text in relation to the recent changes in specifying
bituminous mixtures.
26th. January 2008
The page
RECYCLING
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS IN HOT MIX PROCESSES
has received additional text.
14th. January 2008
Changes, and inclusions, have been made to
the following pages,
SITE MAP
A
BROAD COMPARISON OF BITUMINOUS SURFACING MATERIALS
BRITISH
STANDARD BITUMINOUS MIXTURES, THAT CAN BE LAID THINLY
8th. January 2008
The
Winter
2007/8 Newsletter has
now been placed on the website.
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