a bit of long title, but once you have it bookmarked you will be okay.

I found the site nicely presented but there was not a lot of specific information on it, but you were able to order the various technical publications that RSDA produce, they are not expensive and. I believe, they are well worth having.

Highways Agency (DMRB)

It has come to my attention that the Highways Agency have put the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB), "online", all 15 volumes of it.
This is a huge resource of excellent information and it is all in .pdf format, it is presented in a straight forward manner and is easily downloaded in sensible sized files.
I make many references to this manual throughout my website, in particular Volume 7, now you are actually able to access this volume and its sub-sections for further information on a particular subject.
There are sections there on footways I did not know existed, well they are recent, 2001 additions, I have already downloaded them for perusal.
If you do not keep learning you get left behind, that does not mean I am impressed by all the new stuff, but you do need to know about it.
You really should visit this site if only to make yourself aware of the depth of information that is available to you, and it is of particular relevance to those of you who deal directly with Highways Agency funded work, i.e. the "Areas".

High Modulus Base Materials

If you are not already aware, there is an excellent article on this subject in the "Surveyor" (7/6/2001).
For those of you who have used this material or who contemplating using high modulus roadbase or basecourse it is essential reading.
The article was drawn from a paper written by the Pavement and Geotechnical Engineering Group, School of Civil Engineering, University of Nottingham.

If you wish to a little more more background knowledge on "stiff roadbases and basecourses", you may wish to access the page on this website that will provide some information and further reference sources.

Super Singles

A "super single", for those of you who may be unaware, is a wheel/tyre, that is used on a heavy goods vehicle, that is proportionately larger and more robust so that it can replace a dual wheel assembly.
If you now start looking at wheel assemblies on HGV's, especially trailer units, you will note the significant amount of vehicles that use these tyres.
The tyre has a much greater tyre pressure and a larger individual "footprint" (but a smaller "footprint" than two standard tyres combined) to be able to carry the same load as the dual assembly, and is therefore much more damaging to the road pavement.
It is also likely that because of the increased tyre pressure that they also generate more noise at the road interface.
I write about this topic because whilst reading,
TRL Report 193 : Accelerated full-scale load testing of recycled heavy duty macadam roadbase material,
I noted a small paragraph that the author obviously thought merited inclusion, and I quote.

"The wear produced in the pavements trafficked by the super single assembly after 0.5 million equivalent standard axle applications was 4 times greater than that produced by 1.8 million equivalent standard axles applied through the dual wheel assembly, the majority of which were at a significantly higher wheel load."

If this work can be verified, it is my opinion that this simple statement has huge significance in indicating a rate of deterioration of existing road pavements far greater than anticipated, and a need to substantially revise design guides for future road building.

I leave heads far wiser than mine to ascertain whether my fears have any basis.

Retread

Not wanting to steal other peoples "thunder", but just wishing to point out good sources of information as they arise, there is a good article on "Retread" in "Surveyor" (14/6/2001), it is worth reading to increase your knowledge of options available in highways maintenance.
You still have to make your mind up as to whether it is the most appropriate course of action for your site.
Just one thing I would take issue with is that "Retread" has been around for a long time, it is not new, what may be new is a redefinition, so that where full depth refurbishment of a road pavement takes place it can be called "Linear Quarrying", (check it out).
What I believe has changed radically since the early days of bituminous recycling is the design, quality and sheer power of the machinery that is available to undertake the various recycling operations, and I think you will see a very rapid increase in the quality and range of machinery that is available to recycle bituminous materials, if for no other reason than the current price of bituminous materials will allow greater investment in recycling plant.
Bituminous material lends itself so well to recycling that if it did not exist you would have to invent it in an environmentally friendly world.
But you still have to know what you are doing, and different systems will be required for differing site conditions.
Further guidance on recycling bituminous materials relative to highways maintenance can be found in the main section of the website.

Motto of the Month

"It is a mistake to do nothing, because you can only do a little."