Using crushed and screened RAP materials as feed stock, each product is designed based on the site specific requirements which are usually linked to the volume of traffic utilizing the road and also the weight bearing requirements of the foamed product.

As an example, the A603 Cardigan Road in Bedford required a design of 4% bitumen and 4% cement in order to meet the Client’s design criteria for this heavy load bearing road which is the arterial route from Bedford to the A14 dual carriageway. Completed some twenty years ago this section of road remains untouched and maintenance free.

In 2010 LRS commenced in-situ recycling of rural and residential roads using Wirtgen stabilization equipment to introduce cement and water in to pulverized recycled roads. We introduced the technique of levelling the recycled product by utilizing a paving machine screed to ensure a uniform well graded formation which was suitable for single layer overlays on these roads.

In 2016 we imported the US based cold in-situ recycling process (CIR) to the UK, following on from visiting Silicon Valley in California to see the process being rolled out on busy interstate highways. This was utilized on three trial sites on the A1 Northumberland in collaboration with Highways England.

From 2017 to 2020 the CIR process was extended to use conventional hot bitumen products introduced directly into the down cut milling machine and mixed with pre-spread cement to produce a more durable and rapid setting base material.

LRS evolved a paving technique to ensure that the laying tolerances of the base layer complied with the binder course parameters provided within British Standards.

Three sections of the A1(M) were completed covering up to 36 miles of straight line paving including Lane 1 reconstruction.

The financial savings to the Client were in excess of 33% and the carbon savings were up to 66% compared with conventional surfacing methods.

This equipment has been successfully used on retread schemes in West Yorkshire, producing a base layer on rural roads that is suitable for surface dressing to be applied as a finished surface layer.

LRS have a wealth of experience in all aspects of recycling and can provide either a contracting service or a design consultancy to advise clients of the pros and cons of road recycling.

We have attended world conventions on the benefits and drawbacks of each process, and visited European, American and South American sites to see the results of respective techniques.

Environmental sustainability should make road recycling more common but there is little point in recycling a road if it only lasts half as long as it should or could.

LRS have historical empirical data on all aspects of the recycling process and can advise clients and contractors of the realistic expectations which can be achieved on schemes ranging from rural to residential to urban to trunk road to motorway.

The major issues to consider are:- 

• Design life expectations.

• Whole life costings and expectations.

• Design liability and warranty.

• Product design.

• Binding Agents and curing periods.

• Paving accuracy.

• Compaction and air void compliance.

• Surface course permeability.

Currently the ex-situ foamix process offers Clients the greatest degree of flexibility in design and guarantee of end-product compliance, especially on busy and roads with high HGV volumes.

A combination of static and mobile foamix plants can service most contracts and can deliver substantial environmental benefits and cost savings without compromising on product design or end quality.

The in-situ processes are ideal if targeted correctly at appropriate sites and monitored closely by design engineers.

Please forward all recycling enquires to sales@lanerental.co.uk