National Highways has formed a new working group with an early goal of co-ordinating works for seasonal optimisation, helping increase the durability of finished asphalt and tackle 'Mad March' issues, Highways can reveal.
Due to the pressures of work and funding timetables, the highways sector has often raised concerns that some materials may not be laid at the optimum time of year.
In the local network in particular, works are often rushed out in good weather towards the end of the financial year - leading to the phenomenon known in the industry as 'Mad March'.
National Highways is now working with industry and Tier One contractors such as Tarmac, to address the issue by developing a seasonal matrix and a plan to co-ordinate work around it.
The work is being done under the newly formed 'Improving quality' sub-group of National Highways' pavement optimisation group, which includes both industry and National Highways members.
Technical director at Tarmac, Brian Kent, told Highways: 'I sit on the National Highways pavement optimisation group and we have a new sub-group looking at [seasonal optimisation] now. Because National Highways has a five-year budget, they can do this.
'There actually needs to be an edict, but in terms of what needs to be done on each section of road, we have that data. It is as simple as saying we lay the thin material in the summer because we get full compaction with no issues, and then lay thick material in winter to get good heat retention so we can compact it better. One of the issues we have had for a long, long time is trying to lay super thin materials in a night shift in December or January.
'The view we have in the optimisation group at the moment is that with National Highways' support there is nothing to stop us now. So I think that will happen in the next 12- 18 months.
'I am not saying it is easy. There is a lot of planning and co-ordination. But it is possible. From my point of view as a national supplier, as a contractor that lays material, the first challenge is to produce a seasonal matrix. These are the products we think you can lay in the winter, these are products we think you should avoid laying in winter.'
Sitting under National Highways' pavement optimisation group (POG) are the following sub-groups:
1. Closures and maximising the working window
2. Increasing Productivity
3. Improving Early Contractor Involvement (ECI)
4. Rolling out and following through new initiatives
5. Increasing and capturing non-cost efficiencies (incl. Carbon)
6. Appropriate use of preventative maintenance
7. Improving quality
