Oxfordshire County Council and contractor Milestone Infrastructure have announced their ambition to deliver 'a carbon-neutral highway' project.
Using recycled and sustainable materials along with tree and wildflower planting and solar powered traffic signals, the team is working section of a service road on the A417 Reading Road in Wantage.
The scheme began on 14 August and is scheduled to last for five weeks.
Andrew Gant, the council’s cabinet member for highway management, said: ‘This otherwise routine scheme of maintenance and minor improvement provides a unique opportunity to incorporate a variety of innovative solutions in one location, and it serves well to demonstrate Oxfordshire County Council’s commitment to being a leader in sustainable highway maintenance and to put action to tackle climate change at the heart of our work.
‘The list of sustainable materials being deployed is impressive and we hope it points the way to a different future in highway repair.’
Milestone operations manager Declan Moss said: ‘We are excited to take this project forward on behalf of the council; affording our graduate team members an opportunity to research sustainable products as part of their learning.
‘The delivery of the work will be supervised by a graduate engineer in conjunction with our own site agent.’
The project includes:
- Concrete canvas – a flexible, cement-impregnated fabric used for concrete repair whose benefits include reduced construction time, minimised environmental impact, and durability in various applications.
- Two additional trees will be planted alongside the layby after reconstruction is completed.
- Wild flower seeds will be sown along the verge at the end of the project.
- Plastic litter bins made from 100% recycled plastic chippings from bins that are no longer in use
- Ultifastpath – a high-performance asphalt material designed for rapid road construction that combines binder and surface course
- Kerbs made from up to 48.3% recycled material content
- TMP bio-polymer bollards made from renewable bio-polymers rather than petroleum-based materials
- Solar powered temporary traffic signals
- Warm mix asphalt
- CEM free concrete – a concrete mixture that significantly reduces or eliminates the use of traditional Portland cement.
