Sheffield based material engineering company Roadmender Asphalt has launched a new road repair material that aims to be greener, faster to install and less expensive than traditional asphalt.
The latest to join the rubberised materials market, Roadmender's Elastomac solution is poured in as a hot liquid that forms to the shape of the hole and welds itself the existing road, unlike traditional methods that require potholes to be cut out and refilled with asphalt.
Elastomac contains around seven end-of-life waste tyres melted into every ton and is applied as a molten liquid that 'fills and then forms a flexible waterproof membrane over the potholes, covering the edges and locking out any potential for the ingress of water', the company said.
This aims to cut down on the problems caused by water penetration through the edges of a repair, which can then cause failure from the freezing and thawing process.
Harry Pearl, CEO of Roadmender Asphalt, said: 'Having been through 10 years of austerity, councils have naturally gravitated towards innovation as the only viable way to safeguard their road assets.
'As part of this they have set up knowledge-sharing hubs and innovation funding initiatives that encourage the development of new materials and working methods aimed at driving down costs and improving efficiency.
'Roadmender Elastomac is a by-product of this drive for innovation that’s ultimately led to the creation of a new road repair system that is faster, less expensive, uses 90% less virgin material than traditional repairs and has the ability to recycle hundreds of thousands of waste tyres a year in the process.
'From a health perspective, the use of these new flowable reinstatement materials also eliminates any hand arm vibration and airborne dust issues traditionally caused by saw cutting and jack hammering out pot holes.'
The news comes as Roadmender has championed solutions to help authorities throughout the coronavirus crisis carry out essential repairs such as pothole filling despite social distancing.
The Sheffield firm sells and rents out mini asphalt hot box reclaimers that can be operated as part of a single person operation to ensure safe and healthy working practices.
Hotbox Reclaimers are lightweight machines that can be mounted on either trucks or trailers and are designed to reclaim supplies of leftover or stockpiled asphalt wherever and whenever it’s needed.
With multiple asphalt plants being forced to shut down to protect the safety of their workers, Roadmender Hotbox Reclaimers not only provide contractors with a simple way to make their own asphalt, but they can also be used as part of a single person operation ensuring smaller emergency repairs are still dealt with in a timely manner.
Mr Pearl said: 'While normally it’s always safer for workers to go out in at least groups of two, but in the current environment it just doesn’t make sense for multiple workers to all pile into the same van together no matter how willing to carry out their work they are.
'With small Hotbox Reclaimers, workers can make their own asphalt and carry out smaller emergency repairs effectively in isolation where, if larger quantities of material are needed, two vehicles can go out while still maintaining a one person per van policy.'
