Tufflex HD+: sustainable solution improves durability

Rochdale Borough Council has used a heavy-duty asphalt mix to improve the lifespan of a road junction servicing one of the busiest industrial estates in Europe.

On one side of the junction is the entrance to a 200-acre distribution park, while on the other is a quarry. And there are major interchanges with the M62 and M66 less than half a mile away. As a result, it is very heavily trafficked, particularly by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

The road was resurfaced in traditional hot rolled asphalt more than 12 years ago but was subject to regular maintenance issues within two years. In 2016, after nearly a decade of remediation, Rochdale Borough Council decided to look for a more sustainable, long-term solution that would ensure it could withstand heavy trafficking without the need for constant maintenance.

Rochdale then

Applying the solution

That solution involved planing off the existing surface and replacing it with a geotextile layer and then new binder and surface course layers incorporating Hanson’s Tufflex HD+ heavy duty asphalt mix.

“The design required a solution for slow moving HGVs negotiating the junction,” said Paul McCaffrey, Assistant Engineer at Rochdale Borough Council.

“After speaking to Hanson, Tufflex HD+ was recommended to us. The technical data indicated that the surfacing would achieve a stiffness of 7,000MPa, giving very high resistance to deformation.”

Tufflex HD+ contains Endura Z2, a premium polymer modified hot mix binder made by Nynas for heavy duty applications. It significantly enhances the toughness, rutting resistance and flexibility of the mix and provides good protection against damage caused by heavy, slow moving traffic.

Rochdale now

Hanson recommended Tufflex HD+ 20mm for the binder course and Tufflex HD+ 14mm for the surface course. A total of 1,000 tonnes was supplied from the company’s Leeds asphalt plant – and, so far, the material is performing very well.

“We hope that Tufflex HD+, combined with the geotextile layer, will give the surface a much longer lifespan,” added Paul. “So far the material is holding up well: 21 months on and we have had no maintenance issues regarding the condition of the surface.”