Building materials solutions supplier Cemex has introduced Vialayer, an advanced asphalt solution designed to improve the durability of urban roads to help strengthen surfaces against the growing problem of potholes, deformation and premature cracking.
Cemex says this is a significant problem which prevails on many UK roads.
Vialayer is an enhanced stone mastic asphalt (SMA) surface course which has been specially developed to provide an advanced high grade solution against the main causes of road defects in urban environments. Using a combination of a selected aggregate grading and a high volume of polymer modified bitumen Vialayer can help local authorities to reduce the frequency and cost of maintenance needed for pavements, and highly trafficked roads. It also offers greater flexibility allowing it to absorb the stresses of urban traffic and withstand the impact of slow, heavy-moving vehicles like buses in bus lanes.
Scott Jones, director of asphalt at Cemex UK, said: “With Vialayer we have worked hard to provide a solution to help local authorities manage their ever increasing maintenance costs. According to a recent Government report, road maintenance has dropped to the lowest level in five years, putting local councils under a tremendous amount of pressure to reduce spending and allocate resources efficiently. With less money available to carry out road maintenance, councils must be confident in the materials they use for projects, without causing greater expenses in the future.
“Many urban streets were built for much lower traffic volumes than they experience today, with limited capacity for increased thickness. Often when maintenance work is carried out, it creates trenches which, when overlaid with conventional asphalt mixes, can lead to problems with reflective cracking. This significantly reduces the lifespan of the asphalt surface, causing the same problems to re-occur frequently, often within months of the work being completed. Vialayer offers a highly effective solution to this growing problem. It also exhibits very low noise from the road and tyre interface as a result of the negative textured surface – which is beneficial in an urban environment. By cutting down the ongoing road maintenance requirements, Vialayer also will contribute to reduced traffic delays for busy towns and streets.”
The launch of Vialayer asphalt, follows the introduction of Viaflex SAMI (stress alleviating membrane interlayer), earlier this year, which is specifically designed for overlays onto concrete, cement bound bases or where movement of underlying pavement layers is likely.
Viaflex SAMI offers an extremely flexible asphalt mix designed to absorb stresses caused by natural thermal movement and high trafficking, and sees Cemex continue to broaden its portfolio of Asphalt products and solutions targeted at bringing innovative solutions to everyday challenges faced across the construction, infrastructure and highways industries.
