Common Lane, Broomfleet

CLIENT’S CHALLENGE

East Riding Council, in Yorkshire, UK, had a problem with severe movement in some of its fen roads which was causing rollercoaster type conditions for motorists due to the unstable ground they were originally built on. An increase in extreme weather including droughts, heatwaves and flooding had caused the soil to shrink and expand leading to significant buckling, deep cracking and subsidence. The challenge with this project was to resurface the failing asphalt but also to reinforce the bituminous layers and stop water penetrating to the sub-base layers.

TENSAR SOLUTION

The Tensar solution was a Glasstex reinforcement material saturated with bitumen to create an impermeable layer that stops water ingress if any cracks were to appear on the surface course. Once installed, the Glasstex solution provided both reinforcement and stress relief between the different layers of asphalt materials and the barrier to stop the water penetrating further down into the sub-base.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Fen roads fail twice as fast as those on stable ground requiring maintenance up to four times as often during the lifecycle of the road. Interlayers act as a water barrier stopping the foundation and sub-grade from weakening. In addition, they will help to absorb horizontal and vertical movements preventing cracks from tearing through the new surface course.