HiTex Chipseal Surfacing Remediation

2022

Wellington

The newly opened Transmission Gully Motorway had experienced early flushing of the chipseal in some areas, thus creating a loss of texture depth & skid resistance, which is a significant safety risk. Aprotean were tasked with exploring economical remediation solutions that could be applied within short off-peak lane closure windows.

One of those solutions was HiTex, a revolutionary new system pioneered by HiWay Stabilizers.

Before treatment, severe flushing in slow lane.
HiTex truck heating the bitumen.
After heating the bitumen, the HiTex truck also places fresh chip, and is then rolled in whilst the bitumen is still active.
Immediately after HiTex treatment, texture depth and skid resistance is restored.
After rolling in, any remaining loose chip is swept up and the lane is re-opened at a reduced speed for a few days to ensure proper chip embedment.

Brief

When installing 2-coat bitumen chipseal an initial rolling-in period of 12 months is typically recommended as that gives the aggregate stone time to settle in and the bitumen time to harden. Then a follow up chipseal coat is applied called the ‘Birthday Seal’.

The project was pressured to apply the ‘birthday seal’ before this 12-month period was completed in order to have the final surface ready for the already delayed road opening date.

Challenges

This decision along with having to place chipseal in colder temperatures, resulted in an excessive amount of ‘fresh’ bitumen that was still active & malleable upon road opening, heavy vehicle traffic then brought on early ‘flushing’ of the chipseal.

Aprotean were tasked with exploring economical remediation solutions that could be applied within short off-peak lane closure windows (6 hours) as the road was now opened to live traffic and had instantly become a critical route in & out of Wellington for thousands of daily commuters & freight.

Outcome

Aprotean worked with HiWay Stabilizers to apply their ‘HiTex’ solution, which re-heats the excess bitumen on the flushed surface, spreads a thin layer of fresh chip, which is then rolled in. The operation is quick and cost-effective and immediately restores texture depth and skid resistance. It also allows for immediate re-trafficking of the road upon completion.

The HiTex truck is pre-loaded with chip, so there is only a tyre roller, service vehicle and a street sweeper required inside the lane closure making it an agile and mobile operation.

Approximately 8km of the highway was treated with HiTex, which is still being trafficked today.

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