The warmer weather is coming and that means one thing – laying asphalt.
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Well, it does if you're working with Roads and Maritime Services.
From the start of November, when the sun starts to heat up the days, the RMS so-called Asphalt Replacement Teams are out at work.
By the end of summer they hope to have resurfaced 175 kilometres of road across NSW.
“The warmer weather allows the asphalt to remain stable and easy to compact before it cools,” said RMS regional maintenance director John Dinan.
And it’s important to let the asphalt cool down completely before letting cars loose on the new stretch of road, said Australian Asphalt Pavement Association’s NSW Executive Director Dougall Broadfoot.
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Asphalt must be compacted and allowed to cool down to below 60 degrees Celsius before any motorists can travel on it.
“If the new asphalt surface is not allowed to cool down sufficiently, passing vehicles may affect the smoothness of the surface before it sets,” Mr Broadfoot said.
“By driving over soft asphalt it may create bumps and grooves on the surface, which would be a less smooth journey for motorists.
“An uneven surface also causes water to pool in the grooves.”
Some of the November asphalting work is being done in the Illawarra.
The Master and Springhill roads intersection was resurfaced earlier this month, while a stretch of Appin Road is getting some fresh asphalt this week.
Fresh asphalt has also been laid on the Princes Highway at Ulladulla, and the Hume Highway at Berrima, Sutton Forest and Marulan.
RMS crews have also been busy along the Illawarra Highway at Moss Vale and Robertson. Resurfacing work along Picton Road is also due to start this month.
Mr Dinan said around 437,000 tonnes of asphalt was laid each each year.
“Depending on the work site, up to 2000 tonnes of asphalt can be paved per day,” he said.
It will need to be relaid every few years in some locations, while on other roads, the resurfacing could last decades.
Mr Dinan also said the asphalt can be reused.
“Asphalt is safe, smooth and durable and is up to 100 per cent reusable,” he said.
“It’s also flexible and new technologies used is making asphalt a more sustainable choice for road surfaces.”