Experts selected samples of the road surface at selected sites for testing
Specialists of the Volgograd branch of the Russian Road Research Institute monitor the quality of road works carried out in the Astrakhan region within the framework of the national project "Safe and High-quality Highways". The audit is conducted at all stages of road construction works, this week experts took samples from the facility, the repair of which has already been completed, as well as from the road, where work is in full swing.
Milling, laying of a geogrid (to improve the quality of the road surface) and the subsequent device of the leveling layer from which the auditors took core samples have already been completed on the Airport highway in Astrakhan. In addition, samples of raw materials were selected at a local asphalt concrete plant. In the next trips, it is planned to take cores from the top layer, as well as measure the adhesion, evenness and slope coefficients of the coating.
On the road Razdor-Kaspiy repair work has already been completed, the facility has been put into operation. Experts took samples from the leveling and upper layers of the road surface.
Also in the list the objects being audited are Kulikova Street in Astrakhan and the bridge crossing over the Kigach river, where major repairs are underway. Previously, samples of raw materials were taken here.
All cores and materials are sent to the testing laboratory to determine the physical and mechanical properties. It is planned that the results of the study will be ready by the end of July. They will be sent to participants of road activities.
By the way, a number of the results of earlier inspections are already known. For example, on the last trip, auditors took samples of bitumen, crushed stone, mineral powder and sand at an asphalt plant that supplies materials for the repair of the Razdor-Caspian road. Experts have established: the quality of the coating corresponds to the declared characteristics.
In addition, experts positively assessed the work of laboratories at all facilities, in particular, the availability of necessary equipment and the qualifications of personnel.
It should be noted that so far these laboratories are working with traditional road construction technologies. But the experts of the Industry-wide Competence Center, whose functions are performed by the FAA "ROSDORNII", are sure that there are the basis for the introduction of progressive new and best technologies that significantly increase the durability of roads. Recall that in 2019, an agreement on cooperation was signed between the region and the institution, and in March 2020, the institute's experts held a training seminar on the implementation of a system of volumetric and functional design of asphalt concrete mixtures.
In such a design, the operational characteristics of the mixture are evaluated (how well the road will cope with the traffic flow, how resistant it will be to loads), and the climatic conditions of the specific region where the road is being built or repaired are also taken into account. That is, the composition and parameters of the mixture are selected for each specific site. It was reported that road builders of the Astrakhan region plan to switch to the use of this technology in 2021.