Specialists of the Industry-Wide Competence Center of the Road Industry (BCC) arrived in the Northern Capital at the request of regional industry leaders. The meeting was held in a question-and-answer format, since it is not the first time that the delegation of the Scientific Institute holds such meetings in St. Petersburg. The Leningrad Region is one of the pilot subjects in the framework of cooperation with the FAA "ROSDORNII" in terms of the introduction of new technologies. Recall that the CC provides consulting support, helping the regions to implement the tasks of the national project "Safe and high-quality highways" in the most qualitative way.
The meeting was held at the site of the regional Road Management Committee. He was joined by regional officials and representatives of customer companies. Those present were greeted by the Director of Organizational Activities of the BCCAlexey Kovrov, having outlined the ways of further cooperation:
"The need to switch from mixtures according to outdated GOST to modern technologies is overdue, after 2 years old methods will no longer be used, new ones need to be mastered. And these technologies will increase the quality of roads, repair time, and, accordingly, reduce costs. Several regions have already passed this way, having switched to new mixes by a strong-willed decision, and you are already doing this, so you have every chance to reach the advanced regions. Let's maximize the effect of the national project together."
Representatives of the Committee replied that such a decision has already been made, and now the region is focused on the fastest possible restructuring of the road complex to work with new technologies.
The first facility with the use of new technologies, namely with the use of a mixture designed by a volumetric-functional method, was commissioned in the region this year. We are talking about a problematic section of the St. Petersburg - Morye highway, the famous "Road of Life", which during the Great Patriotic War was the only transport highway connecting besieged Leningrad with the country.
The technology of volumetric-functional designing is one of the priorities, the experts of the FAA "ROSDORNIA" have repeatedly told about its advantages at such meetings and author's webinars. The advantage of this method, firstly, is that it allows you to design a mixture according to a unique recipe, taking into account the climate, traffic intensity, geographical and landscape features of the area. And secondly, the gyratory sealer, which is used in this technology, can simulate the load during the laying and operation of asphalt concrete. The educational program on this topic for the audience was conducted by the deputy director for organizational activities of the CC FAU "ROSDORNII",Olga Vorobyova:
"The gyrator is also a testing machine, it can recreate the consequences of 20 years of continuous traffic in 3 minutes. This is the only way we can make sure that in the next couple of years the coating will not "go into a rut". You have already become familiar with this method, by 2023 the ABZ should leave the old mixtures. There is no turning back."
Another important topic that was discussed with Leningrad road workers was the work on restoring the foundation of highways, since half of them are in the region it was built decades ago, and their quality does not stand up to any criticism. And new methods of regeneration and stabilization will significantly increase the service life of the coating.
The prospects for cooperation with the Leningrad region at the scientific Institute are called successful, since many highly qualified contractors are based in this region, ready for changes. In addition, they have advanced equipment and equipment in their arsenal. But even competent specialists at the stage of introducing new technologies face difficulties, and such meetings with industry experts allow us to find solutions to emerging problems. The questions of the audience were answered by the adviser to the Director General of the FAA "ROSDORNIA",Eugene Damier:
"One of the local contractors at first encountered the sensitivity of the asphalt concrete mix recipe. They had a "culture shock" when they just changed the mineral powder, and the mixture "flew". Every component is important here. At such moments, the realization comes that we used to do the operation with a wrench. Customers and contractors must clearly understand the procedure. Otherwise, it happens step to the left, step to the right – at your own expense."
Answering the questions of road workers, the working group of the Scientific Institute also touched upon the successful experience of introducing new technologies and materials in other regions, Kursk and Orenburg regions have particularly successful cases now. Their customer services were able to organize the transition of the region's road industry to new standards in the shortest possible time. And now the subjects of the Russian Federation are sharing their experience with their neighbors. This is expected from the Leningrad region, he saidAlexander Tikhonov, Deputy Head of the Department for the Development of Scientific and Technical Potential of the road Industry of the FAA "ROSDORNII":
"Kursk and Orenburg are now at the forefront, they were the first to decide to abandon outdated methods and materials. They can tell us what they have encountered in practice, how to interact with the customer and the contractor, we see the influence of the regions on neighboring subjects. We do not have such a region in the Northwest, and the Leningrad Region should assume this role. Vologda, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk are looking at you... They will learn from your example."
As a result of the meeting, the experts of the scientific institute and representatives of the regional authorities made a general conclusion about the need to develop a long-term strategy for the development of the road industry of the Leningrad region, including a work plan for the introduction of new and best technologies. It will be submitted to the governor for consideration, and subsequently sent to the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation.