Public Funding for Colas Limited

To produce an industry world-first ‘nano’ emulsion, providing durability that the road-surfacing and maintenance industry required. Properties to include a high bonding quality, smaller bitumen droplets, a long-term stability, controllable viscosity and lower emulsifier to oil ratio.

Public sector spending on highway maintenance and infrastructure construction projects will be rapidly increasing over the coming 5 year period (2016-2021). Although this is great news for industry and the economy, rapidly increasing workloads will put significant strain on resources, which creates natural conflicts with essential health and safety practises. Highway Resource Solutions (HRS) designs and manufacturer’s innovative safety systems for temporary work sites to help alert workers to approaching errant vehicles. In collaboration with Colas, who is a leading provider to the UK Highway Agency, this project proposes a step-change in site safety by researching and trialling a unique in-vehicle Galileo navigation device which identifies hazards and adapts to a changing environment. The new safety platform will improve productivity, whilst improving workforce safety by monitoring approaching vehicles (and their speed), and alerting them of perimeter breeches by errant vehicles. In addition, it will be possible to alert vehicle drivers of overhead cables or structures, preventing potential electrocution or accidental damage to critical infrastructure.

To develop and evaluate microasphalt containing glass fibres giving high resistance to cracking, and establish the capability for further exploitation of glass fibre in pavement applications.