Introduction

In these days of ‘Best Value ‘ exposure there is great pressure on providers, clients and
contractors to produce safe, durable, environmentally conscious pavement designs and
maintenance methods.
Value for money, extending useful service life through preventative maintenance, improving
safety and raising standards of quality through innovation, are all ideals that ring through the
corridors of our industry. The advent of ‘Best Value’ initiatives has increased the level of
environmental consciousness and given rise to a variety of processes that support all the
above ideals in a safe, responsible and economic fashion.
In this paper, the author explains surface texture improvements and other applications of
captive hydrology value in the following disciplines: -
• Restoration of surface texture (macrotexture)- Surface Dressed (chip-seal) surfaces, Hot
Rolled Asphalt, Stone Mastic Asphalt wearingcourses and concrete pavements
• Skid resistance improvement
• Porous Asphalt maintenance cleaning
• Pre-Surfacing surface preparation cleaning
• Line marking removal
• Concrete paving cleaning - oil line cleaning - restoration of texture - (without chemicals)
•
Other uses include:
• Aircraft stand cleaning - (without chemicals)
• Rubber deposit removal - Runway Touch Down Zones and Motor Racing Circuits

One process in particular was manually propelled with the operator having to drape hoses
over his shoulder carrying water at of around 700 Bar. This not only exposed the operator to
risk should the hose split but he is also exposed to passing traffic. The water used and
bitumen liberated from the highway surface was not adequately recovered so contaminated
water and debris was free to enter the drainage system or to pollute streams and rivers in
some circumstances.
Another company converted a sewer cleaning machine and made a unit for retexturing that
was able to treat the highway wheel tracks. This device has been successful, but it is both
slow and noisy.
In 1996, the author acquired Swiss designed machines purpose built for highway and airfield
surface treatments and these machines are able to work from a base 2.3 metre’s up to 3.9
metre’s variably as well as recovering waste at the point of treatment.
There are also mechanical processes for Retexturing, the most effective of which is the
systems promulgated by Klaruw RMS and Briser Road Safety, however this process deals
with Micro Texture – skid resistance only.
For many years, carbonization or road burning was carried out to remove migrated bitumen
with all the structural and environmental penalties inherent to the process.