Reinforcement without synthetic fibres and non-woven - Wilhelm-Heinichen-Ring Nord - Celle, Germany
The Wilhelm-Heinichen-Ring is the most important south-west ring road in Celle. It connects the L180 (Winsener Straße / Bremer Weg) in the north-west with the B3 in the direction of Hanover. In addition, the B214 in the west of Celle and the Fuhrberger Straße are connected. The Wilhelm-Heinichen-Ring, which is approx. 6 kilometres long, relieves the traffic junction of the B3 and B214 at Celle Castle. The rehabilitated northern section is approx. 3.3 kilometres long and includes over 41,000 m² of S&P Glasphalt® G asphalt reinforcement.
Project Description
Situation
When the rehabilitation measure of the northern Wilhelm-Heinichen-Ring were planned due to its age and damage, the city of Celle in Lower Saxony and the engineering office Woltmann + Knoop GmbH asked themselves how the rehabilitation intervals could be extended in the future. The increasing traffic loads and construction costs made it more important than ever to look at the possible repair procedures.
Therefore, based on good past experience, it was decided to use the asphalt reinforcement S&P Glasphalt® G. Already in 2019/2020, the city gained experience with S&P products in the road Witzlebenstrasse. Approximately 8,000 m² of asphalt reinforcement was installed there, which has played a large part in keeping the road free of damage to date.
Solution
The project on the northern part of the Wilhelm-Heinichen-Ring was once again a conscious decision by the city and the responsible engineering firm to use asphalt reinforcement without plastic fibres and fleece underlays. "In the past, we repeatedly observed problems with the removal and recycling of asphalt layers. Therefore, we pay special attention to the recyclability of the products," says A. Cordua, the responsible engineer from Woltmann + Knoop. The milling and recycling proof of the S&P products helped in the decision-making process and created the confidence to realise the construction project.
Environmental protection and the sustainability of construction projects are a major challenge in today's world, which the engineering firm Woltmann + Knoop has been meeting for years with innovative and ecological solutions, thus saving emissions and raw materials. These environmental and sustainability aspects, in conjunction with the reduced rehabilitation intervals, ultimately ensured that the planners also decided to use S&P asphalt reinforcement for the Wilhelm-Heinichen-Ring.
Inlay under binder course
The reinforcement is to ensure that the cracks in the remaining substrate do not reflect through into the renewed layers and cause damage to the road surface. In order to use the asphalt inlay as efficiently as possible, it was decided to install it under the binder course, as close as possible to the tensile zone of the asphalt package. The deep installation position allows the reinforcement to absorb the crack-generating tensile forces more effectively, and the binder and wearing courses therefore remain efficient and intact for longer.
Reliable installation at high temperatures
The rehabilitation lasted about seven weeks and was largely carried out during the summer holidays. For the entire duration, traffic on the Wilhelm-Heinichen-Ring was routed past the construction site in a single lane from north to south. The connections to Haydnstrasse and Witzlebenstrasse were completely closed to keep the construction area clear and to allow the work to progress quickly.
The work was carried out on each half of the road separately, with the first construction phase covering the west side of the entire renovation project. The second construction phase then included the east side accordingly. bausion® Strassenbau-Produkte GmbH were responsible for laying the S&P asphalt reinforcement in the two construction phases in midsummer temperatures on behalf of STRABAG SE.
