The Shire’s traditional treatment was to re-sheet 75mm of existing road gravel with new gravel from a quarry many kilometres away. This practice was placing pressure on Council's triple bottom line, causing cost to the community and repeated distruption to road users, not to mention the use of scarce materials.
So engineers went in search of an alternative method to maintain the Council's roads.
Council wanted to recycle or re-use its existing roads, but to do this knew they must improve the engineering properties of the existing road material. Their research led them to PolyCom Stabilising Aid. PolyCom acts to strengthen the pavement and create a tightly-bound surface, reducing water infiltration and significantly reducing surface deterioration.
PolyCom was simply applied by Council's works crew and blended with the existing road material. No expensive equipment was required and the PolyCom application did not delay the crew.
As a progressive and forward-thinking organisation, this Council also set out to measure the financial and social benefits of using PolyCom. Prior to treating with PolyCom, one particular road was graded six times per year at a cost of $10,800 per annum. In the nine months since PolyCom was applied, this same road has only been graded once at a cost of $1800 - a massive saving.
Extrapolated over the life of the pavement and the entire road network, PolyCom will save this Council hundreds of thousands of dollars that can be re-directed to essential services and infrastructure.
And the benefits of PolyCom don't end there. Ratepayers have commented on the better quality of job and reduced disruption due to less maintenance interventions.
By using PolyCom, the Council has achieved a true triple bottom line win: reduced cost, reduced use of raw materials and enhanced social amenity.
Contact Earthco Projects to discuss how to make your road network more sustainable with lasting benefits to the community.
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