Work has been completed on the UK’s first carbon-neutral scheme in Cumbria for Highways England.
The project, a collaboration between A E Yates, Aggregate Industries and Amey, saw over 1,000 tonnes of Foamix asphalt laid per night between junction6 of the M6 and Bettarg Holt, with operatives working 24 hours via two shifts to help minimise disruption.
Existing road surface planings were recycled and encapsulated back into the pavement by producing a site batched cold recycled asphalt using Aggregates Industries SuperLow asphalt. In total, 50,000 tonnes of material was extracted from the original pavement and 39,000 tonnes recycled over the course of just six weeks. This included 11,600 tonnes of asphalt and 27,000 tonnes of foamix laid using wide pavers.
This managed to yield a significant 43% carbon reduction, compared with conventional resurfacing methods.
A number of carbon credits were obtaining throughout the project because of Aggregate Industries’ partnerhsip with carbon offset specialist Circular Ecology.
Guy Edwards, CEO at Aggregate Industries UK, said: “As the world’s first building materials supplier to commit to hitting net zero emissions by 2050, completing the UK’s first carbon neutral pavement scheme is a landmark achievement for us and demonstrates our commitment to achieving this goal.”
“By working collaboratively with Highways England, AE Yates and Amey on the A590 M6 J36 to Brettarg Holt scheme during the early contractor involvement stage, we were able to identify a low-carbon approach designed to provide significant environmental; and in turn, cost benefits, by establishing a best practice approach to greener road surfacing.”
