Proposed Solutions for the Widening of Existing Asphalt Pavements on Motorways with Extra Lanes in Concrete

Many areas in western Europe suffer trom congestion of traffic during peak hours, mainly on motorways leading to and situated near the economic centres. Therefore, authorities plan to widen several motorways in order to improve the mobility. In the Netherlands the widening of approximately 400 km motorways is expected to enhance the traffic flow on the transit routes. Another reason of this widening is to reserve lanes for special traffic groups, such as heavy traffic, carpoolers and public transportation. These should be given priority during peak hours on separated reserved lanes. Asphalt pavements will deform under heavy traffic conditions and they need periodic main- tenance. These activities cause congestion of traffic and are often carried out during 'quiet' nighttimes. Cement concrete can be a durable and economic alternative. This paper describes sonic technical solutions for matching existing asphalt to 'new' cement concrete pavements.