New Innovative Road Construction Method Whitetopping – a Quick Way to Resolve Rutting

Road traffic in Germany is increasing steadily year after year and recent forecasts have predicted that it will continue to do so. At the same time, neither the German central government, the federal states nor the towns and cities have the funds required for new infrastructure projects and urgently needed repairs. As a result, more and more roads are deteriorating as pavement structures as a whole are frequently no longer able to cope with modern-day traffic. Whitetopping, which originated in the USA, is a quick, cost-effective and long-lasting solution to the problem of rehabilitating or strengthening damaged and/or under dimensioned asphalt pavements. It can be used on motorways, highroads and country roads as well as on roads in towns and cities, airfield pavements and parking areas. Whitetopping is also the ideal solution for difficult areas at critical points in inner-city areas, such as at traffic lights, junctions and bus lanes where the severe dynamic loads due to starting and braking can lead to rutting and washboarding. HeidelbergCement was the first company in Germany to use and test this innovative type of road construction, installing whitetopping on a test section in Wetzlar in 2004. The greatest advantage of whitetopping is the speed with which it can be placed. The damaged asphalt pavement is strengthened with a relatively thin concrete overlay instead of completely renewing it, with the existing surface being used as a base course. Thus almost any road can be repaired durably, costeffectively and with relatively little effort provided the base course or pavement structure is still reasonably intact. New developments in the field of binders have lead to cements with photocatalytic properties. They can absorbe harmful substances out of the air. For a coming UTW-project this new photocatalytic road concrete will be tested the first time in Germany.