Challenge

New European traffic safety regulations required local authorities throughout Europe to widen rural roads so that they would safely accommodate two vehicles traveling side by side. Widened shoulders had to be capable of bearing required vehicle weights in order to prevent loss of control, rollovers and head-on collisions. At the same time, the solution had to suit the green landscapes through which these roads pass.

Old Approach

The conventional approach is to pave the additional width of the road, which is a complex and expensive solution. Such an approach normally results in patching and differential sinking settlements between old and new pavements, and yields an unaesthetic result that does not suit the natural surroundings.

Neoloy Tough-Cell Solution

The shoulders were widened to the appropriate width using Neoloy Tough-Cell infilled with local material or substrate granular fill. The solution provided the required load support while reaching the same height as the asphalt paving. Natural grass grew over the Neoloy base, in effect creating a concealed road that preserved the “green” character of the surroundings while solving traffic safety problems.