NCC Roads recycles and preserves the environment

NCC Roads repairs gravel roads with an innovative method preserving the environment and saving materials in cooperation with machinery entrepreneur Pasi Tirkkonen. The reconstruction of the road structure is done with stone material lifted and crushed directly at the reconstruction site. When rocks are removed from the road structure, the load capacity of the road increases and its durability improves.

Traditionally, stone material used in the repair of gravel roads is dug up from gravel pits and transported to the stretch to be reconstructed. By utilising existing raw materials, transport distances, use of natural resources and modification of the environment are decreased. In addition to rocks brought from elsewhere, the method also replaces the filter cloth, and during the repair the road surface is stabilised with metal slag created as waste in steel factories.  

Genuine repair, not just surface improvement 

This method is well-suited for roads in need of improved load capacity, re-paving or repair of damage caused by freezing.
– “Use of material crushed from the road structure as raw material is a sustainable way to repair roads. When the structure of the road is repaired properly and not just cosmetically, the users benefit from it many times over. The method is not more expensive than others either,” says Aapo Hurttia, unit manager from NCC Roads road maintenance.

If needed, the stone material derived from the road is supplemented with materials created by digging border ditches. The old surface material is detached from the road surface and the surface is crushed to a depth of approximately 30 centimetres.  Finally, the structure is shaped and compacted by rolling. 

Mobile equipment is suitable everywhere

This method is suitable for use everywhere. The mobile repair equipment fits even narrow roads. The method is profitable even for a short, one-kilometre distance. The most recent repair site was in Savitaipale, where the 6.5-metre-wide Partakoskentie road was repaired in two stages.

Since 2005, NCC Roads has cooperated with Pasi Tirkkonen in bringing the method utilising recycled materials to market.  Tirkkonen owns Finland’s only equipment fleet utilising the method at a small scale. NCC Roads brings its project management and marketing expertise to the cooperation, as well as other possibly needed equipment.

NCC Roads is interested in developing road maintenance into an activity which preserves the environment. The company also promotes the use of recycled materials in the repair of gravel roads in cooperation with local industrial enterprises.

- There is a great deal to develop in road maintenance and the repair of gravel roads. We want to make customers aware of this new kind of road maintenance product, says Aapo Hurtta.