Poland’s A1 motorway currently represents the largest road construction project in Europe. RoadNews first reported on this project in Issue 09, when asphalt works had just begun. Great progress has since been made on the first 90km long stretch of the motorway. The pavers in use all come from Mannheim. All in all, 10 SUPER pavers from VÖGELE are building the 50cm road pavement comprising crushed-stone base and three asphalt layers. Equipment from the WIRTGEN Group is demonstrating a strong presence in Poland, with no less than 99 machines at work on the “Autostrada 1”.

From the end of 2008, the A1 will be just another motorway for travellers who wish to quickly reach Poland’s interior from Danzig. For construction experts, however, the A1 is a real highlight as this major project is a textbook example of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Some 3,000 people and more than 600 modern construction machines have been at work each day in the Summer of 2007 at the project’s “Prime Time”. General contractor Skanska-NDI is thus operating the largest fleet of machinery ever used in Poland for a single project. Indeed, since the last report in RoadNews 09, the fleet has been massively increased from 242 construction machines to a present number of 632. The WIRTGEN fleet was expanded from 60 to 99, including 10 SUPER pavers instead of the 9 previously on the scene. Furthermore, 500 heavy trucks are busy, among others, supplying the VÖGELE pavers with fresh material.

900,000 tonnes of asphalt placed in one year

Five SUPER 1900-2, three SUPER 2100-2 and two SUPER 1803-1 pavers are operating on Europe’s largest road construction site. These machines have been delivering peak performance for months now to build the first 90km stretch from Danzig to Nowe Marzy. While three of the SUPER 1900-2 tracked pavers complete the final sections of the non-bonded crushed-stone base, all the other machines are busy placing asphalt for base, binder and wearing courses. The performance of this fleet of machines is impressive: in 2007 alone, they will have laid 900,000 tonnes of asphalt and, upon completion of the 90km stretch next year, the total will be 1,600,000 tonnes. Two mixing plants each with a capacity of 300t/h are working to prepare this high amount of mix. Skanska-NDI are relying on VÖGELE for this project, as the pavers of this brand not only build road pavements to the highest standards of quality, but also guarantee maximum efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Only in this way can the target be reached of completing the 90km of motorway in 2008 after a total project duration of 43 months.

The right machines for every task

Choosing the right pavers and screeds has a great influence on the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of a road construction site. For building the carriageways, Skanska-NDI opted for three SUPER 2100-2 with SB 250 Fixed-Width Screeds in TV version, with tamper and vibrators. The screeds are build up to maximum pave widths of 12m. The tracked SUPER 2100-2 models get the asphalt works done for the carriageways and the wide areas of the toll stations. These works call for machinery paving at constant pave widths and achieving high laydown rates. Challenges like this allow the high-performance pavers to unleash their full potential. In those areas where variability is required in terms of pave width, the tracked SUPER 1900-2 models with AB 600 Extending Screeds in TV version are the right choice. And when it comes to paving narrow or curved sections, such as access points, exits or also car parks, the wheeled SUPER 1803-1 pavers with AB 500 TV Extending Screeds are optimal due to their superb manoeuvrability. With these three paver models, Skanska-NDI has the ideal equipment pool to perfectly match the different requirements on the job site. Every paver playing in the team of 10 handles its job with maximum laydown rates and exploits its capabilities to the full.

Servicing on a regular basis for operational availability at all times

Another aspect of cost-effectiveness is reliable operational availablility of the machines at all times, i.e. no downtime during the job. Service technicians perform maintenance services on the SUPER pavers on a regular basis, in compliance with the VÖGELE specifications, in order to prevent any kind of failure of the machines on the scene. Scheduling is handled by Zbigniew Tychulski, the Service Co-ordinator of WIRTGEN Polska, and his team. From his site office on the A1, he plans every machine check in close co-ordination with the Operations Managers. His team then makes all the preparations and sees to it that operating mediums and parts are available as soon as the pavers arrive at the workshop.

The whole lot matches

The examples illustrated show that the entirety of features found in VÖGELE machines – from cutting-edge technologies and high engine power through to perfect material handling and high-performance screeds – represent the prerequisites for an efficient and impeccable use of road pavers. But also “soft” factors such as user-friendly operation and service friendly design add to cost-effectiveness of a job site. On this contract, Skanska-NDI makes the highest demands upon the used equipment in every respect, and all 10 SUPER pavers live up to these demands day after day.

Job Site Details

Construction of a 90km long stretch of the A1 motorway between Danzig and Nowe Marzy, Poland

Paving Details

Pave width: 12m for carriageways, 8m (approx.) for access points, exits and car parks

Layer thickness Roadbase: a total of 15cm

Binder course: 8cm

Wearing Course: 3.5cm

Paving Material

Crushed-stone base: a mix of basalt and melaphyre, maximum grain size 35mm

Binder course: material containing polymer modified bitumen

Wearing course: stone mastic asphalt (SMA)

900,000t of asphalt paved in 2007

(a total of 1,600,000t upon completion of the motorway section)

Equipment

3 SUPER 2100-2 with SB 250 TV Fixed-Width Screeds

2 SUPER 1900-2 with AB 600 TV Extending Screeds (for asphalt paving)

3 SUPER 1900-2 with AB 600 TP2 Extending Screeds (for crushed-stone base)

2 SUPER 1803-1 with AB 500 TV Extending Screeds

20 HAMM Rollers of the HD Series (different weights)

2 HAMM DV 70 VO Rollers

2 HAMM GRW 10 Rubber-Tyred Rollers

2 HAMM 3412 HT VIO Single-Drum Compactors

HAMM Single-Drum Compactors and

WIRTGEN Soil Stabilizers (for earthworks)