In the run up to the 29th Olympic Games, the capital of China has made massive investments in its infrastructure. In addition to numerous new sports facilities for the 302 competitions in 28 different sporting disciplines, the investments also financed the rehabilitation of public roads. Equipment from the WIRTGEN Group was on the scene, too. A team of WIRTGEN cold milling machines, VÖGELE pavers and HAMM rollers resurfaced a stretch of the 4th Ring Road in the immediate vicinity of the Beijing National Stadium, affectionately referred to by Beijing’s residents as the “Bird‘s Nest”. The special challenge for the two VÖGELE SUPER 1800-2 pavers was that they had a time slot of just two nights to pave 1,000m of wearing course in both directions.

During the Games, the “Bird's Nest” in the Chinese capital accommodated 91,000 spectators. After completion of the Beijing National Stadium, a number of roads in the vicinity had to be rehabilitated for the Summer Olympic Games. Beijing Urban Construction Group Co., Ltd. (BUCG) was awarded the contract to resurface a 1km long section of the 4th Ring Road, one of Beijing's main traffic arteries. However, what initially sounded like a relatively small contract presented the BUCG team with a complex challenge in terms of job site logistics. Work could only be carried out at night time, and even then one lane in each direction had to be kept open to traffic. This was a crucial condition as heavy goods traffic can only drive into the inner rings of the Chinese capital during the night. Job sites on one of the immensely busy ring roads would threaten to cause mile-long traffic jams. The reason for this is that more than 3 million vehicles already use Beijing's roads and 1,000 new vehicle registrations are made every single day.

WIRTGEN cold milling machine removes 6cm of asphalt layer

After meticulous planning of the job site, the resurfacing work was started as usual with a cold milling machine that removed 6cm of the asphalt wearing course. This task was handled by a WIRTGEN W 1900 Cold Milling Machine with a working width of 2m. The W 1900 dumped a total of 4,200 tonnes of milled asphalt granulate onto a preceding truck. All told, 6 to 7 passes were necessary in each direction in order to remove all of the damaged section of the 4th Ring Road.

Night shift for the VÖGELE pavers

Once the surface had been milled off, it was the turn of the VÖGELE pavers. Two SUPER 1800-2 proved to be just the ticket for this task. Both pavers were equipped with AB 600-2 TV Extending Screeds featuring a basic pave width of 3m. The sturdy single-tube telescoping system of the screed allows infinite variation in width up to 6m. By mounting bolt-on extensions, a maximum width of 9.5m can be paved without joints. On the job site in Beijing, two 0.75cm bolt-on extensions were fitted to each of the screeds building them up to 7.5m. On the busy road, the pavers placed 6cm wearing course of stone mastic asphalt (SMA). The paving work had to be completed in just two night shifts. Every delay, be it caused by bottlenecks in the mix logistics or the failure of a machine, would have had far-reaching consequences. Therefore, the service engineers of WIRTGEN China were always on site to intervene in the event of an emergency.

Beijing National Stadium: The “Bird’s Nest”

Before the 29th Olympic Games could take place in Beijing this summer, the People‘s Republic of China undertook enormous efforts to modernize its infrastructure and sports facilities, as well as building new ones. The Games were declared open in the evening of August 08, at precisely 8 minutes and 8 seconds past 8 o‘clock. The number eight is considered a lucky number in China.

The heart of the venue is without doubt the “Bird‘s Nest”, as the Olympic stadium is known. The unique structure was designed by Swiss starchitects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. A total of 45,000 tonnes of steel was needed to build the 330m long, 220m wide and 70m high “Bird‘s Nest”. During the Games, the stadium accommodated 91,000 spectators.

Beijing amazed at low noise emission

The SUPER 1800-2's ECO Mode ensures low noise levels during operation. The 129.6kW engine installed in the powerful paver runs particularly quietly in this mode, saves fuel and stands out through low exhaust emission. As on many other job sites, the ECO Mode supplied more than enough power for the inner-city contract.

SUPER 1800-2 proves a success in China

As one of the most compact and powerful tracked pavers in its class, the SUPER 1800-2 handles an impressive variety of applications. Indeed, the all-rounder is a very successful performer in China. The machine is particularly popular with users due to its ease of operation and comfort. With ErgoPlus®, the concept for intuitive paver handling, the “dash 2” generation VÖGELE pavers have set a new standard. ErgoPlus® includes a modern workplace with an operator's seat that can be swung out to the sides together with the operating console, on which controls are arranged in logical groups. The operator has an unimpeded view of the material hopper, the screed and all other key points of the paver. These are just some of the features rendering paving as convenient and efficient as possible.

HAMM tandem rollers for final compaction

Two HAMM HD O120V rollers were used for subsequent final compaction of the new wearing course on the 4th Ring Road. These machines operate with both vibration and oscillation. Thanks to the combination of the two technologies, the stone mastic asphalt requiring a high compactive effort was easily transformed into a pavement of lasting, high load-carrying density.

Close to our customers the world over

The reason why machines from three WIRTGEN Group members were used in Beijing was due not only to the innovative machine technology. “The overall package offered by WIRTGEN China was very impressive,” explains Mr. Luo, Deputy General Director of BUCG. “With the service centre in Langfang, not far away from Beijing, the WIRTGEN Group is always close at hand.” True to their motto “Close to our customers”, the WIRTGEN Group provides in China, too, a 24-hour on-site service. “We don't usually have to call, but knowing they are around gives us peace of mind. On the job site in Beijing, nothing was to go wrong. Therefore, WIRTGEN immediately delegated their service engineers who provided us with their expert advice. It's things like this that make WIRTGEN China a true partner for us.”

SUPER 1800-2: Facts and Figures

• Maximum pave width 10m
• Laydown rate up to 700 tonnes/h
• Maximum layer thickness 30cm
• Transport width 2.55m
• Pave speed up to 24m/min.
• Travel speed up to 4.5km/h
• PERKINS engine rated at 129.6kW
• ErgoPlus® operating concept