7 Mar 2017

Repair and rebuild flood damaged roads

Widespread flooding during 2016 resulted in damage to a number of road networks across Australia. Flood recovery works are underway, with councils and road authorities rebuilding damaged roads within restricted budgets with a simple change to the way things have always been done.

Whilst re-sheeting is often thought of as the easiest method with which to rebuild flood damaged roads and repair pavements, in truth it is not the most effective way. Crews are used to rejecting existing material as unsuitable. They are used to trucking in imported material. They are used to maintaining unsealed roads only to see those roads drenched and damaged again and again in repeated rain events.

PolyCom Stabilising Aid enables crews to use the material that is already in the road or table drains to make a stronger pavement, rather than trucking in new materials for re-sheeting, as has been the most common flood repair fix in the past. 

PolyCom is not only a simple and cost-effective solution for flood repair. When PolyCom is mixed into road material and compacted, the finished road pavement is stronger and longer lasting. It resists traffic and water damage into the future.

PolyCom is so effective that it will pay for itself by reducing the amount of new gravel required, with most roads needing 4 to 6 times less maintenance grading or attention after being treated.

A council or department will find that PolyCom can be added to the maintenance method and schedule they have been familiar with, without disruption. Crews become used to using in-situ material to repair flood damaged roads. They become used to recycling road material rather than importing material. Crews become used to maintaining roads with PolyCom.

PolyCom can repair and rebuild a road more easily and cost-effectively in the face of shrinking budgets and increasing flood repair backlogs. 

Improved efficiency by way of better time management, lower plant and manpower requirements, as well as a lower carbon footprint, make PolyCom Stabilising Aid a compelling solution.

6 Jan 2017

PolyCom upgrade on grain haul route

The wheatbelt region in Western Australia is the source of nearly two thirds of the state's wheat production, half of its wool production, and a range of other agricultural and pastoral products. 

With considerable effort made to support the efficient transport of goods, the existing road maintenance regime for one local shire was becoming unrealistic in both cost and resource management. 

In a road widening and reconstruction project, the Shire made the decision to strengthen the base course with PolyCom Stabilising Aid.

Three years on, the Shire has used PolyCom on approximately 15 kilometres of road per year to reduce degradation and road failure, and overall wear on the sealed surface.

Stabilisation with PolyCom has created a far better outcome for the problem area, resulting in:

    •    Reduced deformation in the outer wheel path of the treated roads

    •    Reduced punching of the aggregate into the road surface

    •    Reduced flushing of bitumen at the surface.

Maintenance on the PolyCom treated sections of road have been reduced, making for a sustainable solution where resources can be utilised to do other works required.

Traditional road construction methods suggest there is an upper limit to CBR readings that will result in cracking. However, by maintaining flexibility of the treated pavement and raising overall pavement strength, PolyCom has allowed maintenance crews to achieve much higher CBR values using the material already present in these roads without failure. This factor allows use of lower grade materials that will generate a superior outcome.The use of PolyCom has saved considerable resources for the Shire.

23 Dec 2016

WA Councils Procure PolyCom on Road to Sustainability

Traditionally, roads have been constructed using high grade quarry products such as hard rock and gravel. These non-renewable resources are becoming more challenging to acquire in terms of cost and access. The process of quarrying and hauling the material incurs significant cost and carbon emissions, not to mention further damage to the haul route incurred during the transport of quarry materials to the road site. 

There is substantial progress in creating road networks and maintenance practises that are resilient to future environmental and resource related challenges. Councils across Australia are playing a key role in driving innovation in the road construction industry, with the procurement of PolyCom Stabilising Aid to improve the strength and integrity of their road network.

Road authorities use PolyCom to upgrade road materials that would normally be deemed unsuitable for use. PolyCom is supplied in 2kg packs, a quantity that can stabilise 50m2 or 100 tonnes of road material - a stark comparison to traditional alternatives that would require significantly higher quantities of virgin material. 

A preferred WALGA supplier, materials stabilisation company Betta Roads distributes PolyCom Stabilising Aid to councils in Western Australia. 

Managing Director Paul Bright says many PolyCom users report higher pavement stiffness and CBR on roads treated with PolyCom. Would you like to use PolyCom for your road stabilisation or earthworks project? Contact us for more information.

1 Dec 2016

PolyCom Business is Booming

The word is out. Business is booming and customer satisfaction is at an all time high.PolyCom road stabilising is gaining traction across Australia as road makers enjoy the savings on unsealed road maintenance.Treating unsealed roads with PolyCom Stabilising Aid is a winner in the face of road maintenance issues.

In the last few months, the Australian made polymer binder has worked its way through naturally occurring sub grade, pit gravel, natural soils and high quality crushed rock for a large number of different projects in road construction, mining and earthworks across the country. Used on unsealed roads, access roads, airfields, mining haul roads, harvesting roads, carparks, hardstands or anywhere the earth is moved, PolyCom proves to be extremely versatile and cost-effective.

PolyCom provides those charged with road construction and maintenance with the tools to produce a stronger pavement with the materials already in the ground. PolyCom aids compaction, increasing the resistance to water ingress and traffic wear. This results in a significant reduction in road maintenance costs, time and resources.

PolyCom works in difficult materials that would often be wasted or considered unsuitable, such as materials with a high clay content or a low clay content like sandy clay. 

With dedicated distributors in every state, you will have a source of local knowledge and experience at hand to enable you to get the best possible results. PolyCom Stabilising Aid is a trusted polymer stabiliser used for over 12 years in the field. The fast application process does not require an investment in specialised equipment, making it easy to understand why road makers are increasingly turning to the PolyCom stabilising system for efficient management of road infrastructure.

Click here to find out how to apply PolyCom road stabilising aid to almost any material. 

11 Apr 2016

Polymer Treated Floodway

The pictures below illustrate the effectiveness of PolyCom in stopping erosion by strengthening the pavement materials.This floodway in West Australia was constructed in 2012, and treated with PolyCom. The road has since experienced four separate flood events, where the untreated sections have been washed away. The washed away areas have been rehabilitated without PolyCom treatment and have subsequently washed away again.

The PolyCom treated road has resisted the flood waters, which can be seen from the distinct line separating the PolyCom treated section from the untreated section, approximately two metres from the edge of the seal in the images below. Erosion begins where PolyCom ends.

The series of photos below were not taken in a lab but field proven in real life by real people.

This busy tourist access road in Western Australia consists of Pindan sand-clay. With 150mm of  loose material, the road surface is prone to blow outs. Simply avoiding the use of highly erodible materials is often considered too high a cost when resources are scarce. As a result, constructing roads to survive traffic and harsh weather conditions from material highly susceptible to erosion is a major challenge.

But with an application of PolyCom Stabilising Aid, these are problems of the past. One month after this road was treated with PolyCom, tests on the load-bearing capacity of the road revealed a high CBR, otherwise known as California Bearing Ratio - a penetration test used to evaluate the strength of road sub-grades and base-courses.

Two months after treatment, regular traffic and some wet weather resulted in increased pavement strengths and improved surface integrity.Continued monitoring of the pavement performance by the council has proved the road to remain serviceable in both dry and wet weather.For remote communities, PolyCom is a simple and inexpensive method of obtaining an enhanced unsealed pavement with greatly reduced maintenance and cost.

10 Sep 2015

Betta Roads Is Now A WALGA Preferred Supplier

WALGA delivers a wide range of value adding and capacity enhancing 

products and services to Members. Using these products and services 

will provide significant financial savings and procurement benefits to your organisation.

21 Aug 2015

New PolyCom Mobile App For Road Crews Helps Build Stronger Roads

A new mobile App for road construction provides info and support for road crews when applying PolyCom Stabilising Aid during road maintenance or construction.

“PolyCom requires a different way of thinking,”  “We always assist new customers on the job until they’re comfortable with the process. Our new app adds another layer of service to ensure our customers achieve the best results.”

With a very small application rate for large amounts of material, PolyCom Stabilising Aid is vastly different to traditional road stabilising methods. PolyCom provides a simpler way of obtaining a stronger, longer lasting pavement with instant results and long-term benefits at greatly reduced cost. 

PolyCom is used for sealed and unsealed road construction and maintenance, mining haul roads, transport hardstands, embankment stabilisation and general earthworks. 

Available for android and Apple smartphones and tablets, the PolyCom app was developed to assist our customers in the field and allow on site access to information and advice on using our products. The app provides PolyCom info that can be accessed by road workers on the job, with PolyCom consultants on call for support and advice.