Rutland County Council identified the project on the A6003 @ Caldecott as a key safety enhancement & low carbon scheme, designed for the benefit of the community and road users. The incumbent term maintenance contractor being Tarmac Highways, fully supported the key objectives set out by Rutland CC.
Meon welcomed the opportunity to work with Rutland CC on this safety improvement scheme. The gentle decline down into Caldecott from Uppingham has been an accident black spot for many years. The scheme included over 400 square metres of High Friction Surfacing, new lane markings and 360-degree reflective stud installation.
Rutland CC have a ‘Climate Change Action Motion’ statement which includes a commitment to take action to deal with ‘Climate Change’ to make sure that the Council’s activities achieve net-zero carbon before 2050.’ Following an awareness session whereby the Project Highways Zero team at Meon presented on how to improve Safety, increase Durability, and reduce Carbon emissions of highway markings and reinstatement systems, Rutland CC committed to trialling new systems on the scheme.
Rutland CC successfully facilitated a collaborative approach to the scheme. This included engagement with Meon for material supply, Wilson & Scott for application delivery, Tarmac Highways for site management and the BBA for test and assessment. Installation required full carriageway road space, by working with other scheme delivery teams, site work was always completed during collaborative road closure programmes.
The surface marking works programme was completed on a new asphalt substrate using cold applied systems, therefore removing the need for hot works on site. This included 480 sqm’s of MMA HFS and nearly 300 linear metres of 150mm centre line. Meon’s commitment to helping the industry reduce carbon went a step further by using battery powered mixing equipment and fully electric line marking application equipment.
Rutland’s collaboration with supply chain extended beyond the initial installation. The narrow window of application opportunities forced the installation to take place during temperatures that were on the outer limit for the system. This led to performance failure which the supply chain collaboration corrected without financially impacting Rutland CC. Meon estimate that the lines themselves offer a 60% increase in night-time visibility, 300% more durable and reduced carbon output by more than 60%.
Andy Tatt, Interim Principal Highways Manager at Rutland CC, said: “We have been working very closely with Meon over the last few months to get the project complete. It is key to our environmental agenda to get zero carbon that we look at projects like this. We are really keen to know on the performance of this system, Meon will be monitoring the site over the next 6-12 months and report back. I think that this is the future, we need to trial these cold applied systems and see how they go, ensuring that we meet our zero-carbon strategy in a safe and sustainable method".
The scheme has been key in the development of new systems for Meon. Russell Smallridge, Technical Director at Meon, said: “Through the development of a commercial strategic partnership between Wilson & Scott and Meon, focus on the decarbonisation of line marking and highway repairs for infrastructure projects was established. The Rutlands HFS (high Friction Surface) trial was identified as a suitable project that both companies could support on to help drive awareness of the importance of installing high quality and durable anti-skid surfaces.”
Meon’s hard wearing and highly durable UniPrime and UltraForce MMA products were utilised and supported two of Rutland’s key objectives: To achieve the highest possible safety standards in an accident black spot area. To make sure that the Council’s activities achieve net-zero carbon before 2050. Meon added: “The opportunity to work with Rutland CC and Wilson & Scott has been excellent.
A key part of this project is to monitor the site over a period going forward, with the primary objective to improve safety, durability and sustainability. These are the three core factors we are looking to deliver across this scheme. We are looking forward to returning to Caldecott and carrying out site assessments, and reporting back on successful key performance results”
Under the management of Tarmac Highways, the collaborative approach in conjunction with Meon and Wilson & Scott teams enabled the works to be completed in 1 day. Brian Murphy, Service Manager at Tarmac, concluded: “Being able to work with several partners across the supply chain in this innovative support approach is crucial to help the future growth within our industry, and Tarmac welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with our client to delivery this outsourced trial site project on a fee FREE basis.”
The project has been a great success for all partners involved, providing a safer approach to the village of Caldecott.
To learn more about the services provided by Meon, visit https://meonuk.com/
Meon are thrilled to be exhibiting at Highways UK 2022 in November. Come and visit us on stand K10 to discuss how we can work in collaboration with you to deliver innovative sustainable projects together
