Bundaberg Regional Council is introducing a new and innovative approach to pavement rehabilitation for sections of road which are susceptible to damage from frequent flooding.
Roads and Drainage portfolio spokesperson Cr Bill Trevor said foamed bitumen stabilisation was a method used to improve the strength of granular materials while retaining a flexible pavement.
“It also produces a road pavement which is more resilient to flooding, requiring less maintenance and repairs following periods of heavy or prolonged rainfall,” he said.
“Given the annual rainfall experienced by the Bundaberg Region and the high cost of repairing or reconstructing roads following wet weather events, foamed bitumen stabilisation is an excellent initiative which, when applied in the right areas, will provide better value for money than traditional methods.”
Foamed bitumen is a mixture of air, water and hot bitumen.
Injecting cold water into the mixture hot bitumen produces an instantaneous expansion of the bitumen, forming foam.
This foam is then rapidly mixed with the granular pavement material.
Two upcoming local rehabilitation projects on Harts Road and Booyan Road will be the first to utilise feature the foamed bitumen stabilisation technique.
“This is the first time that foamed bitumen stabilisation has been used on Council’s road network,” Cr Trevor said.
The Harts Road project is currently in progress and due for completion by the end of June, weather permitting.
The Booyan Road project is due to commence following completion of the Harts Road project