Gaping potholes are plaguing the roads of South Africa at present, particularly in Gauteng, with a gluttony of deep crevasses seeming to indicate a widespread problem. According to Polymer Pavements CEO Nick Muller, the cutting-edge technology from his company allows for a vastly quicker turnaround time in the repair of potholes.
"Pot-Tech combines two products into a single pre-packaged solution, and can be applied by two unskilled people, with minimal equipment, to fix a pothole in about 20 minutes. A polymer-constructed road can be opened to traffic within 24 hours, compared with the 28 days needed for cement to achieve its maximum efficiency," he says.
Muller notes that although the polymer road products cost more than traditional road construction materials such as bitumen and aggregate, less is needed for the same strength, while the process could also use local sand and stone, making it more cost effective than traditional options.
The use of polymers for road stabilisation has shown remarkable results all over the world in the stabilisation of base and sub-base layers. Using this technology reduces the amount of layers required in the road, resulting in roads being constructed four times quicker, with substantial savings of at least 30% compared to traditional cement stabilisation. In South Africa, the cost per kilometre of constructing a road using polymer materials is about half that of traditional road construction.
www.polyroads.com