The essential services Central Coast Council is continuing to deliver during COVID-19 (Coronavirus) include road maintenance and construction and this week the Central Coast became the first region in Australia to benefit from a revolutionary new technology to construct roads.

Council is using a new road stabilising and paving technology to lay foamed bitumen in a way that reduces construction time, increases use of recycled road pavement, reduces greenhouse emissions and delivers a more consistent road surface.

Council Director Roads Transport Drainage and Waste, Boris Bolgoff said the exciting new road construction technique will be revolutionary in Australia.

“We are very excited to be the first Council in Australia to deliver a range of road construction benefits for our community by using this innovative technique,” Mr Bolgoff said.

“Not only does this equipment deliver a superior finished product in less time, it also reuses more of the existing road material and reduces greenhouse emissions.

“The technology essentially combines a series of machines into one interconnected production line spanning 50 metres.

“Existing damaged road pavement is ripped up, mixed with new bitumen, before being discharged onto a conveyor at the back of the machine. The final steps see a paving machine lay the road pavement at a precise height and then rollers work along behind to compact the material.

“The entire process happens in one continuous ‘train’, which significantly minimises truck movements and the need to grade the road into its final shape.”

Council is working with contractor Stabilised Pavements Australia (SPA) to deliver the benefits of the Australian-first use of this technology, with the first road projects on the Coast taking place at Kulnura (Wisemans Ferry Road) and Chain Valley Bay Road (Chain Valley Bay).

Mayor Lisa Matthews said Council is establishing itself as a leader in the use of exciting new road construction technologies.

“During this extremely difficult time for our community, Council is committed to delivering essential services and this includes maintaining and developing our 2,200 kilometre network of roads in line with State and Federal legislation, whilst adhering to  social physical distancing requirements,” Mayor Matthews said.

“The use of this fantastic new road construction system – a first in our country – is another example of Council and its stakeholders thinking outside the box to deliver for our community.

“This machinery produces a more consistent finish in less time whilst also being better for our environment – all big wins for our community.”

Community members can explore an interactive map of all of Council’s major road, drainage and pathway projects by visiting centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/roadanddrainageprojects