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Roads are one of the important parts in the country's economy, they play an important role for development industrial complex, production sphere, therefore, road surfaces of highways must be of high quality and have a long service life.

There are special requirements for the roadway that must be observed during construction or renovation. Roads should take on a variety of traffic flows, not interfere with passenger and freight traffic.

Let's first figure out what categories of roads exist.

General information about highways

Categories :

• E - European roads.

• M - federal highways.
• R - roads between administrative centers.
• A - roads leading to transport hubs: airport, river port, seaport, etc.
• K - roads in the regions.
• Н - other roads.

Most often, all roads are divided into three types: highway, expressway and ordinary highway.

The expensive ones are also divided into classes:

1. Express roads (highway, highway, etc.) - the width of such a road must be at least 15 m. There must also be a dividing strip. More than two lanes in one direction.

   Such roads are intended for a large flow of cars. Such roads should be covered with high quality concrete. More than 120 km / h is allowed on roads of this type. Statistics show that more than 7,000 vehicles pass within 24 hours on such routes.

2. Roads with asphalt - most often these are roads that connect administrative centers.

   In this case, the width of the road should be more than 7.5 m. The traffic flow reaches 3-3.5 thousand cars per day. Permissible speed up to 120 km / h.

3. Roads with lower traffic capacity - usually fewer than 3,000 vehicles pass. The width of such roads by standards is 3.5 -7 m. The surface can be asphalt, but sometimes just cobblestone is allowed. The speed limit on such roads reaches 100 km / h, and vehicles over 6 tons are not able to pass.

   This category has lower quality coverage. That is why traffic is difficult, especially in autumn and spring. The speed should not exceed 80 km / h, and only 1000 cars pass per day. Trucks are not allowed on this road, as they can cause serious damage to the surface.

4. Country road - in most cases this road has no coverage at all.

5. Forest road - from the name it is clear that these are roads that run through the forest. These roads are most often used to monitor the state of the forest, huntsmen, timber trucks, etc. move along them. Firefighters also move along these roads in the event of a forest fire.

Unfortunately, not all roads in Russia can boast of good quality.

But it is on this that freight and passenger traffic depends.A poor-quality road can lead to accidents, vehicle breakdown, increased fuel consumption, etc.

Depending on the road surface, it is divided into:

• - pavement,
• - roads made of cement and concrete,
• - gravel,
• - unpaved,
• - tar concrete,
• - roads made of asphalt and concrete,
• - coating with substances with organic materials.

Road surfaces

Non-rigid road surfaces

This category includes:

1. Crushed stone coatings. It is the main material for the road.

   Most often, such roads can be found in neighborhoods, parks, i.e., these are roads where there is no high traffic or high load.

2. Gravel coverings. Very similar to the previous version, the only difference is in the material itself.

3. Priming coat. Such paths are most often decorative.

Rigid pavement

This type includes:

1. Cement structures - most often this is necessary for the construction of bridges and crossings. Very resistant to stress, as well as to weather conditions.
2. Paved - Today it is rare to see well-laid natural stone roads, but in parks and other recreational areas, this is a great option.

   This includes paving stones of different colors, shades and shapes.

3. Asphalt - at the moment this is the main type of coverage. They began to use it a long time ago, it fits easily, with the right technology it will last a long period of time. To increase the service life, a special pillow is made under the bottom. To bond the elements, a resin is used that is resistant to temperature extremes.

As you already understood, different coatings assume that certain vehicles will move along them. Builders try to take this indicator into account when laying or repairing a roadway.

The main group of coatings

The division of coatings into types is very important, since you need to understand which type is best suited in a particular place. For example, in places where there is a lot of groundwater, it is not logical to lay asphalt, as it will deteriorate very quickly and will have to be changed. Nowadays, coatings with the addition of organic materials are becoming more and more popular.

They are cheaper, but not worse than analogues in terms of operating characteristics. We are used to seeing roads with asphalt pavement more often, but we don’t think that it can also be different.

Unpaved road

A fairly common type of surface, some villages and towns can only be reached by them. If the surface is not reinforced, then in the spring-autumn period the road resembles porridge. For the construction of such a road, soil is used, which remains at the site of the excavation of a pit or canal.

In dry weather, you can get into clouds of dust, especially if several cars are driving one after another. If a track appears on the road, then this is another restriction when driving.

All irregularities are simply covered with gravel and sand. If these components are in good quantity, then the road can serve for a long time, even with constant precipitation. The best roads are those that are built on layers of clay.

Crushed stone, sand and other components can be well tamped, thereby obtaining a good monolithic layer. The average cross-country ability of such roads is 100 cars in 24 hours. If there are much more cars, then the coating loses all its properties and collapses, in this case, you should think about asphalt.

Such a surface must be constantly poured, and also leveled with the help of graders.

IMPORTANT: in order to increase the cross-country ability of such a road, you can mix bitumen or cement into its composition.

In this case, even if 500 cars pass in a day, the road will not suffer. However, trucks will not be allowed to enter.

Organic components

For laying a capital road, funds are required and in order not to spend much, in places where the permeability is not very high, they are laid lightweight coating option. They may resemble fortified dirt roads. A special material is placed on top that impregnates all the components and holds them together.

Due to this, the components do not scatter or creep. Not only cars, but also trucks are allowed on such a surface. Weather conditions do not affect coverage either.

Coarse crushed stone or gravel is taken as a basis, finer material is poured on it, pebbles or small crushed stone are the topmost layer. The finished base is poured with bitumen or any other organic binder.

The surface becomes even and uniform, but at the same time rough, so as not to lose traction with the wheels. It has good water-repellent properties, and the oil prevents water from penetrating inside.

The main disadvantage is poor stability during hot periods. Bitumen can become viscous, lose its strength and possibly limit the movement of trucks during this period of time.

IMPORTANT: in case of higher traffic, several layers of bitumen can be applied to make the road more stable.

Asphalt road surface

This coating contains bitumen or tar, as well as other various additives. This is the most common type of coverage and can be found on almost all roads, freeways and even highways. More than 3,000 cars can pass on such a road per day, and special equipment and trucks can also easily move. Stacking can be:

1. Cold.
2. Warm.

3. Hot.

Which option to choose depends on the additives. If you need to heat the material, then a special technique is required. Crushed stone, powder from rocks, bitumen, gravel and sand are used as a filler. The hardness of the coating depends on the size of the fractions.

The higher this value, the more noise you will hear when driving on such a road, especially at high speeds.This is an elastic coating, but it cannot withstand high loads if used as a stand-alone material. That is why a multi-layer pillow is made for asphalt. The thickness and the material itself depend on the terrain and landscape features.

Disadvantages include good light absorption.

Therefore, on a hot day, the surface heats up a lot, the coating becomes weaker and has a bad effect on the wheels of cars. In the dark, the lights from oncoming cars are not very visible. That is why reflective stripes made of special paint are applied to the asphalt.

Sometimes a lighter material is poured onto the surface, rolled up with a roller. In this case, the resulting monolithic road begins to reflect the light better.

However, the entire surface cannot be rolled up in this way, only in parts. Thus, the properties of the roadway change, and the driver is less tired.

Reinforced concrete slabs

There are two options for such a coating:

1. Concreting the entire site directly on site.
2. Applications of finished boards. The slabs are more durable, as they were processed using vibration and steam.

Under this road, it is also necessary to build a good substrate. This will distribute the entire load evenly.

Components for the production of boards are chosen with great care. M300 cement is taken as the basis. The thickness of the flooring itself is 24 cm.

It is imperative that you need a slope to the side so that water can drain off the surface without problems.

FOR INFORMATION: by using a reinforcing metal mesh, it is possible to reduce the thickness, but at the same time increase the service life of the surface.

There are countries where concrete pavements are more common than asphalt. They are very durable, but also cheaper. To create good adhesion, the surface is roughened.

If the work is done correctly, then no road can be compared to the concrete one.

Most often, continuous concrete feed is used, but sometimes ready-made slabs are used. Temperature changes can also affect the surface. To avoid cracking, it is necessary to make a 3 cm cut every 80 meters. An elastic material is placed in the gap, which "plays" when squeezed or expanded.

Also, every 10 meters, you can make concrete joints.

Bridge

Such a road is laid with piece stone. Here natural stones (cobblestones of 14-18 cm in the form of checkers or cones) or artificially created ones can be used. A specialist is required to create such a coating.

These roads are very uneven and are increasingly being abandoned.

Paving stones and mosaics can be seen in cities, this is an improved version. The material is durable, but expensive.

Crushed stone surface of the road

The surface is similar to gravel, intended for low traffic of cars. The coating may contain crushed stone, most often limestone rocks are used.

The lower layers are covered with rather large crushed stone (70-120 mm), the upper layer is smaller (up to 40 mm).

A cushion of sand, slag, gravel is built under the crushed stone flooring.

During installation, the entire surface is well spilled with water, and then everything is thoroughly tamped. Carburizing occurs and a solid surface is formed.

If necessary, you can make several layers of crushed stone. Do not forget to make a slope of 30% so that water can drain from the surface.

The downside is not the durability of the coating, especially with heavy traffic. To increase the service life, it can be filled with bitumen or tar.

Operation and maintenance of the coating

In order for the coating to be durable, it is necessary to remove irregularities, snow, dirt, etc. in time.

It is important to construct drains for water, especially during the period from spring to late autumn.

Due to the loads from the wheels, waves and even shears often appear on the surface. In summer, it is necessary to remove dust on the roads, as it interferes with drivers and helps the car break down faster.

For dedusting, it is recommended to cover the road bed with special solutions. Be sure to level the road before applying. The amount of solution can be calculated at the rate of 1 liter per 1 sq.

m. Dedusting is enough for an average of 3 months.

In winter, it is important to clear the road from snow and ice. Bulldozers, graders and snow blowers remove the bulk of the snow. Icing is combated using sand, ash, slag and gravel.

Chemicals can also be used, under the influence of which the ice begins to melt.

IMPORTANT: do not forget to treat the machine with anti-corrosion agents so that chemicals do not render it unusable.

Road repair works can be such as elimination of cracks and potholes, removal of subsidence, profiling, repair of the earth surface, this also includes cleaning from dirt.

It is necessary to carry out repairs once - twice a year. This can be: surface treatment of asphalt, crushed stone or gravel; replacement of a damaged plate, etc.

We have considered various options for coatings, as well as their features. It is necessary not only to properly lay the canvas, but also to carry out prevention on time. Under such conditions, you can expect that the road surface will last a fairly long period of time.