UltraCrete commands attention at UK army garrisons

Aspire Defence Service Ltd have used UltraCrete to repair several defects across two army garrisons.

Aspire Defence Service Ltd, in partnership with Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), have used a number of UltraCrete’s world renowned highway maintenance materials to repair several defects across Larkhill and Tidworth army garrisons.

The 35 years Project Allenby/Connaught contract between Aspire Defence Service Ltd and the DIO is one of the largest Private Finance Initiatives (PFI) carried out by the Ministry of Defence and establishes Aspire Defence as the chosen contractor responsible for building and improving soldiers living and working environments across a range of Aldershot and Salisbury plain Garrisons.

Every project faces its own set of challenges and Larkhill and Tidworth army garrisons were certainly no different. As well as needing a product for repairing cracks in asphalt and a pothole repair material suitable for regular trafficking from large tracked and wheeled vehicles, Aspire Defence Service Ltd had struggled to find a cost-effective solution for reinstating buff coloured asphalt – a colour that is used to highlight fire safety evacuation and access routes in and around the soldiers accommodation.

UltraCrete provided Aspire Defence Services Ltd with cost-effective, high performance and permanent solutions for each of these problems.

In order to access utility pipes and cables, a number of trenches had been dug out across the fire safety routes around the garrison. Once the repairs had been completed, Instagrip anti-skid patch repair was applied to the surface asphalt to reinstate the buff colour.

Instagrip is the ideal product for patching and reinstating high friction areas after maintenance work has taken place and is perfect for use on pedestrian crossings, junctions, roundabouts, footbridges and for colour coded areas, as was the case here. Available in a 15kg bucket, Instagrip easily restores anti-skid and has a set time of just 1-2 hours.

Aspire Defence Service ltd and the DIO pride themselves on the excellent conditions their army garrisons are kept in. In order to maintain these high standards, Aspire Defence were looking to source a repair product that could be applied to asphalt cracks to prevent the formation of potholes.

Surface Defect Repair is a product that is applied to minor surface defects in footways and carriageways which then stops potholes from forming. Durable and easy to use, Surface Defect Repair is a granular thermoplastic material with anti-skid dressing and is perfect for use on contracts where early identification can be built into the ongoing maintenance programme.

The constant trafficking of plant machinery, HGV’s and a range of large wheeled vehicles, had resulted in the emergence of a number of potholes throughout the garrison. A pothole repair was needed that would not only provide a permanent repair but could withstand this regular heavy trafficking.

With this in mind, Tough Patch® Rapid hybrid pothole repair was chosen to complete the repairs. Quick and easy to apply, Tough Patch® Rapid is a hard wearing, fast setting pothole repair that can be used to repair defects in pavements, driveways, car parks and on high speed roads – it even provides a first time permanent repair in wheel turning locations such as junctions, traffic lights and roundabouts.

Ready to use straight from the bag or bucket, Tough Patch® Rapid eliminates many of the risks associated with hot asphalt, such as extremely hot temperatures and dangerous fumes, and can be trafficked instantly, allowing contractors to move on to another project, helping to increase productivity.

On the success of the project, Keith Langton, Highways and Infrastructure Project Manager at Aspire Defence Service Ltd commented: “All three products were very easy to use and provided a cost-effective solution. We will definitely be using UltraCrete for future repairs.”