On June 14, 2016, the European Concrete Paving Association (EUPAVE) participated in the 40th anniversary of the construction of the “Y de Asturias” concrete motorway in northern Spain. “New Technologies in Concrete Pavements” event was organized by Spanish Institute of Cement and its Applications (IECA), and the Spanish Ministry of Public Works.
The Y de Asturias was a pioneering construction for its time, and is still in excellent condition after 40 years with no major maintenance. The design is a continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP), with transverse grooves which offer good drainage for the climate of northern Spain.
Speakers from industry and the government explained the unique characteristics of this road and presented new technologies in concrete pavements. Javier Uriarte Pombo, Ministry of Public Works, showed how the road has an excellent safety record, thanks in part to the good skid resistance provided by the durable, grooved surface. Jesús Díaz, IECA, explained that the lower life-cycle costs of concrete mean that the overall costs of this road have been about 45% lower than the equivalent in asphalt. Finally, Karl Downey, EUPAVE, explained how increased competition between paving industries has been shown to save public authorities money.
The Spanish Ministry has announced a call for tender to construct a third lane in both directions on the most heavily trafficked stretch of the motorway.
For more information, please read the June 15th La Neuva España online article titled “Una construcción pionera en España”: http://www.lne.es/asturias/2016/06/15/construccion-pionera-espana/1942483.html.
For the paper on the construction of the CRCP road, titled “A LONG-LIFE CONTINUOUSLY REINFORCED CONCRETE PAVEMENT IN SERVICE SINCE 1976 IN SPAIN. WIDENING AND FUTURE” (2015) by J. Díaz Minguela, Director Zona Noroeste Instituto Español del Cemento y sue Aplicaciones-Spain; and I. García-Arango Cienfuegos-Jovellanos, Jefe de Demarcación de Carreteras del Estado en Asturias. Ministerio de Fomento-Spain, please go to: 1974CRCP_Spain.
Or, view paper online at: http://crcpavement.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/11th-Minguela.pdf.
