Concrete slabs have been laid on the first 300 metres of the new bypass highway to the city of Vladivostok. The «Novyy Village — De-Friz peninsula — Patrokl Bay» highway is being built as part of preparations for the APEC Summit in 2012.
The new road will mean that people taking part will need only 20 minutes to get from Knevichi airport to the Far East Federal University on Russkiy Island, where the majority of the summit meetings will take place.
The covering of the highway will be asphalt-concrete, which is five to six times stronger and more durable than asphalt. The concrete is being laid along the first section of the «Novyy Village — De-Friz peninsula» by specialists from the «USK MOST» company. They are using the Gomaco PS-2600 concrete spreader to lay the road.
«The Gomaco Corporation (USA) is an absolute leader in the manufacture of concrete-laying equipment and effectively holds a monopoly in the North American market. This equipment has performed very well here in Russia,» Denis Zakirov, head of installation and construction works on the De-Friz section, told us. «I have experience of using Gomaco equipment. We used the same machine to lay concrete on the roads and runway at a Moscow airport. This is a durable, low-maintenance and cost-effective piece of equipment. minimal number of personnel are required to maintain it — only 30 people are needed to lay the concrete, including engineers (geodesists, technicians who inspect the quality of concrete, drivers). A distinctive feature of the equipment is the fact that it can be used throughout the entire cycle of road construction. We virtually don’t need to engage in any manual labour. Hoppers place the mixture in front of the machine, which spreads it evenly over the entire width of the road, before tampering it and applying a protective layer on the concrete. All that remains is to cover the slabs with protective film, under which it will gain its designated strength. Even the driving direction and the thickness of the concrete slabs are regulated by the machine. Geodesists use special gauges to adjust the direction beforehand and stretch out the wire at a strictly defined height. The machine uses it as a guide — and the 36-tonne machine moves in the direction indicated.»
A representative from the quality control service inspects the quality of the concrete. He takes samples from each truck that delivers concrete mixture. These samples are checked for slump and air entrainment.
The total length of the new road will be 40 km. Work is now under way along its entirety, including the construction of the «De-Friz — Sedanka» low-water bridge. Once this road is open, it will help to relieve the federal Khabarovsk-Vladivostok highway bypassing the resorts and recreation areas of the Muravyev-Amurskiy peninsula.
Daniil Goncharuk / SK MOST
Photo: Igor Lishchuk / SK MOST
