High duty and high amenity areas
- In high duty footways the durability of the wearing surface is of prime importance, so simple cosmetic matching of materials may not be adequate. Specific grades of material such as Yorkstone modules or specific types of construction such as asphalt sand carpet (HRA 0/2 surf to BS EN 13108-4, also see PD 6691) may have been laid to give an acceptable performance under extreme conditions. In these cases, similar or equivalent grades of materials will need to be reinstated.
- In high amenity footways, cosmetic matching of materials at the wearing surface may be of primary importance with durability of secondary importance.
- When identifying a source of materials for reinstatement in high duty and high amenity areas, it is important that the material is suitable and readily available. Availability includes lead-in times for procurement and delivery of specific materials. Technical considerations may include potential for segregation, ease of compaction/installation and requirements for specialist training/accreditation.
Areas surfaced with bituminous materials
A wide range of surface treatments exists, commonly with less than 6 mm aggregate size. Where available, a similar surface finish will be reinstated. The surface course material may be reinstated using any of the allowed binder course or surface course materials, with a final surface treatment applied as soon as practicable following the laying of the permanent surface course.
Certain types of PMMA are sometimes used as a footway surfacing material for appearance and durability. Where an authority has a policy of using this material and reinstating with it, it is reasonable to expect the undertaker to comply with this. However, the cost of small quantities of PMMA is disproportionate to the size of the reinstatement and can result in significant wastage. Consequently, it is not unreasonable for an undertaker to wish to compile a programme of such works to achieve an efficient use of resources. Therefore, an authority should expect such work to be programmed so that sites requiring PMMA are batched to produce a package of work.
Areas constructed in concrete material
- In general, reinstatements in a concrete footway, footpath or cycle track should match the existing surfacing as closely as is practicable.
- Generally, the use of all flexible permanent reinstatements in overlaid concrete, PMMA, sand carpet (HRA 0/2 surf to BS EN 13108-4, also see PD 6691) or other derivative surfaces etc., has proven to be suitable in practice.
