On November 9, 2018, the European Concrete Paving Association (EUPAVE), la Fédération de l’Industrie Cimentière Belge (FEBELCEM)—the Federation of the Belgian Cement Industry), and the Belgian Road Association (ABR-BWV) organized a worksite visit to the construction of the by-pass road E420—N5 of Couvin in two-layered continuously reinforced concrete (CRCP). The event gathered around 80 participants. The concrete paving activities were performed by the contracting authority Public Service of the Walloon Region (SPW), along with contractors Bam Galère, Bam Contractors, and subcontractors Wanty and TRBA.
Luc Rens, Managing Director-EUPAVE and Didier Masset, Directeur-SPW, began the day by welcoming the participants and partners EUPAVE, FEBELCEM, the ABR-BVW, the Belgian Concrete Association (GBB-BBG), and the SPW.
The worksite was presented by Delphine Cauchie, Project Manager-SPW. The 14 km-long (8.7-mi long) project links the N5 in Frasnes-les-Couvin with the French border at Brûli-Gué-d’Hossus. The project includes 3 phases of two-lift CRCP:
Phase 1 : ring road (5.1 km (3.2 mi))—completed
Phase 2 : link with french border (8.7 km (5.4))—under construction, projected to be 31 days
Phase 3 : covered cuts under railtracks (0.9 km (.56)) with
36 Engineering Structures:
• 9 upper bridges
• 14 small wildlife crossings
• 2 tunnels
• 6 water tanks
• 2 game crossings
• 3 spilways
Nathalie Balfroid, Infrastructure Consulting Engineer-FEBELCEM, introduced the technique of two-layered CRCP. Belgium is one of the pioneers in the development and use of CRCP with the main objective of eliminating the presence of transverse joints and consequently also the problems and maintenance generated by these joints. The main design principles were presented (type and position of reinforcement, concrete mix, active crack control, etc…) as well as the criteria to choose for either a single or two-layer concrete. In Couvin, a two-layer CRCP was chosen because of the improved acoustical characteristics for this type of pavement. Her presentation included:
• CRCP Principle
• Concrete Composition
• CRCP Structure
• Active Crack Control
Filip Covemaeker, CTO-TRBA, ended the presentations by giving a few numbers and technical information on the project and the different types of slipform pavers and equipment used on this worksite. The thickness of the pavement is 23 cm (9 inches) divided in a 17 cm (6.7 inches) bottom layer and a 6 cm (2.4) top layer. The scheduled construction period for this second phase of the total project is 31 working days.
All participants were invited to go by coach to visit the job site.
For the PDF downloads of all PRESENTATIONS, please go to:
Introduction: https://www.eupave.eu/wp-content/uploads/Presentation-Worksite-visit-9112018-Introduction.pdf
Delphine Cauchie, SPW Worksite: https://www.eupave.eu/wp-content/uploads/Presentation-Worksite-visit-9112018-Delphine-Cauchie.pdf
Nathalie Balfroid, FEBELCEM, Technique of Two-Layered CRCP: https://www.eupave.eu/wp-content/uploads/Presentation-Worksite-visit-9112018-Nathalie-Balfroid.pdf
Filip Covemaeker, TRBA, Numbers and Technical Information; Different Types of Slipform Pavers and Equipment: https://www.eupave.eu/wp-content/uploads/Presentation-Worksite-visit-9112018-Filip-Covemaeker-2.pdf
For the entire EUPAVE article titled “Successful worksite visit of the E420 – N5 Couvin!” and a few pictures from the worksite, please go to: https://www.eupave.eu/successful-worksite-visit-of-the-e420-n5-couvin/