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SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 1983
IN ADDITION, SOME 45 000 TRAFFIC SIGNS REQUIRE REGULAR MAINTENANCE.
THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE IS NOW USING MACHINE-LAID THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL FOR ROAD LINE MARK INGS, WHICH IN THE PAST WERE DONE MANUALLY WITH ORDINARY WHITE PAINT.
+THERMOPLASTIC WITH ITS IMBEDDED REFLECTIVE GLASS BEADS LASTS LONGER, SHOWS UP BETTER AT NIGHT AND HAS BETTER SKID CHARACTERISTICS THAN PAINT, MR BEATON SAID.
BECAUSE OF THE INCREASING ENGINEERING CHALLENGES POSED BY THE MASSIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAMME, THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE IS ADOPTING NEW TECHNIQUES AND EQUIPMENT.
THE PRESENT +BENKELMAN BEAM+ METHOD OF TESTING ROAD STRENGTHS INVOLVES THE USE OF SPECIALLY MADE ALLOY BEAMS CARRYING SENSITIVE GAUGES.
THESE BEAMS, WHICH ARE NAMED AFTER THEIR INVENTOR, ARE PUT ON THE ROAD SURFACE IN SELECTED LOCATIONS AND MEASURE DEFLECTIONS IMPOSED BY HEAVILY LOADED LORRIES.
FROM THIS DEFLECTION INFORMATION, STRUCTURAL STRENGTHS OF THE ROADS CAN BE DETERMINED, THUS ENABLING ENGINEERS TO ESTABLISH RESURFACING AND RECONSTRUCTION PRIORITIES, MR BEATON EXPLAINED.
A BASIC FLAW IS THAT THE METHOD INVOLVES CONSIDERABLE MANUAL WORK WHICH THUS SLOWS DOWN THE DATA GATHERING PROCESS.
+SHORTLY, WE HOPE TO INTRODUCE THE DEFLECTOGRAPH METHOD OF DEFLECTION MEASUREMENTS WHICH IS USED IN SOME ADVANCED COUNTRIES.
+THIS IS A MECHANISED VERSION OF THE BENKELMAN BEAM TECHNIQUE IN WHICH THE BEAMS ARE ATTACHED TO CUSTOM-BUILT LORRIES WITH HEAVILY LOADED REAR AXLES. THE LORRIES ARE DRIVEN ALONG THE ROADS SO THAT THE DEFLECTIONS IMPOSED BY THE REAR AXLES CAN BE CONTINUOUSLY AND MORE RAPIDLY MEASURED, MR BEATON EXPLAINED.
THIS AND OTHER DATA GATHERED WILL BE FED INTO THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE'S RECENTLY INTRODUCED +CHART+ PROGRAMME -- AN ABBREVIATION
FOR OVERALL FOR +COMPUTERISED HIGHWAY ASSESSMENT TREATMENTS+ PRIORITY ASSESSMENT.
AT PRESENT, ROAD MAINTENANCE IS DONE ON A DISTRICT-BY- DISTRICT BASIS, WITH EACH DISTRICT LOOKING AFTER ITS LOCAL PROBLEMS AND IDENTIFYING ITS OWN PRIORITY AREAS TO BE TACKLED.
+THE DRAWBACK HERE IS WE DON'T HAVE AN OVERALL VIEW SO THAT OPTIMUM UTILISATION OF RESOURCES IS NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE,→ MR BEATON SAID.
DEFLSOTOGRAPH