XN000022-1985-12-06 — Page 5

FR....1, DECF

апре

THE $3.5 MILLIC, SURVEY, CARRIED OUT FOR THE IGHWAYS OFFICE OF THE ENGINEER ING DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, STARTED IN SEPTEMBER AND SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY EARLY FEBRUARY. IT WILL COVER MORE THAN 500 KILOMETRES OF ROAD NETWORK.

SENIOR ENGINEER (RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT), MR F.T. TEAGUE SAID: THE DEFLECTOGRAPH IS A LARGE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE FITTED WITH SOPHISTICATED ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT. IT HAS A BALLASTED CHASSIS WHICH GIVES A STANDARD LOAD ON A GIVEN AREA.

+AS THE VEHICLE MOVES ALONG IT ACCURATELY MEASURES THE DEFLECTION OR BOUNCE CREATED IN THE ROAD BY THE WEIGHT OF ITS OWN REAR AXLE.+

MR TEAGUE SAID THE INFORMATION ALONG WITH DATA ON TRAFFIC, COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF THE PAVEMENT WERE FED INTO A COMPUTER.

+HIGHWAY ENGINEERS ARE THEN ABLE TO PREDICT HOW LONG A PAVEMENT WILL LAST BEFORE MAJOR MAINTENANCE IS REQUIRED. THEY CAN ALSO EVALUATE THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE MAINTENANCE TREATMENT WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF ACCURACY, HE SAID.

WERE:

MR TEAGUE SAID THE OBJECTIVES OF THE DEFLECTOGRAPH PROGRAMME

*

TO PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE COMPUTER BASED INVENTORY OF THE ROAD CONDITIONS, CONSTRUCTION AND TRAFFIC LOADING,

* TO DEVELOP A ROAD MAINTENANCE DESIGN SYSTEM FOR

HONG KONG; AND

* TO INVOLVE LOCAL STAFF IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION

OF THE INVENTORY AND DESIGN SYSTEM, FOR HONG KONG CONDITIONS.

+THE OBJECTIVE IS TO SURVEY 10 KILOMETRES OF ROAD A NIGHT IN THE RURAL AREAS AND FIVE KILOMETRES A NIGHT IN CITY AREAS. HOWEVER, THAT IS A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE AND WE EXPECT TO EXCEED THAT.

WE ALSO EXPECT TO SURVEY A MINIMUM OF 500 KILOMETRES OF ROAD BUT WE COULD INCREASE THAT TOTAL BY 20 PER CENT,+ HE SAID.

EXPLAINING WHY THE SURVEY HAD TO BE CARRIED OUT AT NIGHT, MR TEAGUE SAID THIS WAS WHEN THE SLOW MOVING VEHICLE CAUSED THE LEAST DISRUPTION TO TRAFFIC AND WHEN ROAD TEMPERATURES WERE LOWEST. BITUMEN IS VISCO-ELASTIC AND HIGH TEMPERATURES WOULD GIVE INACCURATE READINGS ON THE DEFLECTOGRAPH. WHEN ROAD

DURING THE DAY ROAD TEMPERATURES EXCEEDED 30 DEGREES CELSIUS.

TEMPERATURES IN HONG KONG COULD EXCEED 50 DEGREES CELSIUS.

+WE ARE LOOKING AT WAYS TO CALIBRATE THE EQUIPMENT TO OPERATE IN HIGHER TEMPERATURES, HE SAID.

APART FROM SOME OPERATIONS IN WEST GERMANY THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WDM HAS OPERATED THE EQUIPMENT IN ASIA, A SPECIAL TEAM OF OPERATORS HAS BEEN SENT OUT FROM ENGLAND WITH THE VEHICLE.

/ALTHOUGH THIS