ROME – A new flooring capable of absorbing the impacts of any falls of cyclists and pedestrians, considerably reducing the risk of injury to the head and other parts of the body. And this is the solution, consisting of a layer of a few centimeters of sustainable material, which the Municipality of Imola is experimenting on a short stretch of road. The material adopted, which could prove to be a real “boon” for cycle paths and more, was created through a research carried out by the Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering of the University of Bologna.
The anti-noise asphalt arrives
The research, developed thanks to the European funds of the Marie Curie Saferup project, and the commitment of Area Blu, Easy Lock and some companies from Imola, thus led to the realization of the experimental section. “The material makes the pavement safer than a traditional asphalt because thanks to only 4 cm of laying thickness, it shifts the critical fall height from 20 cm to over 1 m, i.e. the limit beyond which an accidental fall can be transformed in an accident with serious physical consequences – explains Cesare Sangiorgi of Dicam Uni-Bo – All to the advantage of citizens’ health and the usability of pedestrian and cycle paths. The main component of the surface layer being developed at the university is a recycled granulate obtained from discarded tires which, instead of being used as a fuel for energy production, thus losing all its characteristics and peculiarities, is used in the experimental material , thus regenerating its elastic properties “.
The virtual cycle then continues with the production and cold laying of the conglomerate containing, in addition to rubber, also milled asphalt. A process that allows to reduce energy consumption and emissions in the plant and on site and, at the same time, offers a second life to materials otherwise destined for landfills.
And that’s not all because the anti-trauma layer was laid with an innovative 100% electric paver machine produced in Conselice by CM, which, for the first time in Italy, contributed to the reduction of the environmental impact related to the laying, for gaseous and acoustic emissions, without forgetting the insertion of luminescent aggregates for signals capable of absorbing energy from sunlight and returning it in the hours of darkness. In short, the result of the collaboration between public research bodies and private companies in the area has brought this innovative technology from the laboratory to the street, which could give life to a network capable of extending its use in Italy and abroad.
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