The ancient Romans were famous for their long straight roads. Fields, hills, dips, woods – whatever was in their way they would just plough straight through it. Today’s roadbuilders however, build their roads according to the environment in which they find themselves. This is particularly relevant when it comes to Haul Road design. A well-designed road will have a fraction of the maintenance costs of a thoughtlessly designed one. This is why specialist companies such as our team at Proof Engineers are called in to help design a haul road. As a construction company, you know that by hiring us, you are saving money in the long run – a lot of money!

Drainage Conditions

One of the factors to be considered in optimum Road Haul design is subsidence. We want to design the road in a way that leaves the minimum amount of subsidence issues and thereby reduces the cost of on-going maintenance. This means studying the existing environment with modern monitoring equipment to see where water drains most naturally. Insofar as is practical we will have the road follow the path of good natural drainage.

The Best Materials

Having analysed the best route that the haul road should take, we need to analyse the best materials to use. We need to study what materials are available locally and assess whether we should bring in materials from afar. We want to minimise subsidence once the road is built.

In choosing our materials, such as the type of stone we will use in our road foundations we need to analyse the weight of the heavy plant that will be using the road as well as the frequency of traffic. We will consult with the plant manufacturers as necessary.

Apart from the choice of stone to be used for your road foundations, here at Proof Engineers we like to consider the best ways of strengthening the road. What additives are most suitable? Hydrated lime, polymer additives, bitumen emulsions will be specified as appropriate in our design proposals for you.

Dust, the bugbear of Haul Roads

One of the biggest problems to overcome when operating a haul road is the generation of dust by the heavy trucks that use the road. The dust is a hazard to human health, it obscures the vision of drivers and it clogs up the moving parts of your vehicles which then incur additional repair costs. Not only that, but you have state and municipal authorities on your back to make sure that you are complying with the standards that they set. At Proof Engineers not only do we design your road to minimise dust creation as much as possible, but we also provide on-going monitoring equipment to help you keep dust levels down, thereby meeting with compliance issues, looking after your workforce and reducing the cost of maintaining both your roads and your heavy plant.

Your New Haul Road

When you are ready to work on the haul road design of a new project, book an initial consultation with Proof Engineers. Simply give us a call on +61 7 5522 0855 or e-mail us at info@proofengineers.