The Department of Rural Roads is advancing the quality of transportation infrastructure while conserving the environment by introducing the "Warm Mix Asphalt" technology in construction and maintenance projects nationwide, aiming for sustainable development.
Mr. Phichit Hunsiri, Director-General of the Department of Rural Roads (DRR), revealed that the DRR aims to develop sustainable infrastructure with environmental friendliness and reduced impact from road production and construction processes. Traditional asphalt concrete mixtures require production at high temperatures around 160°C, which leads to significant fuel consumption, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Warm Mix Asphalt technology offers a new alternative that allows production and paving at lower temperatures, approximately 135°C, reducing fuel use and improving health safety for workers. This approach supports the advancement of infrastructure quality.
Therefore, the DRR has introduced the Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) technology experimentally in road construction and maintenance nationwide to reduce energy consumption and pollution. WMA is a technology gaining international interest in road engineering because it lowers the temperatures needed for production and paving compared to traditional Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA).
Currently, the DRR has piloted a maintenance project on rural highway RY.4036 Chalermburapha Chonlatit Road in Na Yai Am, Tha Mai, and Laem Sing districts of Chanthaburi province, spanning 1.540 kilometers. This coastal road is a tourist route with a traffic volume of 3,212 vehicles per day. The project studies and compares the overall performance of WMA against HMA, including production processes, mechanical properties, and environmental impact. The study confirmed WMA's potential as a paving technology that promotes positive change by significantly reducing energy use and pollution.
Mr. Phichit added that the study showed WMA technology can lower production temperature by about 25°C, reduce energy consumption by up to 30%, and cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30% compared to traditional HMA technology. Mechanical property evaluations indicated that WMA has fatigue resistance and permanent deformation characteristics comparable to HMA, resulting in roads with equivalent durability. Additionally, WMA reduces pollution and dust during construction, improves local residents’ quality of life, saves energy costs in construction, enhances the country’s image regarding environmentally friendly technology, and plays an important role in maintaining material performance standards.
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