Asphalt keeps our feet (and wheels) safely on the ground.

As the surface for some 95 per cent of our roads - as well for playgrounds, footways, car and lorry parking areas, airport runways and much more - it is uniquely versatile.

The asphalt industry produces more than 26 million tonnes of asphalt every year.

While strength comes from the aggregates, the binding agent is normally an oil-based bitumen derived from crude oil. The composition is varied to suit the end use.

Asphalt materials have evolved in a variety of ways over the years, but the pace of product development over recent years has been rapid.

A new generation of modern asphalts offers a range of important properties that improve road safety, maximise road life and reduce maintenance.

Benefits include:

• Reducing spray
• Enhancing road safety by maintaining good skid-resistance
• Reducing road noise
• Improving ride comfort
• Reducing hold-ups at road works through more rapid laying
• Extending the life of a road and reducing major maintenance by providing stronger, longer-life roadbases.

Production:

Asphalt plants are often situated in quarries but they may occasionally be temporary installations on a major road or airfield site.

The production process involves blending the aggregates and then heating them to a temperature suitable for coating with the bitumen binder.

For further information contact QPA's Malcolm Simms .

Information service:

QPA provides information and guidance on asphalt products through the Asphalt Information Service which is contactable via the main QPA telephone no:

+44 (0) 20 7963 8000 or by contacting asphalt@qpa.org

The Asphalt Information Service can provide on request a list of depots of QPA members that undertake asphalt contracting throughout the country. Requests should be made to the telephone number or email address above.

The impact of Europe:

Probably the most important change facing the UK asphalt industry and its customers in the near future will be the implementation of European Specifications for asphalt, its constituents, and methods of testing. This implementation process will need to be complete in the UK by the beginning of 2008.

This process began on 1 January 2002 with introduction of the European specification for road bitumens (BS EN 12591) which introduced changes to the available bitumen grades and grade references. A guidance note on this has been prepared by QPA. To download a copy, click here.

The aggregates used in asphalt have also come under the scope of European Standards from 1 January 2004, and in order to accommodate those changes, it was necessary to change the material descriptions for the British Standard asphalts and macadams in respectively BS 594 and BS 4987. In addition, the Highways Agency's Specification for Highway Works (published by The Stationery Office www.tso.co.uk) has also adopted these and other consequent changes (see www.highways.gov.uk for contact details for HA). General guidance on European Standards for aggregates for asphalt can be found here.

As far as asphalt is concerned, the family of test methods (EN 12697 series) for asphalt have been published as well as the various asphalt mix specifications and conformity assessment procedures (EN 13108 series) . It will be a requirement for all EU states to implement the whole package of standards and withdraw all conflicting national standards on 1 January 2008. In the UK, this means that BS594, BS4987 and parts of BS598 will all disappear and be replaced by the European Standards. In the case of the asphalt mix specifications, these will be substantially different in approach and detail to the traditional BSs that we are used to working with, although there will be little, if any, change to the traditional mix compositions that have been used to date.

Click here to download the latest REACH UK update from the Refined Bitumen Association.

BSI has published a National Guidance Document BD6691 to interpret the requirements of the EN13108 series for implementation in the UK - along with PD6692 for asphalt test methods and BS594987 for installation of asphalt (to replace the Part 2s of BS594 and BS4987).

QPA has also produced guidance on how the new Standards should be implemented in the UK and these are available for download from this page from the table below, Bulletin 1 was published in June 2006, Bulletins 2 and 3 in July/August 2007.

Topics covered are:
Bulletin 1 - June 2006 - Development on European Standards for Asphalt - approx 115kb	Download PDF	help
Bulletin 2 - August 2007 -Materials and Conformity approx 165kb	Download PDF	help
Bulletin 3 - July 2007 - Impact on Standards for Laying Asphalt approx 111kb	Download PDF	help
Powerpoint Slides from Regional Briefings - July to Sep 2007 approx 400 kb	Download PDF	help

Education and training:

The annual residential course in Asphalt Materials and Flexible Pavements, held for over 30 years at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in conjunction with QPA and its predecessor trade associations, traditionally takes place in the second week of September. The syllabus is annually reviewed and amended to keep the course both topical and relevant to the needs of industry and specifier participants alike. Full details of the course and booking can be accessed here.

Partnerships:

QPA has formed a promotional body, the Asphalt Industry Alliance, in conjunction with the Refined Bitumen Association (www.bitumenuk.com) and has developed a UK asphalt industry website which can be seen at www.asphaltindustryalliance.com

The AIA also provides the banner under which an annual asphalt conference is organized, continuing the long tradition of conferences organized by QPA. This Conference also attracts the support of two major industry client bodies, namely the Highways Agency (HA) and County Surveyors’ Society (CSS). The next AIA Conference is to be held on Tuesday 2 October at the National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull, on the topic "Asphalt in a Changing World". Further details are available here. The guest speaker for this event will be motoring journalist, Quentin Willson. If you wish to receive details of this or future conferences, please email asphalt@qpa.org.

QPA is a founder-member of the European Asphalt Pavement Association, whose own website can be accessed at www.eapa.org. In a similar fashion to that in which QPA liaises on UK issues, so does EAPA with other European bodies. One important link at the European level is with Eurobitume (www.eurobitume.eu), which results in the 4-yearly Eurasphalt & Eurobitume Congress. Click here (www.eecongress.org) for details of the next event to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark from 21 - 23 May 2008.

Please note this website is maintained to provide information and guidance on UK issues, products and applications of those products.