HARD PAVING.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 24 May 1928, Page 5

HARD PAVING.

NEW COLD PROCESS. Mr F. AV. Saxton, of Christchurch, formerly in the service of the Wellington City Council, claims to have made a discovery, chemical in character, which will enable road-making with 'bituminous asphalt to go on throughout the year, instead of only in the dry, warm months. Mr Saxton states: “I have evolved a process that relies on the tine subdivision of bitumen to coat a cohl aggregate; but have managed to overcome the objections to the cold processes by a novel method. I rely on atomisation io produce the tine subdivision, and the particles in the aggregate when rotated an a mixer have a thin uniform film of bitumen imparted them of the correct consistency, identically as in the case or the hot mix, except that my aggregate 'is cold. For raking and compaction the bitumen film is softened temporarily by a solvent, and the process of spreading and rolling takes place exactly as in the case of hot mix. 'During that process, or immediately after, it has been found that the solvent has evaporated, leaving the pavement quite hard and ready for traffic within ■sixteen hours —the same time allowed ii; the case of hot mix.

“The aggregate is proportioned in exactly the same way as hot mix, and consists of metal, sand filler and bitumen, and the final result is indistinguishable from hot mix.” The Public AVorks Department has offered a stretch of road upon which to make a trial of the new process, and Mr Saxton has accepted the offer and will demonstrate publicly the correctness of his claims.