LIFE02
ENV/FIN/000329
Kukkia Circlet: Environmentally friendly
systems to renovate secondary roads.
PROJECT IN GENERAL
The project Kukkia Circlet is about the demonstration of
sustainable, environmentally friendly methods and processes to
renovate and maintain secondary road network. The project
innovations are based on earlier R&D in Finland include new
types of road construction materials that are based on
industrial by-products, different types of applications and
structures for the new materials, new types of equipment for
the mixing of the materials, and in-detail-controlled
construction processes to ascertain the target quality and
economic benefits of the renovation.
The applications based on the by-products include
stabilisation of existing road courses, structural courses to
compensate for the conventional stone courses, a groundwater
protection structure on the side of a road and light traffic
paths. The society will benefit from the sustainable
construction system and durable quality of the secondary
roads, economical and efficient maintenance of the secondary
road network, and increasing safety of the pedestrians and
cyclists by the side of the narrow roads.
BACKGROUND
The main problems in the background of the project include
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the constant inferior quality and
frost damage of the gravel roads because
of the high costs of effective conventional renovation |
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the dangerous narrow road sides for
the cyclists and pedestrians in the rural and sparsely
populated areas because
of the high costs of conventional light traffic path
structures |
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the high volumes of non-renewable
stone resources exploited for the conventional road
maintenance and renovation |
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the
environmental problems in connection with the
exploitation of natural stone resources from rocks,
hills or eskers |
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the increasing societal and
legislative constraints to the exploitation of natural
stone
resources. |
OBJECTIVES
ORGANISATION
The leading partner and beneficiary of Kukkia Circlet is the
Finnish Road Enterprise. Other partners are Luopioinen
Municipality, Council of Tampere Region, Finncao Oy,
Georgia-Pacific Finland Oy and Kemira Chemicals Oy.
ACTIVITIES
Kukkia Circlet project will test the innovative processes to
renovate gravel roads, and to construct groundwater protection
and light traffic path structures on the sides of the gravel
roads. The special focus will be on the logistics, mixing and
other work methods. The project will also assess the
long-term properties, environmental impact and costs of the
new applications in comparison with the conventional road
structures.
The activities involve several tasks and pilot constructions
during 2002 and 2003. Information about the progress of the
project and the project results will be spread through the
information media, with help of web-pages for the project, and
with a Guide publication that summarises all the know-how for
the new renovation process and the special structures.
EXPECTED OUTCOME
The outcome will be the new sustainable methods and processes
for the improvement of the secondary road network in Europe.
In the long term the exploitation of the project results will
significantly reduce the exploitation of non-renewable natural
resources, the amount of waste and the need for deposit sites
in Europe.
The results can also be used in the work of European
standardisation and legislation concerning the use of
industrial by-products in construction. The dissemination
will be supported by videos and the Guide publication that
have been produced during the project. Also, a workshop will
be arranged in Tampere in 2004.
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