Directa has developed Ecopave with Iterchimica, an Italian-based maker of products that enhance asphalt performance and the laying of road surfaces in order to increase safety, environmental sustainability, and efficiency.
The first phase of the test for Ecopave reportedly follows successful laboratory tests, which showed that Ecopave can increase fatigue resistance up to 250%, extending significantly the service life of the road surface at a lower life cycle cost than existing tarmacs.
The test involves the refurbishment of the two upper layers of a 1 km-long section of Strada Provinciale Ardeatina and is being done by Iterchimica with University La Sapienza (Rome) and the Metropolitan City of Rome.
Ecopave, which was developed through three years of research, improves the surface's physical and mechanical performance by increasing resilience to deformation and by decreasing sensitivity to variations in ambient temperature.
Giulio Cesareo, founder and chief executive of Directa Plus, said: "Environmental sustainability is one of our core values, embedded in our whole production process and in the life cycle of our products. This application is perfectly in line with our values, enabling us to help to create roads that last longer thanks to our G+ family of products.”
He added: “It is another example of the wide application of G+ technology into large established markets where we can materially improve product performance. The Ecopave opportunity is substantial and we look forward to a time when motor vehicles with tyres containing G+ drive on roads surfaced with tarmacs containing G+."