Road construction is not only shrouded in myths in Lithuania. Our country has repeatedly been hit by scandals due to the thinner than appropriate layer of asphalt, which was laid by road workers using loopholes in the law. Has the situation changed in recent years?
Shaken by scandals
A few years ago, the Ministry of Transport published scandalous facts about abuses in the field of road construction. After conducting an investigation by the Road and Transport Research Institute controlled by the Ministry of Transport, it was found that during the three years when representatives of the Social Democratic Party led this area, as many as 80 percent in some cases, the contractors used the maximum permissible deviation limit of the road surface thickness specified in the regulations, which reached almost 10 cm.
It is estimated that by laying just 1 km of 9.8 cm thinner 8 m wide asphalt pavement, then it was possible to “earn” 57 thousand. 70 euros – at current prices – well over 100 thousand. euros.
These statements were followed by politicians’ promise to radically tighten road construction and repair work. Although drivers still grumble about the quality of the road workers’ work, road construction experts say that the situation has changed fundamentally. According to them, it is now a highly regulated field with various technical standards and precise testing procedures, from the selection of materials to the final asphalt layer.
Samples: Small cylindrical pits can be seen drilled in newly paved roads. / Vytautas Liaudanskis photo.
Aims for transparency
According to several construction specialists, the common myths about “saved asphalt” or “substandard work” make them smile – because of the close control, regulations, huge fines, damage to reputation and fierce competition, such things are hard to imagine.
“Quality control in the road sector is carried out very strictly and it is mostly invisible and unknown to us, the residents. This kind of ignorance sometimes causes people to have doubts about the quality, questions about why you can see some small pothole on a new road – commented Šarūnas Frolenko, head of the association “Lietuvos keliai”. – We want there to be as few doubts as possible. By revealing the behind-the-scenes work of road workers, you can make sure that almost every centimeter of the road layer is carefully checked.”
According to Irmants Karalevičius, technical director of the road and bridge construction company “Alkesta”, the road consists of many layers, and each of them has its own specifics.
“The construction of the road begins with the embankment, or in other words, the foundation. After that, a frost-resistant layer, crushed stone or gravel layers are poured, and everything is finished with an asphalt base. Each of these layers must meet strict specifications to ensure durability and safety,” the specialist assured.
It’s not like we went, dug the gravel we needed in a quarry and that’s it, we use it.
Even gravel is certified
According to the interlocutor, any material used must be tested and its suitability confirmed.
“It’s not like we went, dug the gravel we needed in the quarry and that’s it, we use it. Absolutely not – first you need to evaluate its granulometry, contamination, water conductivity. We perform these and other suitability tests in our company’s accredited laboratory. We have to make sure that the materials we use meet the quality parameters set for them, because later the customer will test repeatedly and will still see if the materials used are unsuitable”, explained I. Karalevičius.
Mindaugas Petrauskas, technical director of the road and street construction company “Kerista”, emphasized that road construction processes require careful planning and maintenance.
“Each material and layer is installed with very specific requirements for how it must be installed, measured and tested in the laboratory. All these standards are international, not our own invention. Each layer is given a green or red light by a technical supervisor – until the material is tested in the laboratory and satisfactory test results are obtained, a new layer simply cannot even be started. That’s how the road “sandwich” grows little by little, – taught M. Petrauskas.
The expert mentioned that the contractors themselves usually use equipment that monitors more than one qualitative parameter, and part of the self-control takes place automatically, without human intervention, thus reducing the probability of error.
Disadvantages: specialists admit that, even in recent years, defects in the coating of newly implemented projects are still being detected. / Photo by Ryčis Laurinavičius.
It is checked in three stages
In road construction, each part of the road structure and its materials are subject to three stages of control performed by the customer: suitability, internal control and control.
“Work starts long before you see it on the road. Even before purchasing materials, suppliers must submit a declaration of product performance, which ensures that the product will always be the same, and that there will be no surprises in the next batch. During the work, we check it again with self-control tests, so that later we can calmly hand over the work,” the interviewer assured.
Once work begins, a series of internal quality control tests are carried out to ensure that all processes are carried out correctly.
“Finally, control tests are carried out by the customer, by which he determines whether the properties of the materials used and the road construction work performed meet the requirements of the project and regulatory documents. For example, small cylindrical pits can be seen drilled in newly paved roads and there are those samples that are analyzed in the laboratory chosen by the customer”, said I. Karalevičius.
Even millimeters matter
According to the interviewee, these tests show that, although infrequent, discrepancies do occur.
“For example, the compaction of the asphalt layer must be at least 98 percent. Up to 95.6 percent it is still possible to accept the project, but the contractor receives a monetary deduction. If it is still below the limit, the works are not accepted, they have to be redone. Believe me, it would really cost the kind of money that deviations are closely monitored throughout the process,” he said.
Some testing could be done without destroying the road surface in a random way, using destructive methods only where there is suspicion.
I do not believe that there can be intentional savings in materials or deviations from the design in order to save money for the contractor.
“Software systems that help to identify potentially unsuitable places for laying asphalt are not yet so widespread in Lithuania, but in Scandinavia. This allows for faster, more efficient and cheaper inspection of the paved asphalt layer without removing it. The customer can even see exactly where and how many times the so-called roller passed, what was its temperature during compaction. It is possible to determine more precisely where the compaction could have been of poor quality”, I. Karalevičius shared his foreign experience.
Cheating is too expensive
The road is not only streets, but also bridges, viaducts, culverts, overpasses, animal crossings and others, so inspection work is also sufficient for specialists.
Žilvinas Smalskys, head of the Technical Supervision Department of the state company Viamatika, which conducts laboratory tests of materials used in road construction, said that construction supervision is necessary to ensure the safety of users of bridges, roads, water and airports, that is, all residents.
According to the representative, technical supervisors must evaluate and determine whether the contractor can be allowed to continue the work at all. For example, during the formation of the bedrock, the supervisors have to see it themselves, make various measurements with special devices, and send the samples to the laboratory, where their strength and other properties are tested, and only then are they allowed to start pouring other layers. And the fact that contractors are looking for ways to do the work cheaper, he calls it a myth.
“I do not believe that there can be any deliberate savings in materials or deviations from the design in order for the contractor to save money.” It’s very risky and can cost the same contractor a lot of money later on – it’s easy to check. In the laboratory, we can see all the layers as if in the palm of our hands, we evaluate them according to a large number of parameters that are forwarded to the contractor, and he himself usually sees everything on the computer the very next day after the tests”, explained Ž. Smalsky
Laboratories on wheels
According to the data provided by the company “Via Lietuva”, which is responsible for the construction and maintenance of roads of state importance, an average of 267 objects are inspected per year.
“Despite strict initial testing and construction standards, pavement defects are still being found in new projects in recent years. True, only during the initial inspections, and most of those defects are minor. This shows that quality control is necessary and it works. Even the smallest discrepancies noticed in time are corrected before the roads are used,” said Martynas Gedaminskas, head of the Infrastructure and Support Group of Via Lietuva.
“Via Lietuva” conducts tests in a mobile research laboratory, thereby assessing the condition of the roads and the quality of the work performed more quickly, accurately and objectively.
“Research conducted in the mobile road laboratory minimizes human influence in assessing the condition of the road surface. After the tests, the objects are re-checked by an accredited and independent research laboratory, applying double control”, said M. Gedaminskas.
All stages of road surface construction installation are monitored by a hired independent certified technical supervisor. He accepts work after ordering control studies and tests that are necessary to ensure quality.
Photo by Vytautas Liaudanskis.
