A specially modified polyplaner from Kennards Concrete Care provided an innovative concrete bonding solution during widening of the F3 Freeway, north of Sydney.
BMD Constructions, which carried out the project between Mt Colah and Cowan, required the edge of existing concrete roadway to be scarified to facilitate bonding with new pavement.
Nine kilometres of roadway was involved, and the area to be profiled was 50mm from the top, with untreated sections to remain above and below to allow some movement when the old and new pavements were joined.
A Schibeci polyplaner, attached to a mini loader, was modified to allow the tungsten teeth to work on the vertical face, while the skids were relocated so that the head could float along the top of the pavement.
Kennards Concrete Care said that the job was an example of their ability to provide solutions, and not just hire equipment.
According to Konrad Stempniak, Kennards Concrete Care, who worked with BMD Constructions on the project, the first test runs were more challenging than expected; the target of 500 lineal metres per day appeared impossible to achieve. However, after changing mini loaders and re-modifying the head, the target became realistic. One of the operators delivered 1000 lineal meters in an eight hour shift. The highest productivity was produced by operators who were prepared to work at it patiently.