As the city slowly wakes for another weekday, Supervisor Kumar is already up and about, coordinating resources for the job ahead – resurfacing a side lane in the suburbs.
Characterized by a land area of approximately 730km2 and an immense population density exceeding 7,800 persons/ km2, Singapore presents one of the most complex civil engineering environments globally for transport infrastructure development and maintenance. The nation boasts over 3,400km of roads, engineered to withstand the rigors of an active metropolis. Every street leads to a business or home with no quick alternative, and prolonged diversions risk paralyzing the arterial flow of the city. Yet regular road maintenance must go on, to ensure that the continuous daily wear from traffic, frequent tropical monsoon rainfall, and adjacent construction projects do not actually stop the city’s beating heart.
Singapore relies on a highly optimized, targeted pavement rehabilitation strategy – mechanically remove the top layer of a road to a specified engineered depth (thus eliminating any surface cracks and preventing their further propagation), apply an emulsified tack coat (that good, sticky stuff), then compact on a fresh layer of asphalt premix (government-approved, of course) – commonly known in the industry as “mill and patch”.
An experienced team can deploy, resurface up to 300m2 of road, and pack up, all in just eight hours, providing the robustness that Singapore needs to keep its transport network running in good health while out-of-sight and out-of-mind. Supervisor Kumar is part of one such team here at HSC.
A day prior, underground utilities were successfully laid to a new landed development, connecting it to the national grid of amenities (this is HSC’s main business, and we’re pretty good at it too). What remains is to give the new residents a smooth driveway.
After a thorough briefing to the field team and auxiliary police officers about the day’s planned works, traffic cones and signs are put up on the road to properly re-direct traffic as the resurfacing is done.
The first workhorse of the team – the road planer – is driven in from a nearby holding area to do the “mill” part of “mill and patch”. The top layer of the temporary reinstatement (done after pipelaying the previous day) is methodically obliterated.
A quick spray of tack over the planed area, then the second workhorse is brought over. The road paver spreads a uniform layer of asphalt over the work site, then with the orchestrated effort of the field team, tricky spots are shovelled in and the perimeter of the new road patch is swept smooth.
The road roller, our final workhorse, arrives to compact the fresh asphalt into what Singaporean drivers know will be a good road to drive over.
Then, as quickly as they arrived, Supervisor Kumar and team demobilize, clean the vicinity, and leave with another job well done.
To build utility infrastructure driven by excellence in innovation, precision and safety requires us to master every part of the process, within and without. Here at HSC, we pride ourselves in responsibly pushing boundaries to deliver the best integrated solution for your utility infrastructure. Work with us today.Based in Singapore, HSC Pipeline Engineering Pte Ltd is a civil engineering company specialising in building infrastructural pipelines for gas, water, telecommunications, and energy. Our comprehensive services range from feasibility studies and planning to construction and installations.
Posted by HSC Pipeline Engineering Pte Ltd on 1 Jul 26
Singapore