Milestone Infrastructure design, build and maintain the country’s critical transport infrastructure, and as part of this, regular highways maintenance is a key element. To ensure the delivery of this, Milestone Infrastructure works closely with clients and local authorities to create and implement innovative, sustainable and improved ways of working.
One example of this continuous drive for improvement is Milestone Infrastructure’s introduction of a pothole repairing machine named the ‘Dragon Patcher’. The Dragon Patcher releases compressed air which cleans the area before emitting flames to prepare the road surface and elevate the road temperature above 5 degrees, enabling the material to bond effectively with the existing road surface. The Dragon Patcher then seals the pothole with a stone mix and hot bitumen. These are currently used across many local authority contracts including Oxfordshire Highways, Cambridgeshire Highways, Peterborough Highways, Hampshire Highways and Devon Highways. Further enhancing their use, the Dragon Patchers are being fuelled by the innovative new biodiesel, HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil). HVO is already being used across a range of Milestone Infrastructure’s contracts and has shown significant carbon savings.
Following a recent review of their usage on site, which included a survey of durability, cost savings, carbon reduction and zero waste delivery, 91 per cent of repairs had a long-term durability of over three years. They can deliver low-cost preventative maintenance with a cost saving of up to 84 per cent when compared to traditional methods.
As part of Milestone Infrastructure's wider commitment to cutting carbon and reducing waste, this method has produced an annual carbon reduction of more than 4,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year across our contracts. It has also saved over 2,500 tonnes of waste materials from going to land fill per year.
Furthermore, in Devon Highways alone, the Dragon Patcher repaired over 28,000 potholes, which totals a surface area of over 107,000m2.
These savings outline how the Dragon Patcher has become a valuable tool in Milestone Infrastructure’s maintenance of the UK’s highways, helping to deliver high-quality services to road users across the country. All the while, the Dragon Patcher enables Milestone Infrastructure to provide a sustainable and environmentally responsible service to its clients and their customers, cutting down on carbon whenever it is used.
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