Surfacing The Town Red: Aggregate Industries supplies red asphalt to Sheffield cycle lane

The project comes at a time of heightened concerns over cycle safety, with latest figures showing the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured in Great Britain has increased by 29% from 2008 to 2018. As such, to tackle the problem and improve road safety, Aggregate Industries has persistently called for a standardised approach to colour demarcation across the UK.

In the case of Brown Street in Sheffield, as an area of high traffic near the city centre, it was vital to make the street as safe as possible for cyclists by creating a clearly marked coloured cycle lane. Therefore, the key requirement was to source high-performance surfacing materials for the cycle lane that would not only be easily visible - stipulating a specific colour of BS381C No.537 signal red – but also offer the durability and longevity to withstand high-traffic. 

Aggregate Industries’ asphalt division suggested the use of its innovative SuperColour range, a collection of distinctly coloured high-performance asphalts, which can be tailored to produce a bespoke solution in line with a project’s unique specification. To ensure it met the unique specifications of the project, the team initially provided a sample of its ultra-red SuperColour asphalt to check it met the exact colour match. 

With the client happy it met the colour and performance conditions required, Aggregate Industries supplied 190 tonnes of 14mm SMA (stone mastic asphalt) from their Sheffield plant, alongside 80 tonnes of 10mm SuperColour ultra-red Express Asphalt. The result was a bright red cycle lane, easily distinguishable from the rest of the road – certain to improve cycle safety in the area for years to come.

Joanne Wilkins, Head of Business Development - Asphalt and Ready Mix Concrete at Aggregate Industries, said: “With 1.7 million people cycling either every day or nearly every day on today’s roads2, having clear and coherent road markings has never been more important in helping to prevent road traffic collisions. From the planning stages of the project, it was vital that we used a distinguishable colour solution, along with providing the correct road materials to achieve this.

“We’re delighted with the result that our SuperColour asphalt has achieved and would encourage other local authorities to adopt a similar regime when it comes to colour demarcation – as correct lane segregation will play an ever-greater role in creating a local road network that everyone can use in the safest manner possible.”

Aggregate Industries’ marketing-leading SuperColour asphalt range boasts a wide choice of coloured asphalt surfaces, including red, green and yellow, designed to harmonise with site surroundings.