Award-winning low-carbon road renewal project demonstrates a new approach to sustainable highways maintenance
Award-winning low-carbon road renewal project demonstrates a new approach to sustainable highways maintenance
Colas’ pioneering low-carbon road renewal project has been recognised with the Steve Berry Innovation Award at the Highways Awards, and has also been shortlisted for the Highways UK Excellence Awards, recognising an innovative approach to carriageway maintenance that reduced the ‘cradle-to-laid’ carbon emissions of the installed solution by more than 50%, while maximising material reuse and circularity.
Delivered in partnership with Cheshire West and Chester Council, Breedon and Multipave Infrastructure, the project on Corkscrew Lane in Cheshire demonstrates how multiple proven low-carbon technologies developed by Colas in France can be successfully combined and adapted for the UK market, helping routine highway maintenance contribute to net zero ambitions without compromising performance, durability or resilience.
Using industry-recognised lifecycle assessment tools supplemented by further independent analysis, the project team demonstrated a 54.1% reduction in embodied carbon compared with traditional hot-laid construction methods. The scheme also achieved a 55% reduction in virgin material use, helping to preserve natural resources while supporting circular economy principles.
The scheme saw Colas resurface and rehabilitate 5,330m² of carriageway using a novel material system designed to reduce embodied carbon and minimise the use of virgin resources. Developed through close collaboration across the project team, both the binder and surface layers were re-engineered, using recycled, waste-derived and bio-based materials.
The binder course layer used an enhanced Valorcol cold recycled bound material (CRBM), incorporating 100% recycled or waste-derived input materials, including reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), incinerator bottom ash aggregate (IBAA) and renewable biochar, a biogenic carbon sink to ‘lock in’ emissions. The CRBM was produced and installed at ambient temperature, using bitumen emulsion produced locally at Colas’ Warrington plant.
The surface course layer introduced Colas’ proprietary Vegeroad bio-binder to the UK, which alongside additional plant-based lignin reduced the amount of fossil-derived bitumen required while enabling further biogenic carbon storage within the road itself.
The project forms part of a shared commitment between Colas and Cheshire West and Chester Council to reduce carbon emissions across highways maintenance activities and explore innovative solutions capable of delivering long-term environmental benefits at scale.
Oliver Thomas, Innovation Manager at Colas, said:
"This project demonstrates how innovation can help transform the way we maintain and renew our road networks. What makes this scheme particularly exciting is the collaboration behind it. Working closely with Cheshire West and Chester Council, Breedon and Multipave Infrastructure, we have successfully adapted technologies already used in France for the UK market, creating a practical pathway towards more sustainable road maintenance. The results achieved on Corkscrew Lane highlight the potential for these solutions to be deployed at scale and support the industry's journey towards net zero."
Karen Shore, Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways, said: "As a Council, we are committed to finding innovative ways to maintain and improve our roads while reducing our impact on the environment. This project demonstrates how partnership working and new technologies can help us make significant progress towards our carbon reduction goals without compromising the quality and resilience of our highway network.
“The results achieved on Corkscrew Lane show the potential for sustainable solutions to play an increasingly important role in the future of highways maintenance, helping us deliver better outcomes for both residents and the environment."