HaTelit® – asphalt reinforcement grid stands up
excellently to 15-year long-term test
Successful use on the German Highway 13 Dresden-Berlin

Introduction
At the end of 1990, a new method of asphalt resurfacing was employed on a 10 km length of the German Highway 13 motorway on the Dresden to Berlin carriageway: A combination of a SAMI (Stress Absorbing Membrane Interlayer) and a HaTelit® asphalt reinforcement grid.
The concrete carriageway was constructed in 1960 and had reached a stage when it was badly in need of extensive refurbishment. The old carriageway required an overlay. As a temporary measure, the old concrete slab would be relieved of load, then HaTelit® 30/13 installed, to be followed later by the actual final constructional solution. This temporary measure was intended to deal with the fact that concrete and asphalt behave differently in response to temperature changes. If there is differential movement between the two layers, then the load is normally carried by the asphalt; this cracks and the carriageway has to be renewed. The HaTelit® reinforcement grid greatly reduces this effect.
It distributes the stresses from the concrete into a much larger area of the asphalt. Furthermore, the method had clear cost advantages: The savings at the time of installation amounted to about 3 million DM.
Background
In the course of reconstruction of the German Highway 13, the question was asked as to how effective the use of HaTelit® reinforcement grid had been. Had the “temporary measure” withstood the ever-increasing traffic flows and higher axle loads over a period of 15 years? In 1999, 40 mm was milled off this section to rectify rutting and replaced with 60 mm of stone mastic asphalt. Six years later – in 2005 – a 2 km length of motorway was visually inspected by engineers from HUESKER and the motorway authority, the Landesbetrieb für Straßenwesen, Brandenburg/NL Autobahnen. Cores confirmed the findings of the inspection: After 15 years of the most punishing traffic loading, no significant crack development as a result of joint reflection cracking could be detected. What was initially a “temporary measure” had become a successful long-term solution.
Results
An extremely positive practical test for the HaTelit® asphalt reinforcement grid. No crack development was evident, even 20-30 mm above the grid. This result is remarkable - especially as only about 100 mm of asphalt had been applied on top of the HaTelit® grid, which is much less than normal. With conventional construction, it is generally assumed that the first cracks will start to appear in the surface after about five years.
The HaTelit®-reinforced motorway had remained crack-free for three times as long. Clear proof of the quality of this HUESKER product.
Its successful use on the German Highway 13 has shown that HaTelit® asphalt reinforcement grid performs excellently, not only on airport runways, local and trunk roads but also on motorways.
Project: German Highway 13 Dresden-Berlin carriageway
Client: Landesbetrieb für Straßenbau, Brandenburg, NL Autobahnen Main
contractor: STRASA, Braunschweig
Constructed: End of 1990
Product: HaTelit® 30/13