Working for the energy revolution

We are paving the way to sustainability

The existing transport infrastructure was upgraded parallel to the construction of new wind turbines for the expansion of renewable energy generation capacities in the Swabian Jura region of Germany. A Wirtgen Group Production System comprising two Hamm rollers, a John Deere 622 GP Motor Grader, a cold recycler WR 240i and a Streumaster SW 112 TC tractor-towed binding agent spreader were deployed on the project.

Obersontheim | Swabian Jura: Contractor Gebrüder Eichele GmbH undertook the resurfacing of the road leading to a wind farm in southern Germany. The existing road surface was widened from 4.5 m to 7 m over a distance of 1,100 m. In the course of this process, the entire surface of the existing road was processed in-situ by a Wirtgen recycler WR 240i. At the same time, the milling and mixing rotor homogenised the existing road surface and the base layer to a depth of 35 cm and simultaneously mixed in 49 kg per square meter of precisely pre-spread cement. This created a new cement-bound base layer with a width of 7 m. Despite the unsettled autumn weather and the tight deadline, the construction phase was completed as planned within a period of 2 days. This phase was followed by the paving of an asphalt surface layer.

Cement was pre-spread on the treated surface by a Streumaster SW 112 TC tractor-towed spreader to enable the production of a new, cement-treated base layer.

The WR’s powerful milling and mixing rotor homogeneously mixes the material and the pre-spreads cement to a depth of 35 cm. At the same time, water is sprayed into the mixing chamber by means of an injection bar.

The first pre-compaction pass is carried out by a H 7i CompactLine compactor following behind the WR.

After the first pre-compaction pass, the John Deere Motor Grader grades the base layer material with a cross-slope of 3%.

The final compaction was also carried out by a Hamm HC 130i compactor.

View of the complete Production System for soil stabilisation

Precision at the press of a button

Surface grading is made significantly easier by the unique Auto-Pass function from John Deere. The press of a button is all it takes to place the grader mouldboard on the ground and activate the Grade Pro system. At the end of a pass, the mouldboard is raised again and turned to automatically replicate the desired grade value on the other side of the road. This means that the Motor Grader no longer has to be driven back to the starting point to start all over again from there.

‘We are extremely satisfied with the John Deere Motor Grader. The automation offered by the Auto-Pass function was really useful, particularly here. Just one press of a button sets the cross-slope we need after turning the machine.’

Heinrich Eichele jun., Managing Director

Intact transport infrastructure is essential for the expansion of renewable energy generation capacities

We are currently seeing growing reliance on sustainable and renewable energy sources around the globe. As a consequence of this, the search is on for suitable sites for photovoltaic plants, wind farms etc. in a wide range of different regions. A well-developed transport infrastructure is essential for enabling access to these sites and the construction of new plants. In order to make road construction as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible, the Wirtgen Group relies on cutting-edge technologies that help to minimise the overall emissions of construction processes.

You can find out more about the Wirtgen Group’s sustainability goals here.

Checked and approved: Thanks to Grade Pro automatic grade control, the John Deere 622 GP grades the cross-slope of the planned road surface to exactly 3%.

Wirtgen Group machines deployed:

Streumaster: SW 112 TC
Wirtgen: WR 240i
John Deere: 622 GP
Hamm: H 7i
HC 130i

Project parameters:

Length:: 1,100 m
Width:: 4.50 m widened to 7.00 m
Cement added:: 49 kg/m²
Working depth:: 35 cm
Cross-slope on each side:: 3%