Pavement rehabilitation of a carriage road

Vögele paver working at night against the backdrop of Neuschwanstein Castle.

Night shift against the backdrop of a German fairytale castle

Surface course pavement at Neuschwanstein Castle with the SUPER 1800-5 X Vögele paver

Steep inclines, hardly any room to maneuver and darkness: The conditions for rehabilitating the surface course in front of Germany's most famous castle were difficult. In order not to disrupt visitor operations, work could only be carried out at night. The contractor therefore opted for the Vögele SUPER 1800-5 X paver – and new Dash 5 technologies such as the integrated Light Package Plus.

Neuschwanstein Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and probably the most famous tourist attraction in Germany. A good portion of the approximately 1.4 million visitors each year make the climb to the castle by horse-drawn carriage. This is because, apart from emergency and maintenance vehicles, only they are allowed to drive on the steep, winding road. However, the horses’ iron-shod hooves put a lot of strain on the asphalt. The Bavarian Palace Administration therefore commissioned Geiger Hoch- und Tiefbau GmbH & Co. KG with rehabilitating the surface course along the entire length of 1.3 km.

Night-time pavement rehabilitation of the access road: The SUPER 1800-5 X against the backdrop of the Bavarian royal castle Neuschwanstein.

SUPER 1800-5 X with high output und traction

The winding, uphill road leading to the castle is not your everyday construction site. That is why the construction company decided to use the SUPER 1800-5 X from Vögele. With its power output of 129 kW, high traction, compact dimensions and new Dash 5 technologies, it proved to be the ideal solution.

Vögele paver working at night against the backdrop of Neuschwanstein Castle.

First, around 7,000 m² of asphalt surface was milled off using a W 100 CFi Wirtgen cold milling machine. This was followed by paving with the SUPER 1800-5 X: In three nights, the Universal Class paver laid approximately 800 t of surface course material in a width varying from 5 to 6 m and a thickness of around 4 cm. Given the steep incline and twists and turns, the high traction of the crawler track and the new SmartWheel steering system were extremely helpful: The rotary control on the ErgoPlus 5 paver operator’s console enables particularly sensitive control. In combination with the SmartWheel on the screed control console, which ensures precise screed width adjustment, the paving team was able to achieve a high-quality and even paving result even in curves.

Targeted lighting without the effort of assembly

The assignment presented the team with another challenge: To minimize disruption to visitors, work had to be carried out at night. Here, the SUPER 1800-5 X scored points with its integrated Light Package Plus lighting.

Light Package Plus: optimally lit and safe working environment

The Light Package Plus illuminates all relevant working areas in a targeted manner.

The paver’s headlights illuminate the freshly laid asphalt layer on the road.
The material hopper of the paver is being filled.

The light package offered by Vögele for all Dash 5 pavers includes LED lighting integrated into the hardtop and crossbar of the control panel, which illuminates the driver's workstation as well as all service points accessible from the platform. In addition, the tow point rams are equipped with LEDs. Three LED spotlights, which can be flexibly positioned thanks to magnetic mounts, illuminate any desired work area – such as the side plate of the screed or the hopper wall.

Light Package Plus, which was used during paving at Neuschwanstein Castle, also features powerful LEDs integrated into a specially developed hardtop extension. They ensure optimum illumination across a pave width of up to 10 m and up to 4 m behind the screed. The light output of the integrated LED spotlights is comparable to that of light balloons, but they do not need to be transported or assembled separately. “This saved us a lot of setup time here on the jobsite,” says Senior Site Manager Stefan Keller. “With Light Package Plus, we were able to illuminate all relevant paver and work areas in a targeted manner, thereby ensuring maximum safety even in the dark.”

Stefan Keller, Senior Site Manager at Geiger Hoch- und Tiefbau GmbH & Co. KG, smiles at the camera and leans against the paver with one arm.

“With Light Package Plus, we were able to illuminate all relevant paver and work areas in a targeted manner, thereby ensuring maximum safety even in the dark.”

Stefan Keller, Senior Site Manager, Geiger Hoch- und Tiefbau GmbH & Co. KG

PAC increases comfort, safety and efficiency

In addition, the Paver Access Control (PAC) Dash 5 function made night-time operation easier: This enabled the paving team to start up the SUPER 1800-5 X from the floor and activate the lighting before even stepping onto the paver operator’s platform. Operators used the control unit on the fixed-width screed to start all initial steps, such as switching on the lighting, starting the diesel engine, booting the machine control system, raising and locking the hardtop, and lowering the fixed-width screed at the touch of a button. At the end of work, it brought the paver into the travel position in the same way. This not only increased safety, but also improved efficiency during start-up and shutdown.

A man is sitting in the driver’s seat of the paver. The seat is swiveled for a better view outside.

Good overview, high level of comfort

The driver’s seat in the Dash 5 generation can be swiveled by ± 20 ° and is height-adjustable. In addition, the backrest can be tilted.

View of the paver operator’s console, which is being operated by a smiling machine operator.

Precision steering

The sensitive control via the SmartWheel on the ErgoPlus 5 paver operator’s console is a real advantage for precise asphalt paving.

Optimum pre-compaction, quiet paving

In combination with the AB 600 Dash 5 extending screed and its compacting systems of tamper and vibrators, the paver also achieved high pre-compacting. All components that come into contact with the material are constantly heated, which ensured a homogeneous surface structure. Compared to the previous model, the new extending screed can be heated even more efficiently and is significantly quieter in operation thanks to structural optimizations. Together with the noise-optimized drive concept of the SUPER 1800-5 X, the paving team was able to ensure that night-time operation was as quiet as possible.

High-quality and quiet: In combination with the latest generation of the AB 600 extending screed, the SUPER 1800-5 X worked relatively quietly and achieved an optimal paving result.

Job details
Project:
Pavement rehabilitation of the access road to Neuschwanstein Castle
Location:
Füssen, Bavaria
Pave width:
5 – 6 m
Paving distance:
1.3 km
Surface course
layer thickness:
4 – 5 cm
Pave speed:
3 m/min
Statue of King Ludwig in front of a lake.

Good to Know...

After three nights, surface course paving was complete. King Ludwig would have been delighted: After almost 20 years of construction, his castle was still not finished when he died – and remains unfinished to this day.

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