Precision for New Records – Wirtgen W 200 Fi

Built in 1927 as Stadio dei Cipressi (Cypress Stadium), the Stadio Olimpico has hosted a wide variety of high-attendance events, from the Summer Olympic Games to concerts to the 2020 European Cup. Here, in the home of Rome’s two major soccer teams AS Roma and Lazio, wolves and eagles frequently face off. But today, a different animal stands front and center. A lion roars from the front of the large milling machine, part of a customized wrap job to display the new logo of Italian construction company Schiavi S.r.l.

Precision Transverse Tilt with Level Pro Active

The racetrack of the Stadio Olimpica in Rome is being renovated in preparation for the 26th European Athletic Championships in 2024. This follows the modernization work done on the stadium for the European Cup in 2020. First, they must remove the synthetic track surface – also known as “Tartan Track.” Then they can mill off the asphalt layer below with a Wirtgen W 200 Fi cold milling machine and give it an appropriate transverse tilt for the new superstructure. This slope, barely perceptible to the eye, is essential for optimal water drainage from the surface. The reconstruction process follows in the reverse order. They apply a new layer of asphalt above the remaining base layer. Next comes an elastic layer, and then the visible surface, consisting of EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer rubber) and PUR (polyurethane). The evenness and surface quality of the Tartan track are directly related to the quality of paving in the asphalt bed.

Tight Schedule, Powerful Machine

Since the whole project is on a very tight schedule, the asphalt removal needed to be completed within 2 days, without making compromises for the quality of the milling surface. This is why they chose the large high-performance milling machine W 200 Fi and not a smaller one, as may have been expected. The Schiavi team went lane-by-lane around the track. The challenge here was getting enough trucks continuously remove the large amounts of milled material. With optimal logistics, the 2-meter cold milling machine can cover over nearly 10,000 sq. yds. of surface layer in a day. But the limited space inside the stadium made it difficult to drive the trucks in and get them into position. The “compact” variety of large milling machine is not only powerful, but also agile. Here, maneuverability was not a problem. And when the milling work was finished within just a single day, all participants were more than satisfied.