The majority of the maintenance works on high traffic roads are based on hot or warm bituminous products, this kind of traditional products offer all the properties required for wearing course issues. Micro–surfacing is right now at the margins of this type of works. Nevertheless, this technique has already been designed, studied and implemented on highways in the past.
Answering totally the objectives of the project owner, micro–surfacing has been laid recently on French highway section. The product chosen for these maintenance works was the gripfibre®, a micro–surfacing product adapted to high traffics.
The follow up indicates that the gripfibre® applied in 2007 on A87 motorway (near Cholet) has kept very good properties of skid resistance. Measurements have been performed concerning macrotexture (ATD through sand patches test) and microtexture (through friction coefficient). The values of the sideways force coefficient indeed stabilize around 0.63 in both directions after 4 years (measurements done in 2011).
The 4 years follow–up on A87 shows that the good level of skid resistance is long–lasting and sustainable over time, which proves the good mechanical behavior of the product under very high traffic. In comparison with a traditional solution of maintenance work with VTAC 0/10 (Very Thin Asphalt Concrete called BB TM in France), the technique micro–surfacing thus allows, among others:
• A reduction of 62 % of the transport of aggregates,
• A decrease of 182 tons of greenhouse gases representing – 63 %,
• An economy of 3 330 tons of aggregates, which means 59 % of saved natural resources.
The low environmental impact of gripfibre®, a cold technique produced on site hence reducing transport and saving materials, is an obvious additional advantage

maintenance, surface characteristics, safety, low environmental impact