Page 8 - CONSTRUCTION VISION July August 2017 issue

MALAYSIA TO BE THE FIRST country in the world to use the CMA that the study was still underway and the
COUNTRY TO USE technology. sites were being monitored closely by the
RUBBERIZED ROAD authorities.
TECHNIQUE Federal Road FT 001, a 40km road from
Kampung Desa Bertemu Jodoh to Kampung Tests are being carried at the sites
Kwong Sai, is set to concerned and in the lab as well. So far,
create history – 10km of they have been receiving positive data from
the route will be given the CMA study.
the CMA “treatment”,
making it the first To produce CMA, the coagulated rubber
stretch of road in the (fresh cuplump) from the tree has to be
country to be mixed with bitumen to produce bituminous
resurfaced using the cuplump (BC). The BC is then mixed with
coagulated rubber conventional bitumen to produce cuplump
technology. Work on modified bitumen and when asphalt is added
this project is expected to this mixture, CMA is produced.
to start in August.
However, the cost of road construction using
The project is also CMA is higher at RM53.60 per metre,
expected to act as a compared with RM29.90 a metre using the
stimulus to the flagging conventional method. But in the long run,
rubber industry and CMA roads can prove to be more
renew the hopes of the economical as they will last longer and are
440,000 or so rubber cheaper to maintain as well.
smallholders who have been impacted by
the commodity's downward price trend in Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof
Over the past two years, the Malaysian recent years.Considering that CMA requires said that among the things they are studying
Rubber Board (MRB) and Public Works an estimated 4.2 tonnes of coagulated is the structural condition of the road, its
Department (PWD) have been involved in a rubber for every kilometer of road, wider resilience and the defects that might appear
joint study to determine the effectiveness of application of the technology will boost after the monitoring period.
using Cuplump Modified Asphalt (CMA) for demand for rubber and help to stabilize its
road construction or resurfacing works which price. Fadillah said that the lab tests on CMA had
so far produced positive results. According
will make the roads more durable and at the
same time, a much-needed shot in the arm MRB and JKR had signed a memorandum to other reports, the CMA technology has
for the local rubber industry. of agreement (MoA) in June 2015 to proven to improve the resilience and
undertake joint research on the use of durability of roads in terms of resistance to
Cuplump is freshly coagulated rubber, where coagulated rubber or cuplump as an cracking of the road surface.
the coagulation process takes place in the additional material in asphalt for road
cup at the tree with no manufacturing construction purposes. Cuplump has also been found to increase
the viscosity of the asphalt mixture, thus
process being involved; CMA is a mixture of
bituminous cuplump and asphalt, which is a At the signing ceremony, Plantation rendering it more resistant to higher
composite material that is mainly used for Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk temperatures.During midday the road
the paving of road surfaces. Amar Douglas Uggah Embas had said that temperature can go up to 60°C and the heat
the use of cuplump was expected to can cause conventional road building
This will be a possible scenario in the increase domestic usage of rubber by 10 materials to soften and render the road
country in the near future if an innovative percent annually. surface uneven, more so if a lot of heavy
road building technique using coagulated vehicles ply the route.
rubber, currently in the experimental stage, The MoA saw the two agencies carrying out
is implemented on a wide scale. research on CMA at three road sites in On the other hand, bituminous cuplump is
Tampin, Negeri Sembilan; Baling, Kedah; more heat-resistant as its softening point
According to MRB, the study has been and Temerloh, Pahang. temperature is higher than that of
conventional bitumen, thus making it (CMA)
yielding positive results so far and when
implemented, Malaysia will be the first PWD senior engineer Roziawati Razali said a viable alternative for road construction.
6 CONSTRUCTION VISION JULY-AUGUST 2017