Test of road wear on Busway?
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• A suggestion has been made to the Department of the Environment by the National Council on Inland Transport that wear and tear on the surface of the new BusWay in Runcorn should be carefully logged and should be compared with the results on a similar road which carries cars only. The organization believes it is possible to give an average weight-to-car traffic and the number of vehicles can be ascertained by roadside meters.
By such tests, where the exact weight and number of buses operating is known. the American theory that doubling the Weight on axles increases road wear 16 times, can be confirmed or denied. The theory was evolved after tests some years ago, by the American Association of State Highway Officials, that demonstrated the very great increase in road wear caused by heavy vehicles.
Doubt about this theory has been expressed in Britain, but the Runcorn Busway has provided the opportunity to put the theory to test.