Building Composites, Asynt Solutions partner on highway construction improvements
Dayton-based company becomes exclusive North American contract manufacturer for 24-foot composite road barriers offering enhanced shipping efficiency and reduced carbon footprint.
Building Composites LLC (Dayton, Ohio, U.S.), which manufactures the HyperWall building skin system — fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) panels — that are capable of reducing exterior construction times by as much as 33%, announces an exclusive strategic partnership with Asynt Solutions (Columbus, Ohio, U.S.) for the manufacture of composite road barriers, a novel traffic safety solution ideal for highway and construction zones.
This collaboration marks large-scale production of temporary traffic barrier systems — Asynt’s FRP-reinforced Ape Barrier system — that are reported to offer a lighter, safer and more sustainable alternative to traditional concrete barriers.
The Ape Barrier, which Asynt says is the only composite barrier system with a pending patent, is a longitudinal traffic barrier that meets MASH TL-3 standards. Unlike concrete barriers, which are heavy and brittle, these composite-based barriers are durable, easy to install and weigh only 10% of traditional concrete barriers. This enables transport vehicles to carry up to 87% more barriers per load to construction sites, compared to traditional systems — significantly reducing logistical costs and increasing operational efficiency. As a result, the road barriers directly reduce transportation fuel consumption and air pollutants, contributing to an 87% reduction in carbon emissions.
“We truly believe in the value proposition of this product,” says Andrew Elliot, chief revenue officer at Building Composites LLC. “This is the future of highway construction and traffic safety. Being able to remove thousands of [polluting] concrete barriers and replacing them with a more sustainable solution is an amazing initiative to be a part of.”
According to partners, these composite road barriers are not affected by salt and de-icing chemicals and will last 20-25 years; concrete barriers last, on average, 7-8 years.
“The performance of these barriers has been pretty phenomenal compared to other products on the market,” contends Archie Scott III, CEO and founder of Asynt Solutions. “Therefore, it was important to us to find somebody that we could trust to build a quality product sustainably and in very high volumes.”
The Ape Barriers are approved by numerous state DOTs and in regions of Canada. These barriers are currently active on several ongoing highway projects.
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