Understanding the importance of road core testing is crucial for maintaining safe, sustainable, and compliant highways. The process ensures that reclaimed asphalt is properly assessed, hazardous materials are quickly identified, and the correct recycling or disposal routes are followed in line with ADEPT’s updated guidance.
While the process requires time and investment, the advantages are safer roads, reduced environmental risks and cost savings from use. The advantages far outweigh the potential disadvantages of relying on untested materials.
At ACS, our UKAS-accredited team provide comprehensive testing processes to assist clients in managing materials effectively while meeting compliance standards.
Key Takeaways: Why is road core testing and ADEPT compliance important?
1. It supports the strategic road network by ensuring reclaimed materials are safe, reliable and fit for long-term use.
2. Alignment with the UK’s adaptation reporting power, helping infrastructure operators demonstrate resilience to climate risks
3. Strengthening climate adaptation infrastructure by reducing maintenance needs and extending the lifespan of roads.
View our UKAS-accredited approach to Asphalt and Bitumen Tests
Why Road Core Testing Matters for ADEPT Compliance
The Role of Road Core Testing in Asphalt Reuse
Road core testing (often referred to as a coring test for roads) is crucial for identifying materials such as tar-bound pavements within reclaimed asphalt.
Without accurate testing, hazardous waste could enter the supply chain. ADEPT’s 2024 guidance emphasises the importance of establishing clear sampling, classification, and testing processes to safeguard rod users and the environment.
Ensuring Compliance with ADEPT’s 2024 Guidelines
Following the guidance set out in ADEPT’s recommendations, reclaimed asphalt can be reused on-site, processed safely at licensed facilities, or disposed of with the correct permits.
The updated protocols help to reduce the risks of harmful compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are linked to long-term environmental and health impacts.
How Testing Supports the Strategic Road Network
Maintaining Structural Integrity
For the Strategic Road Network, accurate road core testing is crucial as it carries the UK’s heaviest traffic. Proper classification ensures that recycled materials meet strict engineering standards to prevent premature failures and maintain structural integrity.
Making Data-Driven Decisions
Results from coring tests for road materials give authorities the data they require to prioritise interventions. This enables cost-effective planning and ensures maintenance work is carried out where it is most needed, such as high-traffic junctions, motorway sections or areas showing early signs of structural wear.
Cost Efficiency
Reusing reclaimed asphalt identified through road core testing saves on raw material costs, reduces the volume of waste sent to landfill and aligns with circular economy goals and strict ADEPT compliance requirements for managing reclaimed asphalt.
Improved Resilience
Thorough testing supports climate adaptation infrastructure by ensuring that reclaimed materials can withstand temperature fluctuations, flooding and freeze-thaw damage. This resilience extends the lifespan of roads, reduces the frequency of maintenance interventions and helps keep the strategic road network operating safely under changing environmental conditions.
Sustainability Gains
The use of reclaimed asphalt cuts emissions linked to quarrying and transporting raw materials. This reduces pressure on natural resources while supporting the circular economy. Additionally, recycling materials in line with ADEPT compliance helps road authorities achieve wider sustainability goals and demonstrate responsible environmental management across the strategic road network.
Key ADEPT Guidance for Managing Reclaimed Asphalt
Recognised Management Methods
ADEPT’s 2024 guidance sets out regulator-approved methods for handling reclaimed asphalt safely and effectively. This includes:
- In-situ stabilisation (Clause 947) where the existing material is treated and stabilised without being removed, preventing it from becoming waste and reducing disruption to the road network.
- Ex-situ processing (Clause 948), which involves milling out and treating asphalt arisings before reusing them in sub-surface layers. This requires mobile plant permits and strict environmental controls.
- Use of approved facilities under environmental permits where materials are transferred off-site for processing or disposal at approved facilities to ensure hazardous materials/substances are managed responsibly.
Each approach balances compliance with environmental protection and ensures road authorities can reuse materials without compromising safety or performance.
Material-Specific Rules
Tar-bearing planings can only be reused through cold mix processes. Crushing, screening and mixing must be carried out under strict environmental controls with mobile plant and treatment facilities holding the appropriate permits.
Climate Adaptation Infrastructure and Road Testing
Resilience Through Proper Material Testing
Climate adaption infrastructure requires durable roads that can withstand increasing environmental pressures. Using tested reclaimed asphalt extends service life, reduces maintenance frequency and supports long-term resilience.
Reducing Environmental Impact
With correct sampling and classification, recycled materials reduce carbon emissions and lessen the demand for virgin aggregates. This makes road core testing a cornerstone of sustainable infrastructure delivery.
Coring Test for Road Maintenance: Workflow
Step 1: Identification
Select suspect planings for a coring test for road when tar content is uncertain.
Step 2: Sampling and Analysis
Test samples for PAHs and other hazardous compounds.
Step 3: Decision Process
- Tar-free → Recycle safely.
- Tar-positive → Use in cold mix processes under ADEPT protocols.
Step 4: Implementation
Apply the correct in-situ or ex-situ recycling method in compliance with Environmental Agency or Scottish Environment Protection Agency guidelines.
ACS: Trusted Experts in Road Core Testing for Compliance, Performance & Sustainability
Road core testing is not just a requirement—it’s the foundation for safe, sustainable, and future-ready roads. With the rise in reclaimed asphalt use and the need for climate-resilient infrastructure, compliance with ADEPT’s 2024 guidance is more critical than ever.
At ACS, we go beyond testing. Our UKAS-accredited road core services give local authorities, contractors, and infrastructure managers the confidence to:
- Prove compliance with national standards and ADEPT guidance
- Maximise material reuse to reduce costs and carbon impact
- Safeguard infrastructure integrity for long-term resilience
- Demonstrate sustainability in every project
When it comes to strategic road networks, cutting corners isn’t an option. Partner with ACS for precise, reliable, and cost-effective coring tests that help you deliver projects on time, on budget, and with confidence.