Compacting the subgrade of a car park in Oberwesel

Extensive use of the railway by the town’s residents and large numbers of tourists visiting the nearby Loreley rock had necessitated the construction of a car park at the railway station. The town council decided to build a new, 3,500 m² large park-and-ride facility offering space for 100 cars. Situated in the vicinity of the new car park, the “Red Church of Our Lady” rests on foundations dating back to the 14th century, and many houses in the neighbouring streets are also several centuries old.

The subgrade of the new car park was to consist of a frost blanket of crushed natural stone, several layers thick and overlying a layer of sand and gravel. Initially, the contractor had wanted to use a single-drum compactor with vibration to compact the subgrade layers. The operation had to be stopped immediately, however, because the vibrations emitted by the compactor propagated to such an extent that they were clearly felt in the neighbouring houses, and even caused some cracking to occur.

To make sure that the project would be completed on time, and to prevent further damage to the houses, the site manager decided to use a 14-ton single-drum compactor from Hamm type 3414 HT VIO in oscillation mode. The optional Hammtronic control system installed in the compactor enabled the compaction operation to be completed quietly and with maximum effect. The site manager was not the only one to be impressed with the oscillation technique in the single-drum compactor from Hamm, “The residents were, of course, very sceptical after what they’d experienced with the vibration roller. So they were pleasantly surprised at how little they noticed when compaction was carried out by the oscillation compactor from Hamm.”

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