Verglimit is a proprietary compound produced by a swiss company; it consists substantially of calcium chloride and is incorporated into a bituminous surfacing at the time of mixing. The intention is that it will migrate gradually through the voids of the material so that a minute quantity is always available at the surface to depress the freezing point and so to assist the dispersion of films of ice under traffic. In order to assess its effectiveness in uk road surfacings, two road trials have been carried out and the performance observed. The first was on trunk road a48 in gloucestershire where verglimit was added to dense macadam and the second was on west link road, livingston, west lothian where it was used in rolled asphalt. The trials produced no evidence of any significant improvement in surface condition during periods of frost or light snow except on a newly laid surfacing. (Author/publisher)
Abstract