GW Highways contracted Miles Macadam to refurbish an internal shed floor at the Port of Tilbury with our Hardicrete™ grouted macadam surface course. Port of Tilbury is the largest multi-modal port in the South East and UK’s greenest port. Alongside its annual throughput of 16 million tonnes a year, it is also responsible for 5 million square feet of warehouse space. Maritime utilise the Port of Tilbury’s shed as a storage facility for food-grade steel used in the manufacture of industrial kitchens. GW Highways, in collaboration with Maritime and Port of Tilbury, approached Miles Macadam for a solution to issues stemming from the existing roller compacted concrete floor. The existing surface was showing signs of aggregate loss and joint failure caused by heavy loads and continual operations of reach stackers and forklifts. The rough finish of the concrete was causing extreme dusting and risk of contamination to the food-grade steel. It was a priority to find a solution with an alternative high-strength material. The solution was overlaying the roller compacted concrete with a 60m depth of binder course and a 40mm depth of Miles Macadam’s own BBA cementitious grouted macadam Hardicrete™. Hardicrete™ is a durable, heavy-duty surface course designed to withstand the imposed loads of forklift and HGV traffic. A hybrid of asphalt and concrete, it has a high tolerance to deformation whilst also providing flexural strength. It can maintain its surface integrity under the stress of storing the food-grade steel, weighing 11 tonnes per container. These qualities, along with its fuel resistance, are why Hardicrete™ continues to be specified for high stress areas and heavy-duty applications. As the shed was still operational, the refurbishment of the floor was completed in 3 phases, over 3 weekends to maintain operations and cause minimal disruption to the daily activities of the Port.