Aggregate Industries’ asphalt have provided their innovative SuperColour range for a new cycle lane in Sheffield City Centre.

The project comes at a time of heightened concerns over cycle safety, with latest figures showing the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured in Great Britain has increased by 29% from 2008 to 2018.

Aggregate Industries has persistently called for a standardised approach to colour demarcation across the UK.

In Sheffield, it was vital to make the street as safe as possible for cyclists by creating a clearly marked coloured cycle lane.

The key requirement was to source high-performance surfacing materials for the cycle lane that would not only be easily visible (a specific colour of BS381C No.537 signal red) but also offer the durability to withstand high-traffic.

Aggregate Industries supplied 190 tonnes of 14mm SMA (stone mastic asphalt) from their Sheffield plant, alongside 80 tonnes of 10mm SuperColour ultra-red Express Asphalt.

Joanne Wilkins, Head of Business Development - Asphalt and Ready Mix Concrete at Aggregate Industries, said: “With 1.7 million people cycling either every day or nearly every day on today’s roads, having clear and coherent road markings has never been more important in helping to prevent road traffic collisions.”

“We’re delighted with the result that our SuperColour asphalt has achieved and would encourage other local authorities to adopt a similar regime when it comes to colour demarcation – as correct lane segregation will play an ever-greater role in creating a local road network that everyone can use in the safest manner possible.”

The result was a bright red cycle lane, easily distinguishable from the rest of the road.