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Bitumen emulsion

Published: | Category: Chipsealing , Surfacing , Specifications | Audiences: Road traffic engineers & consultants, Roading contractors

The M02 Specification for bitumen emulsion (version 1) has been developed and published in support of the move to the use of bitumen emulsions for chip sealing.  M02 provides a means for emulsions to be specified in resurfacing contracts.

M02 requires the bitumen used to prepare the bitumen emulsion to be compliant with NZTA M01 specification, which includes the quality requirements of NZTA Q05.

In contrast to traditional emulsion specifications, M02 does not have a series of technical criteria that the emulsion must comply with but uses general terms to specify the emulsion properties.  It is up to the emulsion supplier to set limits around the specified criteria in conjunction with the chip sealing contractor.  This approach will allow innovative materials to be developed and used.

The areas covered by the specification include:

  • the constituents of the emulsion
  • the physical properties of the emulsion
  • the information that must be passed though the supply chain so that accurate records can be uploaded to RAMM
  • a proposed convention for naming emulsions.

M02 specification is a new document.

Publication details

  • Author:
  • Published: January 2024
  • Reference: NZTA M02
  • Version: 1.0
  • Contact: pavements@nzta.govt.nz
  • Conditions: this specification is mandatory for state highways and recommended for local roads.
  • Also known as: M/2; M/02