What is HFS?
High Friction Surfacing (HFS) is a life-saving safety enhancement that can be applied to any asphalt or concrete pavement. HFS dramatically increases the coefficient of friction, thereby increasing the skid resistance of a pavement surface in dry and wet weather conditions. On roads treated with HFS, drivers benefit from drastically shorter stopping distances and greater traction in curves, on entrance and exit ramps, at intersections and on grades. By providing the driving public with greater vehicle control in critical decision-making areas, HFS is reducing accident rates and saving lives nationwide.
High Friction Surfacing utilizes advanced polymer technology to bond High Friction Aggregate to the road surface. Using our HFS application truck, a two component thermoset epoxy/amine binder is blended and evenly applied to the clean, dry road surface. Immediately following the application of a smooth consistent film of epoxy, aggregate is broadcast over the binder. High Friction Aggregate is the optimum aggregate for all HFS applications. Crushed aggregate in the size range of 1-3 mm sets extremely well in the specially formulated epoxy binder. The uniquely angular geometry of the aggregate provides for the maximum holding power within the binder and also creates the high friction topography of the finished surface. This aggressive finished surface is the ultimate skid-resistant road surface available.
How Does HFS Compare?
High Friction Surfacing should not be confused with other surfacing products or processes that are commonly used to rehabilitate pavements. Although many bituminous surfacing options are available to engineers, none of them can create the very high skid resistance values that can be achieved by High Friction Surfacing. HFS is not a chip-seal, slurry or micro-surface. Similarly, mechanical abrasion processes such as milling and grooving may be used to rehabilitate a substandard pavement, but they cannot provide the extreme friction values achievable with HFS. In areas of known skid-related, run-off-the-road, or wet-weather accidents, HFS should be considered as a solution to specific problem areas.