Dash 5 paver renews serpentine road to Germany's highest castle ruins

• The Vögele SUPER 1800-5 X road paver was used to renovate a narrow, steep, and winding 2 km road to Falkenstein castle ruins.

• Its compact design, precise SmartWheel steering, and adjustable screed enabled high-quality paving in tight hairpin bends and challenging terrain.

• Operator Tatjana Drexler praised the enhanced ErgoPlus 5 controls and quick adaptation to the new machine.

• The project was successfully completed, restoring access to Germany's highest gourmet restaurant and hotel near the castle ruins.

Demanding ceiling renovation with the SUPER 1800-5 X

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Tight hairpin bends, steep climbs and narrow passages characterise the lifeline to the Falkenstein castle ruins, located at an altitude of 1,277 metres, and a hotel with a gourmet restaurant below. Here, the new Vögele SUPER 1800-5 X road paver demonstrates why it is the right choice for difficult paving tasks.

Construction site with many challenges

The road to the castle ruins, which is just over 2 km long, is only 3 m wide in places and is already showing its age. The section is bumpy and has deep potholes. “The construction site has many sophisticated features. We’re dealing with steep gradients and very tight bends at the same time. This poses a challenge in terms of paving and logistics,” says Sascha Böck, managing director of Josef Böck GmbH, the company commissioned with the task. He planned the operation meticulously in advance. Due to the hairpin bends, only three-axle lorries can be used to deliver the mixed material. In addition, there are only limited passing places on the route to be negotiated. The lorries have to reverse over long distances. A flexible and easy-to-operate road paver is also crucial for high-quality execution.

SUPER 1800-5 X: Compact, powerful and precise steering

The Vögele SUPER 1800-5 X road paver used at Falkenstein is 6.15 metres long and is relatively compact for its high performance. It also offers high traction and precise steering, which is a big help to the paving team given the tight space they are working in: with the mountain on one side and a steep slope on the other. Here, the paver must be controlled with millimetre precision so that it does not bump into anything on the narrow road. “This works very well with the new Dash 5 paver. Thanks to the optimal overview, the sensitive steering via SmartWheel and the precise screed width adjustment, asphalt paving is possible in these challenging curves. The paver holds the track perfectly and we get an even paving pattern, which is not a matter of course with the existing poor stock and varying layer thicknesses. The screed’s pressure bar is very helpful in achieving high pre-compaction,” comments Sascha Böck after the first 500 m of asphalt paving with the new paver. The AB 500 TP1 extending screed can be hydraulically adjusted from 2.55 metres to 5.00 metres. The addition of fixed bolt-on extensions allows for expansion up to 8.75 metres.

Enhanced operating concept very helpful

Tatjana Drexler steers the SUPER 1800-5 X along the steep walls and the rugged slope. Until five years ago, she worked in catering at a ski lodge and was looking for an interesting new job for the summer. Back then, she would never have dreamed that she would one day be driving road pavers. “Today, it's my dream job,” she says, describing her career choice. She has only ever driven Vögele road pavers and would not want to change. “Why should I, when I’m already operating the best machine there is?” she admits with a smile. She loves controlling large machines safely, even in difficult conditions, while always keeping an eye on her colleagues on the screed and the entire working area. The ErgoPlus 5 enhanced operating concept is helpful here. Although you always have to get used to one or two new features on a new machine, the operating logic is very similar to the previous model, so she was able to get used to the new paver very quickly. Operation is even simpler and clearer, the SmartWheel enables very precise steering and the new touch display offers many additional options. “Both technically and visually, you can see that the machine has been significantly upgraded,” she says of the new road paver.

Compaction at slopes exceeding 30%

For final compaction, the team uses an HD 13 VO oscillation roller and an HD 10 VT from Hamm. Above all, the slope of the route, which in some places exceeds 30 %, combined with the tight hairpin bends, place high demands on the skills of the roller driver and the capabilities of the rollers. They need to be driven with a lot of feeling to avoid pushing the mix away, tearing it up or slipping with the roller. This is precisely where the 3-point articulation of the Hamm rollers once again proves to be a valuable feature.

Successful premiere of the new SUPER 1800-5 X 

After a few days, Germany's highest gourmet restaurant within the highest castle ruins and the hotel below are once again easily accessible. The use of the Vögele SUPER 1800-5 X road paver with the AB 500 TP1 extending screed made a significant contribution to this.

After a few days, Germany's highest gourmet restaurant within the highest castle ruins and the hotel below are once again easily accessible.