RAPID DEPLOYMENT MULTI USE PATH for cyclists, walkers, and wheelchair users

Quickly establish highly durable, high quality, highly permeable surfaces, sidewalks and paths with minimal site preparation or site disturbance. The WorkHorse (www.WORKHORSEGS.com) surface can be installed by only one person and requires no heavy equipment. It can be left in place for as long as needed then removed, reconfigured, relocated, and reinstalled over and over and over. This surface has been used by the military and disaster relief agencies for over 20 years.
Water flows right through the panels into the ground below, so there are no puddles. Since ice is unlikely to form on the surface, little salt or sand is required. It creates a better surface than most permeable pavers and it has the advantage of being easily reused.
The panels are made from non-toxic HDPE and can be recycled. HDPE is used for products like milk jugs, pickup truck bedliners, and plastic lumber. Structural ribbing on the underside of the 2-inch-thick panels provide strength while keeping the weight low. A 4-foot x 3.5-foot (14 square feet) panel weighs 34 pounds, so it can be easily carried and installed by one person.
The patented surface of the panels consists of overlapping, opposed, traction arcs that are paired with 3/8-inch diameter drain holes. The arcs direct water and grit to the drain holes and they flush through. The overlapping curves of the arcs help wheels run straight and true with virtually no vibration. Braking and stopping is often superior to pavement due to the raised texture of the surface and the excellent drainage.
Pedestrians find the well-drained surface great to walk on. It is more resilient than pavement, so it provides a bit of a cushioning effect for walkers and joggers. For all users, it is a more stable surface than gravel and is easier to maintain.
The WorkHorse surface will not crack due to frost heaving or tree root growth. The permeable surface allows water and air to reach tree roots. When trees grow, and if the surface has been in place for years. they may cause the surface to bend upward. Since little or no surface preparation is required prior to installation, there is little or no construction disturbance to trees or even to grass and utilities that may be under the WorkHorse surface when it is used for sidewalks.
You can lay the WorkHorse surface right over grass and it will survive. It gets all the water it got previously right through the drain holes and enough sunlight to maintain some of its previous growth. Grass that grows up through the drain holes can be eliminated by laying down landscape fabric before laying down the WorkHorse surface, but of course this will kill the grass underneath. If you want to let the grass grow, frequent travel on the surface or string trimming will keep it clipped off.
Unlike asphalt or concrete, WorkHorse surfaces may be installed in any season or weather conditions. It may even be laid on top of light snow and frozen ground, since it just settles into place when the snow melts and the ground thaws. It bridges right over mud with no aggregate (gravel) base needed, although if the mud is particularly deep and soft, geotextile should be laid down first.
WorkHorse surfaces may be installed and left in place for a few hours to years (the oldest installation has been in place more than 20 years). Unlike asphalt, concrete, and gravel, it may be removed, reconfigured and reused over and over leaving little or no trace at its previous locations.
Snow on a WorkHorse sidewalks is less likely to be slippery since it is unlikely there will be ice underneath and the arcs restrict the snow from sliding on the surface. Snow may be removed by snow blowing, shoveling, or sweeping.
WorkHorse surfacing panels may be easily transported to construction sites. 1000 square feet or more stacks neatly and can be easily transported in the back of a standard pickup truck with an 8-foot bed.
1000 square feet of WorkHorse path weighs 2,430 pounds and often there is no need for a base of crushed stone or gravel. Concrete and the necessary base materials for an average 1000 square feet of path or sidewalk weigh +/-110,000 pounds. Asphalt and the necessary base materials weigh +/-73,000 pounds. Then there is the site prep with heavy equipment, hauling with heavy trucks, and heavy equipment to install asphalt and concrete which brings the energy consumption (largely fossil fuels) to over 50X that of WorkHorse. An even greater financial and environmental savings is the fact that WorkHorse can be removed, reconfigured, and used over and over rather than being ripped out and dumped.
This multi-use path system was developed in an effort to help mitigate air pollution and associated greenhouse gases emitted by cars. The rapid establishment of safer, higher quality surfaces for walking, biking, and rolling facilitates non-motorized travel.