Longest running on Broadway?
Roads & Bridges
January 2008
By Mark C. Schaefer, P.E., and Dennis Ohlrogge, P.E.
Denver officials hope choice of concrete pays off for years to come
Guess not
Concrete Progress
November 2007
By Gerald F. Voigt
New advancements eliminate guesswork, create standardization
Home groan
Concrete Progress
November 2007
By Roads & Bridges
Declining housing market will dampen cement industry; public construction will remain steady
No off days
Concrete Progress
November 2007
By Tyson Rupnow, Kejin Wang, Vern Schaefer and Marcia Brink
Ternary mixes keep contractors on the mark at the jobsite
Changes Made in White
Concrete Today
November 2006
ACPA
To cover a rise in asphalt prices, more agencies are turning to concrete
Fluid Concrete
Concrete Today
November 2005
Pervious concrete offers a solution to the heightened concern of storm water runoff.
A steel's shield
Concrete Today
November 2005
Mark B. Snyder, Ph.D., P.E. Contributing Author
Thin is Mint
Concrete Today
November 2005
Kerry Sutton, P.E., and Bob Risser, P.E. Contributing Authors
Roaring Rapids
Concrete Today
November 2005
Dan DeGraaf, P.E., and Bob Risser, P.E. Contributing Authors
Bright White
Roads & Bridges
March 2005
Bill Wilson, Editor in Chief
With the original highway crumbling in the late 1970s, the Illinois DOT decided it was time for a major reconstruction of the 15-mile strip. Together with two other contracting firms, Denton and his crew pulled off an impressive mix of industry firsts, including breaking up the old pavement to serve as the next sub-base.
Void all checks
Roads & Bridges
March 2005
Jim Grove, P.E., and Mark Anderson-Wilk, Contributing authors
But then, in 1990, staining and cracking were discovered in a pavement that was built in 1987. The problem wasn’t specifically an aggregate issue. It was a new phenomenon.
Pulling the string
Roads & Bridges
October 2004
Betonac nv has been slipforming for decades. The company is based out of Sint-Truiden, Belgium, and the general contractor specializes in tunnel, bridge and highway work.
Perfect business suitors
Roads & Bridges
August 2004
Bill Wilson, Editor
“If you didn’t have the lanes reopened you were charged a substantial amount of money, so that got your attention.”
The joint connection
Roads & Bridges
January 2004
Gerald Voigt, P.E.
Joint design is extremely important, but sometimes not given its due importance in an overall pavement design. A proper jointing system for concrete streets ensures that the structural capacity and ride quality of the pavement is maintained at the highest level of performance at the lowest possible cost.
Pavement with Potential
Roads & Bridges
September 2003
Greg Daderko, Contributing Author
The Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA) has just completed a project designed to eliminate a major bottleneck on that well-traveled route: the U.S. Rte. 50 Salisbury Bypass. The divided, four-lane, seven-mile bypass connects U.S. Rtes. 13 and 50. By routing traffic around the heart of Salisbury, Md., the bypass, in the words of then-Gov. Parris Glendening, is "giving Main Street back to the citizens of Salisbury while providing a safer, more convenient trip to the beach."
Melting Could Produce Flakes
Roads & Bridges
August 2003
Steve Morrical
In many cases, the use of deicing chemicals is cited as the primary cause of concrete scaling. It has been demonstrated that deicing chemicals can cause and aggravate surface scaling, particularly in concrete with poor air void systems and low air contents.
Cruising By the Lake
Roads & Bridges
June 2003
Allen Zeyher, Associate Editor
The current reconstruction of south Lake Shore Drive in Chicago will be good for motorists and good for Lake Michigan as well.
Freeway To Go
Roads & Bridges
February 2003
Arthur Schurr, Contributing Author
The I-210 represents the end of an era. With the primary design and construction work now part of its lengthy, convoluted past, Southern California's freeway system is a testament to the future. But the I-210 also signifies many other things. Providing a new, much-needed east-west corridor, the I-210 will relieve its host communities of huge volumes of both local and intercommunity traffic. And the project itself serves as an example of how a public works undertaking can be completed so as to benefit every stakeholder.
Untangling the Triangle
Roads & Bridges
February 2003
Bill Wilson, Editor
The Grandview Triangle Interchange, where I-435, I-470 and Highway 71 meet in a tangled mess, is perhaps the most outdated of its kind. Containing three merging freeways and as many as 64 movements, the thoroughfare is struggling to move its daily numbers, which could reach as high as a quarter of a million in 10 years. The Missouri Department of Transportation recently decided to give the Triangle a shapelier figure, but there was little room to expand the waistline.
What's the Favorite Topping?
Roads & Bridges
January 2003
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Region 6 chose whitetopping to address rutting and continual maintenance on a high-traffic asphalt highway in Denver. Interstate Highway Construction (IHC) completed the 3.5-mile project ahead of schedule, producing a smooth-riding, long-lasting pavement.
Fluid Movement
Roads & Bridges
November 2002
Carol Carder, Contributing Author
A construction team working for John Springer, Colorado Department of Transportation maintenance supervisor from Loveland, made construction history with a pilot project on State Highway 287 near Fort Collins with the world's first full-panel precast slab replacement. The key to leveling and anchoring the precast slabs was a liquid resin (Uretek 486) that has been used successfully for years to lift and stabilize sunken concrete slabs.
A Love For the Crush
Roads & Bridges
October 2002
Rick Zettler
Independence Recycling has grown into a major-league success story. From humble beginnings as a local recycle contractor with a single portable crushing and screening plant started primarily to handle demolition materials generated by its sister company, today the company employs 60, operates nine portable horizontal shaft impact crushing plants producing in excess of 3 million tons of spec product per year and services a broad customer base east of the Mississippi River.
Tough Slump
Roads & Bridges
September 2002
Allen Zeyher
Highway construction is struggling to maintain a healthy pace in an economy that stubbornly remains sluggish. Ron Blech has seen those economic concerns play out in the concrete plant market in the past year.
Segregation Buster
Roads & Bridges
August 2002
Bill Rieken
At every stage in handling aggregate and asphalt, there is a chance for material segregation to occur. With numerous opportunities for segregation to occur even before the asphalt reaches the jobsite, it does not seem quite fair that the paving crew is now challenged to lay a high-quality, smooth mat void of segregation. Fair or not, however, it is a fact of life.
Tons Riding on It
Roads & Bridges
August 2002
Bill Wilson
A new, permanent, ultra-fast-setting concrete repair material now available in the U.S. helped a contractor speed through multiple concrete slab repairs at Colorado Springs Airport late in 2001.
Cheer of the Unknown
Roads & Bridges
July 2002
For a relatively small town like Sheridan, Wyo., whitetopping an arterial street with over 17,000 sq yd of concrete during the height of the tourist season is no small undertaking. This seemingly small leap of faith ended up setting a great example for other communities in the state, proving that whitetopping is a very viable and cost-effective solution for long-term street maintenance.
Texas Five-Pointed Star
Roads & Bridges
June 2002
Bill Wilson
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is trying to accomplish approval victory on a grand scale with the construction of the Dallas High Five interchange—which will sit in an area that attracts a bewildering 500,000 vehicles daily. Two major highways, U.S. 75 (North Central Expressway) and I-635 (LBJ Freeway), are the two main carriers, and effective traffic management during the creation of Dallas’ first five-level road structure has been the top promise since day one.
Fit to overlap
Roads & Bridges
April 2002
Brent Burwell and John Benson
During the summer of 2001, an innovative remedy was applied to a 5.5-mile section of I-40 in eastern Oklahoma. The project specified dowel bar retrofitting and overlaying an existing concrete pavement. The retrofit and overlay were not completed in two separate steps, as is most commonly done. By changing the construction methods and combining the placement of the load transfer devices along with the overlay, the contractor saved significant time and costs.
Aggressively Pursuing
Roads & Bridges
March 2002
Valentin J. Riva
In 1998, the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) initiated and led the most dramatic initiative in the history of the concrete pavement industry to reunite and revitalize. Since then, the association has broadened its offerings of products and services, now providing a greater range of both to more customers and stakeholders than ever before.
Finding the Space for It
Roads & Bridges
March 2002
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) used an unbonded overlay project on I-265, the Gene Snyder Freeway, as a testing ground for new methods, designs and specifications—most notably a new QA/QC specification. The project won an Excellence in Concrete Paving award from the Ohio-Kentucky Chapter of ACPA, and was a finalist in the national ACPA awards competition.
Young and Eager
Roads & Bridges
March 2002
Steven M. Waalkes
The maturity method is a simple nondestructive way of determining the strength of concrete pavement so it can be opened to traffic as soon as it achieves the required strength. This story details the experiences of three states that have embraced the technology: Iowa, Indiana and Texas. Although only a limited number of agencies currently use this methodology, there is growing interest in the cost-effective method.
Reviving a Landmark
Roads & Bridges
October 2001
Allen Zeyher
Post-tensioning and high-performance concrete renew a 75-year-old structure
Tailoring to the Pants
Roads & Bridges
October 2001
Peter McCandless
PennDOT works smoothness into $700 million I-99 Corridor
Bucking a Trend
Roads & Bridges
July 2001
Allen Zeyher
With TEA-21 ripening, concrete pavers picking juicy fruit
A Rise in the Land of the Falls
Roads & Bridges
October 2000
As interstate highways throughout the U.S. reach the end of their natural life cycle, new and innovative pavement design techniques are being employed to rebuild these vital roadways.
Creating a New Generation of Concrete pavements
Roads & Bridges
April 2000
Larry Cole, P.E.
Significant advancements in concrete pavement design and evaluation, material properties and construction techniques have greatly improved the nation’s transportation system by producing pavements that are safer, durable and cost-effective.
Strong as an Ox
Roads & Bridges
October 1999
by Bill Wilson
Approaching the halfway mark of the I-15 reconstruction project, UDOT and Wasatch Constructors use muscle to stay on scheduleApproaching the halfway mark of the I-15 reconstruction project, UDOT and Wasatch Constructors use muscle to stay on schedule
Jordan Can’t Keep This From Happening
Roads & Bridges
October 1999
by Bill Wilson
Wasatch Constructors is taking advantage of the design-build process to stay on pace with bridge building, which includes the complex Jordan Section.
Change: A Constant for Concrete
Roads & Bridges
April 1999
American Concrete Pavement Association President/CEO Val Riva shares with ROADS & BRIDGES the association’s new course of action heading into the 21st century
An Education on Traffic Management
Roads & Bridges
April 1999
Gerald F. Voigt, P.E.
A new program developed by the ACPA offers steps on how to handle the easing of road tension
Diamond-Grade Pavements
Roads & Bridges
April 1999
by James W. Mack, P.E.
Study shows diamond grinding an effective means of extending the life of concrete pavements
Specialized Concrete Pavers
Roads & Bridges
July 1998
Tim Gregorski
The paving market is offered a number of versatile pavers to fit a wide variety of applications
Challenges and Opportunities
Roads & Bridges
April 1998
In an exclusive interview with ROADS & BRIDGES, new ACPA president Val Riva addresses key issues facing the concrete pavement industry
Concrete Pays Dividends to Citizen Stakeholders
Roads & Bridges
April 1998
Fifty years after the original pavement was placed, Water Street was still functional, even though it had exceeded its original design life by about two-and-a-half times.
I-15's Pioneering Spirit
Roads & Bridges
February 1998
Larry Flynn
Salt Lake City's massive $1.6 billion reconstruction of I-15 is calling for extreme measures on the part of the owner, contractor and suppliers to complete the design-build project in four-and-a-half years instead of eight.
Roller-Compacted Concrete Carries a Heavy Load
Roads & Bridges
July 1997
Jan Prusinski
Gaining popularity in Canada, this zero-slump mixtures comprised of local aggregates, portland cement and water, is being used as a fast, economical construction method forintersections
Ultrathin Whitetopping Gains Momentum
Roads & Bridges
April 1997
Tests prove the durability of 2- to 4-in. concrete overlays on low- to medium-volume roads and airport apron sections; 100 projects performed in five years
Cost and Performance of Concrete
Roads & Bridges
April 1997
Changes in materials, equipment, and process methodologies are providing greater options for concrete in meeting first-cost, life-cycle cost and performance requirements
HP Concrete Flexes Its Muscles
Roads & Bridges
April 1997
Tony Kojundic
High-performance concrete is being used on bridges throughout the U.S., but to reap its benefits, care must be taken when batching and mixing
Runway Paving to Keep Cargo Flying High
Roads & Bridges
July 1996
Wayne Adaska
Cement-treated subgrade and base strengthen 300,000-sq-yd concrete runway project at new FedEx airport terminal in Fort Worth, Texas
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