Drainage
The finished product of an underground corrugated metal pipe that underwent a full rehabilitation.
At the end of a cul-de-sac in Houma, La., in Terrebonne Parish, a corrugated metal pipe ran along the back of two residential properties. Like so many of these pipes across the country, it was deteriorating and in desperate need of replacement.
Because of the location of the pipe, there were...
Article
June 05, 2008
What is the cost of traffic disruption? In the San Francisco Bay area, the cost is staggering. Highway 101 (the Bayshore Freeway) is an important north-south traffic artery connecting San Jose with Palo Alto and the San Francisco Bay area. Tens of thousands of vehicles use the Bayshore Freeway...
Article
July 05, 2005
Managing storm water runoff from one of the most environmentally sensitive and largest public works projects in the region is a challenge at the Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) International Airport in the state of Washington.
Developers are bringing in 6 million cu yd of fill material to create the...
Article
March 18, 2003
These days, state highway departments do more than just pave
roads and build bridges. Their responsibilities include environmental
stewardship, and DOTs are sometimes the first line of defense for eliminating
surface water pollution.
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
builds and...
Article
January 21, 2002
When UWhen U.S. Highway 98/State Route 30 was first built through Destin, Fla., the only thought given to storm water was how to get it off the road. At that time, Destin was little more than a roadside bait shop and a few fishing camps. Seventy-five years later, the highway is lined with high-rise...
Article
December 28, 2000
What happens when the answer to Florida’s rutting problem, Superpave, presents a whole new problem? Florida realized its conventional asphalt technology was not providing the quality necessary for today’s traffic loads and volume. A few other states were beginning to try Superpave and Florida...
Article
December 28, 2000
Most of us have heard the following before, three things are important for highway pavements: drainage, drainage and drainage. However, we do not generally consider the drainage aspect of highway pavements seriously when designing new pavements or rehabilitating existing ones. One type of hot mix...
Article
December 28, 2000
The $1.5 billion design-build I-15 project in Salt Lake City is relying on corrugated and smooth-lined polyethylene pipe, not only to channel water from the roadbed, but also to help the project be completed in time for the 2002 Winter Olympics (see The Reconstruction of I-15, February 1998, p 29...
Article
December 28, 2000
Earlier this year, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)
started work on two large roadway projects in metropolitan King County,
southeast of downtown Seattle. These involved the addition of a new driver
surveillance and information system on I­p;405 and the installation...
Article
December 28, 2000
Backhoes/loaders
Allmand Bros. Inc.
The Allmand Contractor TLB-35 compact backhoe/loader from Allmand Bros. Inc., Holdrege, Neb., offers a 35-hp class engine at an overall weight of 4,450 lb. The unit’s 5,000-lb class industrial backhoe offers a 2-ft flat-bottom digging depth of 10 ft. The loader...
A section of roadway in Huntington, N.Y., was prone to flooding. Officials with the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) had a plan to eliminate the significant ponding, but they had difficulty finding a partner to supply the grates and frames for their “extreme” trench-system...
The risers are easy to install prior to paving—inlet grates are removed, the original utility frames are cleaned and the steel risers are slipped into the frame.
Asphalt overlays are usually routine exercises. They are important, sure, and hard to do well, but the contractors, owners and designers of these projects tend to be very experienced, and the technical challenges are well-understood. Put another way, there are not too many surprises on an overlay...
