Paving
Growing up in Del Rio, Texas, Gustavo Villarreal did not dream of owning a construction business one day. He simply knew he wanted more from his future.
“I started as a migrant worker,” said Villarreal, who spent summers picking cucumbers and asparagus alongside his parents and siblings. At 18...
A Texas concrete slipform paving contractor took advantage of the cool and uncongested early morning hours before sunup to start the day's work and end it before noontime.
That was the game plan for constructing miles of concrete pavement for a massive residential project—Southern Pointe...
New ACPA Chairman Jim Mack. Image: ACPA
The American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) anticipates a significant increase in square yards of concrete pavements used for highway applications in calendar year 2019.
At a press conference held at World of Concrete in Las Vegas, the association also announced that James W. “Jim” Mack, ...
Joint deterioration has become a renewed concern for concrete pavements in northern climates.
Recently, a number of relatively young pavements have experienced premature joint deterioration, resulting in high amounts of maintenance. The construction industry in Wisconsin alone estimates...
In recent years, paving has witnessed an increased focus on preservation treatments, ranging from crack seals to chip seals to thin-lift overlays, and others. A number of these treatments are often collectively referred to simply as seal treatments. As the term implies, a principle objective of...
What is the secret to revitalizing an urban community near a city’s main downtown area?
As many cities across the U.S. are discovering, the trick is to attract people to the area to walk, shop and visit businesses. When the city of South Bend, Ind., began an improvement project for seven blocks...
Drivers judge the quality of a roadway primarily by its ride quality. As a result, the primary motivation behind specifications for initial smoothness (construction acceptance) is generally driver satisfaction, or functional performance.
There is evidence, however, that smoother pavements also...
Integrated Roadways, a Kansas City technology start-up, is developing “smart pavement” technology that would not only help increase roadway safety but also serve as the Wi-Fi platform for cars and other future mobility services.
The road system uses high-resolution fiber optic sensors and other...
As a durable, economical and low-maintenance concrete material, roller-compacted concrete (RCC) is steadily becoming the choice for many pavement applications. And researchers in Louisiana are testing just how thin those applications can go.
Traditionally, RCC pavements have been built with an 8...
Today’s modern concrete construction technologies and experienced personnel provide an opportunity to construct the smoothest concrete pavements and slabs in history.
Smooth pavements and slabs are in high demand because they reduce cracking, improve ride quality, reduce noise and improve fuel...
Image: Garret Larson
In 1947, when Interstate 10 (I-10) was built as a four-lane highway from Ontario to San Bernardino, Calif., it passed through a landscape of ranches, orchards, and open fields fringed with trees. Originally this section of roadway was assigned as U.S. 70-99, and in 1957 it was reassigned to become...
Charlottesville, Va., is an historic city that was home to several of our founding fathers, and today hosts the Virginia Film Festival and houses the University of Virginia.
It also is home to a portion of U.S. Rte. 29 which cuts through the city as it makes its way from Pensacola, Fla., to...
Curvy roadways in south Pierce County, Wash., were resurfaced with a special, “high-friction” material to help prevent motorists from sliding on wet pavement.
Five roads were selected for the project based on curve alignments, speed of traffic and rate of fatal or serious-injury crashes,...
Figure 1. The study area in coastal N.H. showing the locations of the five pavement evaluation sites, the magnitude of groundwater rise, the areal extent of the groundwater-rise zone (GWRZ), and the extent of surface-water inundation with 6.6 ft of sea-level rise.
The rate of sea-level rise caused by climate change is predicted to accelerate as warming ocean waters expand and water is added from melting land ice.
The rising sea level makes maintaining road infrastructure near the water increasingly challenging. Street flooding in many coastal communities...
The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, also known as the 520 Bridge or its official name of the Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge, spans Lake Washington from Seattle to Bellevue and was replaced in 2016. The new bridge is certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest and widest...
As part of the 80/90 Pavement Upgrade for a Superior Highway (PUSH) project, the Indiana Toll Road Concession Company LLC (ITRCC), the operator of the Indiana Toll Road, announced that the Elkhart Exit (92) closed yesterday April 5, at 9:00 a.m. Exit 92 is scheduled to be closed for three weeks....
The Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is leading the effort to develop the world’s largest concrete pavement preservation experiment.
This experiment, based upon the Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) project on concrete pavements termed SPS-2, will extend the performance data...
Newport on the Levee is a retail area in northern Kentucky in need of a connector.
Claire’s, Barnes & Noble and unique local businesses such as Kelly’s Kloset can all be found there. You can even see hand-crafted concrete, which is on display and will serve as a traffic management solution...
Photo courtesy of NYC Department of Design and Construction
Roads are a critical part of our everyday lives. Some lead us to family, some—like mountain passes—take our breath away and others serve more mundane purposes, like getting us around town for our weekend errands.
No matter what the purpose, today’s network of more than 2.68 million miles of paved...
Pavements tend to deteriorate over time under repeated traffic loads and/or certain environmental conditions.
By detecting pavement distresses and damage early enough, it is possible for transportation agencies to develop more effective pavement maintenance and rehabilitation programs and thereby...
