Skip to main content

Help for US agencies’ to use new tool to boost concrete pavement quality

In a bid to reduce costs, increase pavement quality, and minimise travel delays caused by road construction, the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the Transportation Research Board (TRB) are to help agencies implement a tool that allows contractors to identify concrete pavement surface irregularities during construction. Real-time pavement smoothness has been selected for guided implementation under the second Stra
April 23, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
In a bid to reduce costs, increase pavement quality, and minimise travel delays caused by road construction, the US 2410 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the 3510 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the 2774 Transportation Research Board (TRB) are to help agencies implement a tool that allows contractors to identify concrete pavement surface irregularities during construction.

Real-time pavement smoothness has been selected for guided implementation under the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2). In May 2014, SHRP2 will begin accepting applications from state departments of transportation (DOTs) who wish to use real-time concrete pavement smoothness to speed up construction and increase quality on their projects.

SHRP2 is an initiative committed to delivering solutions that address growing congestion and aging infrastructure while increasing roadway and construction safety. During typical construction, contractors must wait for concrete pavement to gain adequate strength before evaluating smoothness, which can result in costly penalties and corrective grinding to meet requirements. By monitoring the smoothness of freshly placed concrete, contractors can make timely adjustments to improve operations, increase quality control, and deliver pavements faster.

Two devices measuring real-time pavement smoothness will be available for implementation assistance—the 218 Gomaco Smoothness Indicator (GMI) and the Ames Engineering Real Time Profiler (RTP). These products were selected for implementation after research and evaluation performed by pavement engineering firm The 5943 Transtec Group under SHRP2.

Principal Investigators Dr Robert O. Rasmussen, Steven M. Karamihas and Gary J. Fick evaluated the devices for practicality and accuracy during pavement projects in Georgia, Texas, Arkansas, Michigan, and New York. You can access the full results of this study—including guidelines for implementation—at TRB online.

State DOTs can apply to participate in the SHRP2 effort to familiarise agencies and associated contractors with the selected real-time pavement smoothness devices. The program aims to provide participating agencies with approximately $60,000 worth of equipment rental, training, and technical support.

Agencies interested in participating must apply online during the application period extending from 30 May – 27 June 2014. To learn more, %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal click here http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/goshrp2/ImplementationAssistance false http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/goshrp2/ImplementationAssistance false false%>

Related Content

  • Dynapac introduces new CC1600 compactor
    February 13, 2013
    Dynapac is introducing the CC1600 tandem roller for asphalt which features a state-of-the-art drivers’ platform and a water-cooled engine. It has vibratory drums as wide as 1,600mm, and is engineered primarily for asphalt compaction on streets and pavements in urban areas. It is also suitable for compacting sub-bases and base courses, and is adequate to follow a compact paver.
  • Ideal Controls for road paving materials testing
    January 6, 2017
    Italian firm Controls has put all its long-standing knowledge of road paving material testing into Dynapave, launched this week at INTERMAT. The Dynapave testing system includes the 78-B7030 model, exhibited at the show, which is a servo-pneumatic dynamic testing system with 30kN capacity that examines indirect tensile stiffness, creep, fatigue, triaxial on unbound materials and under load or displacement control. The system is said by Controls to have a user-friendly interface which allows the operator to
  • Ideal Controls for road paving materials testing
    April 19, 2012
    Italian firm Controls has put all its long-standing knowledge of road paving material testing into Dynapave, launched this week at INTERMAT. The Dynapave testing system includes the 78-B7030 model, exhibited at the show, which is a servo-pneumatic dynamic testing system with 30kN capacity that examines indirect tensile stiffness, creep, fatigue, triaxial on unbound materials and under load or displacement control. The system is said by Controls to have a user-friendly interface which allows the operator to
  • Guntert and Zimmerman slipform paver lands in Europe
    January 6, 2017
    Guntert & Zimmerman (G&Z) has launched the new S600 multi-purpose concrete slipform paver at INTERMAT. According to company spokesperson David Lipari, the S600 is designed to address the markets shift from large dual lane, mainline paving jobs to smaller cut-up projects. “The S600 is designed to fulfill the need for a small or medium, versatile, multi-purpose paver that retains the ability to achieve good smoothness numbers,” said Lipari.