United Paving Company is an asphalt paving contractor handling a full range of construction services including asphalt, concrete, and striping services. Visit this website for more information.It's a bumpy ride for drivers all over Mid-Michigan as we find ourselves in the midst of pothole season.
Image Source: www.wilx.com
But there are some stretches of road right now where it's actually pretty smooth sailing.
Ingham County is in the midst of testing out a new paving technique using rubber from old tires that might actually help reduce the number of potholes down the road.
There are currently three stretches of road in the Lansing area that have received the rubber treatment including Waverly Road between Miller and Jolly, Haslett Road between Park Lake and Okemos, and Cornell Road between M-43 and Haslett.
The method is also being tested in Saginaw County.
"Grants have been given to develop and research mixtures involving recycled tire rubber in the asphalt paving mixture," said Bill Conklin, director for the Ingham County Road Department.
"The rubber added to the asphalt amends the properties to keep asphalt elastic for a longer period of time."
The added rubber keeps the pavement flexible, making it less prone to cracking which could potentially mean less potholes, according to Conklin.
Given the current state of Michigan's roads and road funding, Conklin said the priority now is figuring out how to do more with less.
"What we're doing is using higher-technology materials to do more road or a better job with the funding we have."
But where the rubber meets the road there's also a bigger price tag compared to regular asphalt or concrete, ringing up at roughly $20 more per ton, which can add up quickly when paving miles of road.
"Being a new product with a market not exactly set up to mass produce this material it's a little more expensive at this time," Conklin said.
Conklin said the county is working with the Michigan DNR and the engineering department at Michigan State University on researching the material.
Since 2011, the county has received roughly $700,000 in grant money to help fund the three projects that totaled roughly $4 million to complete.
The county is still waiting to determine the success of the current trials.
"Certainly for the next half dozen years we want to observe this and see how it's looking at age 10," Conklin said. "At 10 years we should be able to discern differences... but for the first few years we've seen we're happy with the performance."
Bennett Road in Okemos could be the next road to receive the treatment, according to Conklin.
Showing posts with label road. Show all posts
Showing posts with label road. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
REPOST: New Rubber Asphalt Being Tested Could Mean Less Potholes
Tests are underway in Mid-Michigan to improve asphalt roads by adding rubber from old tires to increase the roads elasticity. Read this article from WILX.com for the full report:
Thursday, February 13, 2014
REPOST: Road construction underway in downtown Beaufort
The construction of new roads, posts, and street signs begin in Beaufort, South Carolina, as part of the local government’s development projects. The Beaufort Gazette has the report:
Road construction in downtown Beaufort is getting started
with one of several projects on the to-do lists of the city, Beaufort
County and the S.C. Department of Transportation.
Work is planned for portions of Charles Street, at its intersection with Boundary Street and between its intersections with Bay and Craven streets. Brief delays and lane closures in the coming months will occur, according to the city.
The city, county and state are collaborating on a $300,000-plus project to install new mast arms for traffic lights and signs on Charles Street. The city's portion is $55,000, according to the release.
Work at the intersection of Charles and Bay streets began Monday and is expected to take about three weeks, city public works director Isiah Smalls said. The right-hand, eastbound lane is temporarily closed on Bay Street, approaching Charles Street.
Walker Bros. of Lexington was picked by the city and state to perform the work, and Smalls said the new mast arms will be stronger and less likely to be damaged by strong winds than the current traffic signals.
Work on the Craven Street intersection will start in about three weeks, and once a foundation for the mast arm is poured, prep work will begin on the Boundary Street intersection, Smalls said.
The mast arm installation is occurring before DOT returns to finish road milling and paving on Charles and North streets and other city streets. That work was originally to be done as early as September, after paving was completed on Bay and Lafayette streets. The contractor, APAC Inc., left to complete other projects and has not returned. Smalls has not been notified of a new start date.
That delay could be to the city's advantage, Smalls said. He prefers the road cutting and work to occur before the milling and paving.
The city is also working on a project to replace 65 light poles and add another 13 on Bay, Carteret, Craven, Charles and Port Republic streets. There are currently no poles on Craven Street or on West Street between Port Republic and Craven streets, but that will change with the new lights. That work was to begin as early as January, but the city has had difficulty finding a company to do the work and "reining in costs," Smalls said, and it has not been rescheduled. The project was bid out in December and rebid in January after no bids were submitted, Smalls said.
After considering the $455,000 budget and options, such as brick pavers over a utility trench that will need be dug along the sidewalk, the city sought revised bids, and staff is considering those, Smalls said.
"We have to evaluate and compare and really go over it with a fine-toothed comb," he said.
SCE&G is sharing the cost of that project.
Follow reporter Erin Moody at twitter.com/IPBG_Erin.
Established in 2000, United Paving Company is an asphalt paving contractor serving the counties in Southern California, including Orange County, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura. Visit this Facebook page for more information.
Image Source: islandpacket.com
Work is planned for portions of Charles Street, at its intersection with Boundary Street and between its intersections with Bay and Craven streets. Brief delays and lane closures in the coming months will occur, according to the city.
The city, county and state are collaborating on a $300,000-plus project to install new mast arms for traffic lights and signs on Charles Street. The city's portion is $55,000, according to the release.
Work at the intersection of Charles and Bay streets began Monday and is expected to take about three weeks, city public works director Isiah Smalls said. The right-hand, eastbound lane is temporarily closed on Bay Street, approaching Charles Street.
Walker Bros. of Lexington was picked by the city and state to perform the work, and Smalls said the new mast arms will be stronger and less likely to be damaged by strong winds than the current traffic signals.
Work on the Craven Street intersection will start in about three weeks, and once a foundation for the mast arm is poured, prep work will begin on the Boundary Street intersection, Smalls said.
The mast arm installation is occurring before DOT returns to finish road milling and paving on Charles and North streets and other city streets. That work was originally to be done as early as September, after paving was completed on Bay and Lafayette streets. The contractor, APAC Inc., left to complete other projects and has not returned. Smalls has not been notified of a new start date.
That delay could be to the city's advantage, Smalls said. He prefers the road cutting and work to occur before the milling and paving.
The city is also working on a project to replace 65 light poles and add another 13 on Bay, Carteret, Craven, Charles and Port Republic streets. There are currently no poles on Craven Street or on West Street between Port Republic and Craven streets, but that will change with the new lights. That work was to begin as early as January, but the city has had difficulty finding a company to do the work and "reining in costs," Smalls said, and it has not been rescheduled. The project was bid out in December and rebid in January after no bids were submitted, Smalls said.
After considering the $455,000 budget and options, such as brick pavers over a utility trench that will need be dug along the sidewalk, the city sought revised bids, and staff is considering those, Smalls said.
"We have to evaluate and compare and really go over it with a fine-toothed comb," he said.
SCE&G is sharing the cost of that project.
Follow reporter Erin Moody at twitter.com/IPBG_Erin.
Established in 2000, United Paving Company is an asphalt paving contractor serving the counties in Southern California, including Orange County, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura. Visit this Facebook page for more information.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
REPOST: New road paving technique means quieter I-5
Residents living along the stretch of Interstate 5 are enjoying quiet nights since the road was improved using a new technique in road paving. Read the whole story in this article from 10news.com.
Established in 2000, United Paving Company is an asphalt paving contractor serving the counties in Southern California, including Orange County, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura. For more details, visit this website.
SAN DIEGO - Caltrans has done something never seen in California before. Deep grooves now stretch on a small area of Interstate 5 in North County and Caltrans says the results are in -- the “next generation concrete surface” has made the area much quieter and the residents much happier.
Image Source: www.10news.com
Corridor residents 10News spoke to who live along the stretch of the I-5 between Via de la Valle and Lomas Santa Fe say the newly paved surface has been "life-changing."
“I’ve lived just up the hill for 30 years and [the noise] only increased over time,” said Cathy Borgia. “It was pretty bad, bad enough for me that I had to wear ear plugs to sleep at night.”
Borgia says the freeway noise issue has gotten much better in the last year and that even the morning commutes are quiet. 10News reporter Natasha Zouves strapped a GoPro to the side of a news van to see the reason why. The new paving technique works to reduce noise by making deep grooves in the road.
Caltrans says up to 90 percent of freeway noise is made when tires hit the pavement. The new grooves reduce the noise by about five decibels. But, perhaps more importantly, the grooves also change the frequency of the sound, making it much harder for the human ear to hear.
The GoPro footage 10News captured clearly shows the difference in noise. On the new surface, the driver can barely hear cars passing by.
The project began in May of 2012 and wrapped up in August.
“The project has been so successful, we’ve received two awards in the last three months,” said Arturo Jacobo of Caltrans. “We are very pleased with the results. For the residents that live adjacent to the corridor they can see the difference and hear the difference. We plan to use this technique in the upcoming North Coast Corridor Project.”
$3.2 Billion will go to the area between La Jolla Village Drive and Harbor Drive in Oceanside in the upcoming North Coast Corridor Project. Jacobo says the project will use this new paving technique and that, surprisingly, it comes at no extra cost. Four express lanes will be added to the existing eight lanes and construction will begin in late 2015.
10News spotted another resident of the corridor enjoying his bagels right next to the newly-ground freeway. Ron Carey is of another mind about peace and quiet. The New York native says in all the years he has been here, San Diego has never been too loud.
“This is quiet. The weather is great, people are very quiet here and you never see them, so it’s great,” said resident Ron Carey. “Don’t complain."
Established in 2000, United Paving Company is an asphalt paving contractor serving the counties in Southern California, including Orange County, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura. For more details, visit this website.
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