50 Year Roads:Don't Accept Anything Less

Prepared ByThomas O. Malerk

Director of Transportation EngineeringFlorida Concrete & Products Association

NACE Annual Meeting April 22, 2015

Presented byRoger C. Schmitt, P.E.

Director of District and Local Road Transportation Engineering

Florida Concrete and Products Association

FACERS Fall Meeting 2016The Old Way

1930’s Very Few JointsA Newer Way: Lots of JointsRoller Compacted Concrete

Thanks to:Jim Armaghani; Manny Uwaibi;Roger Schmitt; Jim Mack:

Mike Dowell

Outline

• how to achieve a 50 year concrete roadway• what are the cost and sustainability factors• how a long life concrete pavement benefits

people and business by eliminating frequent repair and replacement work

• a Florida example: – a brief history of the upgrade of about 2 miles of

asphalt roadway to concrete pavement in 1988 and how things are working out

It All Started Long, Long Ago

How Tom Got Interested

I-4 @ Disney World

1961; 1978; 1984; 1997; 2002; 2015

Some Concrete History

General Purpose of the State Road Department - 1915

“Supply hard-surfaced rural roads to join cities, counties, towns and villages”

How Much Rigid Pavement is there in Florida?

State Highway System

• 42,829 lane miles of roadway– 10% of the state roadway network;

• Carries 54% of all traffic in state– 41,787 lane miles HMA (97.6%)

• US average: 94%• Life Cycle: Avg=16yr (OGFC=12yr, DGFC=17yr)

– 1,042 lane miles PCC (2.4%)• US average: 6%• Life Cycle: set by FDOT Pavement Type Selection

Manual at 23 years

-500

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025

LAN

E M

ILES

YEAR

HISTORY OF FDOT RIGID PAVEMENT

ADDED RIGID LANEMILES

The Dawn of Concrete Pavement

• Portland Cement patented: 1824• 1st use as concrete pavement: 1860-70 UK• 1st US concrete pavement: 1891• Widespread use post 1910• 1st Florida concrete pavement: 1921• 1st Florida State Road with concrete

pavement: SR 1 Jacksonville to Lake City 1928

Oldest Concrete Pavement: 125 yrs.

Court Avenue, Bellefontain, OhioBuilt in 18912-layer System @ 5,000 to 8,000 psi 1 ½” and ½” agg and 8% airWhy use 2 layers of concrete?

US 41 Two Lift Concrete Pavement Placed in 1977

My wife Alida and I in 1977

Oldest Concrete Pavement Location in Florida

FDOT’s Oldest Concrete Pavement

US 17/92 in DeLandbuilt 1939 (77 years)2 C/L miles, 3-lanesslab thickness 7” (Reinforced)

US 17/92 in Winter ParkBuilt 1936 (80 years)3.6 C/L miles, 5-lanesslab thickness 7” (Reinforced)

How to Make a Pavement Last for at Least 50 Years

With Zero or Very Little Maintenance

How Thick? - The Idea Decide how long you want the pavement to last,

then figure out the thickness considering the concrete properties, traffic, soils and climate.

Longer Life = higher upfront, lower life time costsShorter Life = lower upfront, higher life time costs

20 years is typical for design life calculationsFor concrete pavement use nothing less than a 50

year design lifeYou decide when enough is enough!

Fit the Road to the User

Vs…

Concrete Pavement Types

• Jointed Plain ($ - 50 years)

• Continuously Reinforced ($$ - 75 years)

• Precast, Prestressed, Post Tensioned ($$$ - 100 yr)

THICKNESS DESIGN METHODS

• Empirical Design– Based on observed

performance for the AASHTO Road Test (WinPas)

• Mechanistic Design– Based on calculated pavement

response• ACPA Design (StreetPave)

• Mechanical-Empirical (MEPDG)– Based on combining

calculated pavement responses with observed performance

• MEPDG to DARWin ME to AASHTO Pavement ME

Why did US do the road test in the ‘50s?• The AASHO Road Test was a series

of experiments carried out by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials to determine how traffic contributed to the deterioration of highway pavements. Officially, the Road Test was "...to study the performance of pavement structures of known thickness under moving loads of known magnitude and frequency." This study, carried out in the late 1950s in Ottawa, Illinois, is frequently quoted as a primary source of experimental data when vehicle wear to highways is considered, for the purposes of road design, vehicle taxation and costing.

• The road test consisted of six two-lane loops along the future alignment of Interstate 80.

AASHTO Road Test 2016

A Real Active ExampleHere In Florida

Pavement Sections

Experimental Features

US 1 Concrete Pavement• State Road #: SR 5 (US 1)

– Begin MP: 9.600– End MP: 11.458– Length: 1.858– Direction: Southbound Only– Total Lanes: 2– Opened to Traffic September, 1988– Current Age: 28 years

• Traffic 1988: 11,940 AADT; T= 7%• Traffic 2014: 11,053 AADT; T= 4%

Concrete Pavement Construction• Subbase/Base:

– Retain Limerock Base: 8.5 in– Mill 4 in of average 5 in asphalt – Place Type III Leveling: 1 in*– Place Type S Asphalt: 1 in

• Place Slab Thickness: 6”, 7”, 8”• Transverse Joint Spacing: Varies 12’, 14’, 16’, 18’ & 20’• Longitudinal Joint Spacing: 12’ Lanes• Joints: Rectangular not skewed• Dowel Diameter: ¾” to 1”• Dowel Spacing: Variable; 3 dowels in each wheel path;

no dowels in last 5 slabs of each test section• Shoulder Design: Originally shoulders were natural soil

but asphalt shoulders added later

1988 Cost Sheet

Concrete Pavement Prices 2016: FDOT

• 5 inch Concrete Pavement: $28.57 per syd*• 6 inch Concrete Pavement: $34.29 per syd*• 7 inch Concrete Pavement: $40.00 per syd*• 8 inch Concrete Pavement: $55.00 per syd*

• Concrete 7” to 9”: $40 to $55 syd• Concrete 9” to 11”: $45 to $60 syd• Concrete 11” to 12.5”: $50 to $68 syd• Concrete 12.5” to 14”: $52 to $70 syd

Performance

September 1988 to March 2014

Asphalt Pavement

Concrete Pavement

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

PCS

Rati

ng

Year

PCS US 1 Concrete Pavement

Cracking

Ride

Performance 6” Concrete Thickness

35 years

Performance 8” Concrete Thickness

> 50 Years

Life Cycle Cost Summary

$0.00

$0.50

$1.00

$1.50

$2.00

$2.50

$3.00

$3.50

3.50% 1.40% None

Life

Cyc

le C

ost

Discount Rate

Comparison on 50-year Life Cycle Costs

Flex

6"

8"

‘cause Tom says so’

5 X low upfront vs 1 X high upfront• Even for a low traffic pavement concrete gives

a much longer life span• Under low traffic the primary effect on asphalt

is cracking due to aging• In a 50 year life assessment: 1 6”concrete

rehabilitation vs 5 asphalt rehabilitations and no rehabs for 8” vs 5 asphalt rehabilitations

• It takes five years to program a pavement rehabilitation from the time the pavement reaches the terminal ride – so, 25 of the 50 year life cycle is on defective pavement

For > 30 million ESAL - FDOT Design

Most Appropriate Areas for Concrete Pavement for State and Local Roads

• Intersections/Local Roads/Town Centers• Deceleration and Acceleration Lanes at

Intersections with Heavy Truck Traffic• Roundabouts vs Four Way Stops • Commuter Rail/Bus Stops and Parking Lots• Sidewalks, Multi-Use Trails and Bike Paths• Pervious and Colored Concrete

Successful Asphalt to Concrete Intersection Conversion and Retro-Fit

Sample Road and Power Line RoadFort Lauderdale, Florida

• 22nd Street Tampa, Florida

US 27 Broward County

Florida: Polk County Concrete Pavement Roundabout 2016

Polk County Roundabout

SunRail Station Debary: Concrete Pavement for Buses

Stadium Bike Trail: Tallahassee

Publix Store Zephyrhills, FloridaPervious Concrete Parking Lot

Colored and Stamped Concrete Cul-de-sac Frenchman’s Creek Club House

Open forum….Questions!

It’s Time!