ACPA Concrete Pavement Progress Q2 2020

www.acpa.org Quarter 2, 2020 13 “We rebuild the intersection pavement start- ing 300 to 500 feet from the intersection traffic light,” he says. “The concrete is able to handle the stress of slowing and braking vehicles ap- proaching the intersection and turning through the intersection.” Whenever possible, the full-depth concrete re- construction is paired with a complete closure of the intersection for a full weekend, from Friday evening until 5 a.m. Monday, allowing opening to traffic prior to the morning rush hour. “When you give people the choice of closing an intersec- tion for one weekend versus constructing the new intersection one lane at a time over a month, business owners and the general public prefer one weekend of inconvenience,” says Pappas. “We turn the site over to the contractor at 7 p.m. on a Friday night for the removal of existing pave- ment,” says Pappas. “They usually pave first thing Saturdaymorning—from7 a.m. to noon—which means they are most often the only customer for the ready-mix company so there are no delays getting concrete to the site.” Saw cutting occurs Saturday afternoon, joints are sealed Sunday morning and cleanup of the site occurs Sunday afternoon. “Although contractors have until 5 a.m. Monday to open the intersections, most have been opened Sunday evening,” he says. “The extra time allows for weather or other delays.” Pappas admits that reconstructing a busy inter- section over one weekend does not work in all situations. Before the project is bid, the condi- tion of the pavement and the site is investigated. Coring and soil borings let DelDOT engineers know if the base of the roadway requiresminimal attention, he says. “If the contractor will need to undercut any part of the pavement reconstruction area, it cannot be accomplished in one weekend,” he says. “We also review as-built plans for the existing pavement to verify the pavement and base design as well as to identify any utilities that are in place.” Following review of the pavement construc- tion site, DelDOT personnel also survey the DE L AWARE I NTERS ECT I ON D E L A W A R E I N T E R S E C T I O N R E C O N S T R U C T I O N continues on page 14 »