Tag Archives: pavement

Environment, research

A look at five great environmental research projects

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To mark Earth Day 2016, MnDOT Research Services is taking a glance at five stellar examples of current research projects at MnDOT that involve pollution control, wetland mitigation, road salt reduction and new ways of recycling pavement.

1: Reducing Road Construction Pollution by Skimming Stormwater Ponds 

Temporary stormwater ponds with floating head skimmers can remove clean water from the surface of a settling pond.

Soil carried away in stormwater runoff from road construction sites can pollute lakes and rivers.

Stormwater settling ponds provide a place for this sediment to settle before the water is discharged into local bodies of water. However, since stormwater ponds have limited space, a mechanism is needed to remove clean water from the pond to prevent the overflow of sediment-laden water.

MnDOT-funded researchers designed temporary stormwater ponds with floating head skimmers that can remove clean water from the surface of the settling pond, using gravity to discharge water into a ditch or receiving body.

The study, which was completed in spring 2014, identified five methods for “skimming” stormwater ponds that can improve a pond’s effectiveness by 10 percent. MnDOT researchers also created designs for temporary stormwater ponds on construction sites with the capacity to remove approximately 80 percent of suspended solids.

These designs will help contractors meet federal requirements for stormwater pond dewatering. Researchers also determined how often a pond’s deadpool must be cleaned, based on watershed size and pool dimensions.

2: Roadside Drainage Ditches Reduce Pollution More Than Previously Thought  

Photo of roadside ditch
Stormwater infiltration rates at five swales were significantly better than expected based on published rates.

Stormwater can pick up chemicals and sediments that pollute rivers and streams. Roadside drainage ditches, also known as swales, lessen this effect by absorbing water. But until recently, MnDOT didn’t know how to quantify this effect and incorporate it into pollution control mitigation measures.

In a study completed in fall 2014, researchers evaluated five Minnesota swales, measuring how well water flows through soil at up to 20 locations within each swale.

A key finding: grassed swales are significantly better at absorbing water than expected, which may reduce the need for other, more expensive stormwater management practices, such as ponds or infiltration basins.

This could save MnDOT and counties significant right-of-way and construction costs currently expended on more expensive stormwater management techniques.

3: Could Permeable Pavements Eliminate Road Salt Use on Local Roads? 

Robbinsdale
Even with little or no road salt, a permeable pavement like this porous asphalt in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, collects little slush and snow in the winter because it warms well and remains porous enough to infiltrate surface water effectively.

Road salt is used for de-icing roadways during winter months, but can have a negative impact on the environment.

This research, which was just approved for funding through the Minnesota Local Road Research Board in December 2015, will investigate the reduction in road salt application during winter months that can be attained with permeable pavements, while still providing for acceptable road safety.

Some initial investigations (see previous study) suggest that road salt application can be substantially reduced, even eliminated, with permeable pavement systems. The proposed research will investigate this hypothesis more thoroughly, and further document the reduction in road salt application that can be expected with permeable pavement.

4: Highway 53 Shows Potential of Using Road Construction Excavation Areas For Wetland Mitigation

IMG_2764
This photo from spring 2015 shows that wetlands have begun to take hold along Highway 53.

Road construction in northeast Minnesota often causes wetland impacts that require expensive mitigation. However, borrow areas excavated for road construction material can be developed into wetland mitigation sites if hydric vegetation, hydric soils and adequate hydrology are provided. Fourteen wetland mitigation sites were constructed north of Virginia, Minnesota along the U.S. Trunk Highway 53 reconstruction project corridor and evaluated for wetland.  The sites were established with the goal of mitigating for project impacts to seasonally flooded basin, fresh meadow, shallow marsh, shrub swamp, wooded swamp, and bog wetlands. All but one of the sites consistently meet wetland hydrology criteria.

The sites contain a variety of plant communities dominated by wet meadow, sedge meadow, and shallow marsh. Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA) condition categories for the sites range from “Poor” to “Exceptional.”

According to the research report published in March 2016, these sites have shown the potential for creating mitigation wetlands in abandoned borrow pits in conjunction with highway construction. Adaptive management, particularly water level regulation, early invasive species control, tree planting, and continued long-term annual monitoring can make mitigation sites like these successful options for wetland mitigation credit.

5: Recycling Method Could Give Third Lives to Old Concrete Roads 

2016-14 Image
This photo shows a cold in-place recycling equipment train in action.

MnDOT already extends the lives of some old concrete highways by paving over them with asphalt instead of tearing them up. Now MnDOT hopes to add a third life for these old concrete roads by using a process called cold in-place recycling to re-use that existing asphalt pavement when it reaches the end of its life.

Cold in-place recycling (CIR) uses existing pavements, without heat, to create a new layer of pavement. It involves the same process of cold- central plant mix recycling (which is being employed by MnDOT for the first time on two shoulder repair projects this year), but it is done on the road itself by a train of equipment. It literally recycles an old road while making a new road.

CIR has been in use in Minnesota for 20 years, but only with hot-mix asphalt (HMA) over gravel roads. The purpose of a new study, which was approved for funding in April 2016, is to validate Iowa’s promising new practice using CIR on bituminous over concrete.

In this research project (see proposal), MnDOT will use cold-in-place recycling to replace the asphalt pavement on a concrete road and then evaluate it for several years, comparing it also with control sections.

Along with the potential of a better service life, the cost of CIR is much lower than new hot mix asphalt (HMA). Therefore, a 20-percent to 30-percent price reduction per project may be realized.

Materials and Construction

Partnership planned for nation’s top pavement testing facilities

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The nation’s two largest pavement testing centers are planning to partner in order to better leverage research performed at their cold and hot-weather facilities.

MnROAD, located in Albertville, Minnesota, and its southern U.S. equivalent, the National Center for Asphalt Technology in Auburn, Alabama, are full-scale test tracks that evaluate different types of pavement material under real-life conditions using semi-trailer truck and live interstate traffic.

Each facility has a history of evaluating the performance of pavement preservation treatments, including chip sealing, micro-surfacing, crack sealing and thin overlays. To address needs in both northern and southern climates, similar test sections would be developed at each facility to address national issues.

“By working together we can maximize the potential for each track,” said MnROAD Operations Engineer Ben Worel. “A closer relationship between NCAT and MnROAD is a logical progression in developing and evaluating new sustainable technologies, pavement systems and construction methods that lead to safer, quieter, lower-cost and longer-lasting roads.”

A test track at the National Center for Asphalt Technology in Alabama, MnROAD's hot-weather equivalent.
A test track at the National Center for Asphalt Technology in Alabama, MnROAD’s hot-weather equivalent.

The partnership idea was introduced to federal officials earlier this month at a national pavement performance conference in Minneapolis. Final details must still be worked out.

One of the workshops at the event discussed the proposed partnership between MnROAD and NCAT. Further talks are expected at the end of October.

“NCAT is thrilled about the opportunity for a partnership with MnROAD to address pavement research needs at a national level,” said NCAT Director Randy West. “Bringing NCAT and MnROAD results together will expand the climate base, loading distribution and other important pavement factors.”

Pavement conference

Pavement engineers from around the nation gathered Sept. 2 to 5 for the Midwestern Pavement Preservation Partnership forum and the SHRP2 R26 Workshop for the Preservation of High-Traffic-Volume Roadways, which featured tours of MnROAD, Minnesota’s cold weather pavement testing facility.

Conference participants also reviewed the latest preservation techniques being developed for high volume roads. MnROAD’s chip sealing study, which demonstrated that highways with an average daily traffic (ADT) of 58,000 can be successfully chip sealed, was especially attention-grabbing for agencies who don’t chip seal on roads with more than 2,000 ADT.

A national panel of speakers included Michael Trentacoste, director of the federal Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (pictured in top photo), who discussed Federal Highway Administration’s support of pavement preservation research and implementation.

With about 160 people in attendance over four days, MnDOT Materials Engineer Jerry Geib said the conference was successful in sharing the benefits of pavement preservation techniques with other state DOTs and federal highway officials who want adopt new practices to help alleviate budget constraints.

Materials and Construction, Pedestrian

Why is all the colored concrete deteriorating so fast?

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There’s nothing like colored concrete to make a crosswalk, sidewalk or breezeway look snazzy.

But the extra touch that many cities are putting into their downtown streetscapes may not be so pretty in just a few short years.

Early cracking has prompted the city of Vadnais Heights to tear up its colored concrete, and the city of Centerville — which installed colored concrete only six years ago — plans to follow suit, said MnDOT’s Senior Road Research Engineer Tom Burnham.

Both cities participated in a recent study, sponsored by the Local Road Research Board and conducted by MnDOT, to determine what is causing the early deterioration.

Across Minnesota, many of the estimated 45 colored concrete projects have experienced early deterioration, particularly microcracking near contraction joints. While this type of distress also occurs with regular concrete, it appears to be accelerated in the colored concrete projects, within five years in some instances.

Although the newly released study identifies likely causes for the failing colored concrete, further research is needed to evaluate proposed solutions.

Findings

Researchers determined that the colored concrete mixtures have likely been too porous for Minnesota winters, allowing deicing chemicals to leach in and wreak havoc. Although not quite as problematic for sidewalks and medians — which aren’t salted as heavily — it is especially bad for colored crosswalks.

A denser concrete mixture (one formed with less water) is recommended; however, constructing the concrete panels this way will require extra steps.

“There are chemicals that can be added to the mixture to artificially lower that water-to-concrete ratio,” Burnham said. “This will allow a  denser mixture to be more easily placed.”

The city of Centerville plans to tear up its colored concrete. This photo shows early joint deterioration.
The city of Centerville plans to tear up its colored concrete. This photo shows early joint deterioration.
Color in vogue

Although there was a spate of colored concrete construction in Ramsey County in the late 1990s, it has only come into fashion in the rest of the state within the last five to six years, according to Burnham.

“You go to almost any community and they’re installing it — on their sidewalk and medians and also crosswalks,” said Burnham, who coordinated the research study.

Because of the added expense, cities may be very disappointed in the results.

The city of Stillwater, which installed a colored concrete panel crosswalk on its main street just two years ago (see top photo), is already experiencing cracking and deterioration in several panels.

Possible remedies

Although reducing the porosity of the colored concrete mixture should help,  it won’t solve everything.

Another issue is the curing. The typical white curing product can’t be applied like it is with standard concrete, so curing the colored panels is more challenging, Burnham explained.

There are possible remedies, however, to assist with the curing, such as wet burlap or curing blankets.

Adding complexity to the issue are the new deicing chemicals on the market, which are also impacting regular road materials.

Several test samples showed evidence of chemical attack of the cement paste and fine aggregates, as well as an alkali-silica reaction, which can cause cracking or spalling and isn’t normally seen in regular concrete.

“Is there anything unique with the coloring that would accelerate the observed chemical reactions? We didn’t feel we had enough samples and knowledge at this point to conclusively say,” Burnham said.

Different construction techniques could go a long way toward increasing the livelihood of colored concrete; however, it could take several years of observation to determine if other methods work.

MnROAD is considering adding colored concrete panels to its facility for testing.

Until more questions are answered, MnDOT researchers are recommending repair techniques and alternative streetscaping ideas to cities, such concrete stains, pavers or colored high friction surface treatments.

In addition to sharing the findings with cities and counties, Burnham wants to educate contractors.

“We hope this research is a wake-up call for the colored concrete industry too because we don’t want the industry to die in Minnesota,” he said. “If it can work, we want cities and counties to be able to use it.”

*Editor’s Note: This story was updated 09/04/2014 to specify that this research project was funded entirely by the Local Road Research Board, and that MnDOT conducted the research.

Related Resources
  • Investigation and Assessment of Colored Concrete Pavement — Final Report (PDF, 20 MB, 368 pages); Technical Summary (forthcoming)
Materials and Construction

Chip sealing: not just for local roads anymore (video)

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Chip-sealing — spraying an asphalt emulsion over existing pavement and then covering it with fine aggregate — is a cost-effective alternative to resurfacing asphalt pavements. Traditionally, however, it has only been used on rural and low-volume urban roadways.

During a recent visit to MnROAD, we filmed a road crew chip-sealing a test section on I-94 and spoke with MnDOT Research Project Supervisor Tom Wood, who explained why chip sealing can also be an effective treatment for high-volume roadways.

*Note: This story was updated on 08/12/2014 to clarify that the chip sealing shown in the video involves spraying an “asphalt emulsion” rather than “hot liquid asphalt,” as stated in an earlier version of this post.

Materials and Construction

What it’s like to drive a 40-ton truck in circles for science (video)

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The only way to test pavements is to destroy them — slowly and painstakingly, one moving vehicle at a time. At MnROAD, the state’s world-renowned pavement research facility, the bulk of this monotonous-but-necessary work is performed by live traffic passing through Albertville on I-94. But on the facility’s 2.5-mile low volume road test track, which simulates rural road conditions, more controlled methods are preferred.

Doug Lindenfelser is one of several MnROAD employees who take turns driving an 80,000-pound semi tractor trailer in laps around the closed-loop low-volume track. The truck is loaded to the maximum allowable weight limit on Minnesota roadways. As it passes over the facility’s 23 distinct low-volume test cells, an array of sensors capture data on the pavement’s performance, which researchers then use to design stronger, longer-lasting roads. The truck only drives on the inside lane; that way, the outside lane can be used as an “environmental lane” to compare  damage caused by loading  vs. damage caused by environmental factors.

He has other duties as well, but on a given day, Doug might drive the truck 60 or 70 times around the low-volume road test track. It might not sound very exciting, but as Doug explains, some days his job can be quite interesting. We interviewed him on camera during a recent visit to MnROAD. The resulting video is available above and on our YouTube channel.

For those who might be wondering, all this diligent destruction of pavement has paid off. It is estimated that MnROAD’s first phase of research (from 1994-2006) has resulted in cost savings of $33 million each year in Minnesota and $749 million nationally. Cost savings from its second phase (2007-2015) are being calculated, and the facility is scheduled to enter its third phase in 2016.

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Materials and Construction

LRRB web tool tracks research projects around the state

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As public works employees come and go, past research efforts — and the valuable knowledge gained — often goes with them.

But a recently launched web application allows users to track innovative pavement projects for a lifetime.

“It’s something everyone has always said we need to have,” said MnDOT Research Operations Engineer Jerry Geib, who worked on the project for the Minnesota Local Road Research Board.

Using an online map, city and county engineers can enter road test sections that they want to observe for many years due to a particular construction method or material that was used. Too often, the knowledge about such projects is lost when a particular staff person leaves an agency.

Not only will the lessons learned be remembered within the organization, but the results can also be shared with others.

More than 1,400 projects (including some on state roads) previously identified by MnDOT have been entered into the system. Search fields allow users to look for a particular type of project anywhere in the state or they can zero the map in on a particular area of the state.

The website is still in beta form, but functional.

“It’s complete, we just want people to use it so we can improve it,” said MnDOT Research Project Engineer Melissa Cole, who began planning the site two years ago.

One featured project is a 1.8-mile section of dirt road in Wabasha County that had an Otta seal applied in 2007 (photo below). It is one of only a handful of lightly surfaced roads in the state (an improvement over a gravel road, but less expensive than asphalt ) so there is great interest in watching how it performs.

One of the projects being tracked is Wabasha County Road 73, one of only a couple lightly surfaced (Otta seal) roads in the state.
One of the projects being tracked is Wabasha County Road 73, one of only a handful of lightly surfaced (Otta seal) roads in the state.
More to come

The LRRB initiated the project in 2009, but it was put on the back burner for a while due to funding constraints. MnDOT ‘s technology staff began development of the current site about 11 months ago.

Anyone can look at the website, but cities and counties require permission to post projects (contact ResearchTracking.DOT@state.mn.us for credentials). They  can upload photos, plans and weblinks relating to a particular project.

“We want to track anything that is worthy of looking at a few years from now,” Geib said.

Because the website uses Google maps, users can also view archived satellite and ground-level 360-degree imagery of the roads and bridges.

The website is viewable on a tablet, but it still must be tested on smart phones. Developers hope that crews will be able to submit information right from the field.

“We’re pretty happy with it,” said MnDOT software developer John Jones. “We think we’re headed in the right direction.”

The website might eventually be expanded for other areas, such as geotechnical (foundation work), whose practitioners have already expressed an interest.

A rumble strip applied to a center line on Highway 14 near New Ulm in 2004 is being tracked.
A rumble strip applied to a center line on Highway 14 near New Ulm in 2004 is one of the projects being tracked.
Materials and Construction, research

Innovative pavement textures reduce noise, improve fuel economy

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What if something as simple as changing the texture of the pavements we drive on could not only increase safety, but also reduce noise pollution and boost our vehicles’ fuel economy?

It’s possible, according to the latest research from MnROAD, the state’s one-of-a-kind pavement research facility. In a new report, investigators detail how quieter pavement textures, such as those applied by grinding grooves into pavements with diamond-coated saw blades (see the photo above), may also reduce rolling resistance — the force that resists a tire as it moves across the pavement’s surface.

The potential benefits to the public are significant. A 10-percent reduction in rolling resistance could reduce the U.S. public’s fuel consumption by 2–3 percent, eliminate up to $12.5 billion in fuel costs each year (as well as cutting carbon emissions). Add on the cost savings from reducing noise pollution (building noise barriers along highways can cost as much as $3 million per mile), and it’s clearly a win-win situation.

In the study, researchers used an innovative line-laser profiler to develop three-dimensional representations of test pavement surface textures. They then investigated the relationship between these surface characteristics and data on rolling resistance that was collected during a 2011 study using a special test trailer developed by researchers in Poland. This year, the same trailer will be used to conduct a second round of rolling resistance measurements at MnROAD.

The research is related to an ongoing pooled-fund study on concrete pavement surface characteristics. The goal is to produce data that will allow MnDOT to identify ideal ranges for surface characteristics that improve pavements’ quietness and ride quality while keeping them safe and durable.

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Researchers relied on rolling resistance data from a study conducted in 2011 with a test trailer developed by the Technical University of Gdańsk, Poland. This was the first time such measurements were taken in the United States.
Researchers relied on rolling resistance data from a study conducted in 2011 with a test trailer developed by the Technical University of Gdańsk, Poland. This was the first time such measurements were taken in the United States.
Materials and Construction, research

MnROAD earns concrete pavement association award

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Staff from MnROAD, the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s cold weather road research facility in Albertville, Minn., were presented with the Marlin J. Knutson Award for Technical Achievement by the American Concrete Pavement Association in December.

The award cites the facility’s well-deserved reputation for being a place where both agency and industry ideas are put to the test. This award was presented as a tribute to the agency’s commitment to learning and putting ideas into practice.

The Marlin J. Knutson Award for Technical Achievement is presented to an individual or group who has made significant contributions to advance the development and implementation of technical innovations and best practices in the design and construction of concrete pavements.

(far right) Gerald Voigt, ACPA president and CEO, presented MnDOT with the Marlin J. Knutson Award for Technical Achievement during a ceremony in December. Receiving the award are (from left) Luke Johanneck, Bernard Izevbekhai, Roger Olson, Tom Burnham, Glenn Engstrom, Maureen Jensen and Sue Mulvihill. (Photo courtesy of the ACPA)
(Far right) Gerald Voigt, ACPA president and CEO, presented MnDOT with the Marlin J. Knutson Award for Technical Achievement. Receiving the award are (from left) Luke Johanneck, Bernard Izevbekhai, Roger Olson, Tom Burnham, Glenn Engstrom, Maureen Jensen and Sue Mulvihill. (Photo courtesy of the ACPA)

“MnROAD is helping to make roads last longer, perform better, cost less, construct faster, and have minimal impact on the environment,” said Gerald Voigt, ACPA president and CEO. “It is a model for other agencies to follow.”

MnROAD is a pavement test track initially constructed between 1991-1993. It uses various research materials and pavements and finds ways to make roads last longer, perform better, cost less to build and maintain, be built faster and have minimal impact on the environment. MnROAD consists of two unique road segments located next to Interstate 94.

Staff from the MnROAD facility in Albertville were recognized during the ACPA’s Distinguished Service and Recognition Awards ceremony in December. (Photo by David Gonzalez)
Staff from the MnROAD facility in Albertville were recognized during the ACPA’s Distinguished Service and Recognition Awards ceremony in December. (Photo by David Gonzalez)

This article, authored by Rich Kemp, originally appeared in Newsline, MnDOT’s employee newsletter. 

Maintenance Operations

Patching pavement with microwaves and magnetite

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On Wednesday, I had a chance to watch a demonstration of a uniquely Minnesotan pavement patching technology that combines an industrial-strength microwave with a special asphalt mix. What makes it “uniquely Minnesotan?” In addition to having been developed by University of Minnesota researchers and a Monticello-based company (and with some funding from MnDOT), this innovative method involves a special asphalt mix using magnetite, a mineral that abounds on Minnesota’s Iron Range.

It also addresses a very Minnesotan transportation problem: winter pavement repair. In the video above, Kirk Kjellberg of Microwave Utilities, Inc., highlights some of the benefits of using the 50,000-watt microwave to heat the pavement during patching. In addition to creating a longer-lasting patch, the microwave is considerably faster than many alternative techniques. The technology is still relatively new, but its supporters claim it allows for pavement repairs in the middle of winter that are as strong and durable as the ones road crews do in the summer.

The demonstration, which was organized for members of the Local Road Research Board, took place at MnDOT’s District 3 training facility in St. Cloud.

See also:

Materials and Construction

Geotextile research at MnROAD

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Geotextiles are synthetic polymer materials used to improve the performance of roadways. As discussed in this 2011 technical summary, geotextiles facilitate filtration and water drainage, improve the integrity and functioning of base materials, and provide a stable construction platform over soft or wet soils. These improvements can benefit both the cost-efficiency and longevity of pavements.

Geosynthetic materials have been used throughout Minnesota, and can be found in both reconstructed and new roadway projects. The use of geotextiles as a separator layer under concrete overlays, however, has had limited documentation in Minnesota and other cold weather climates. MnROAD‘s recent dedication of several test cells to this purpose will determine the performance of this application of geotextiles, with the goal of improving its applications on other Minnesota roadways.

The new test sections, designated as Cells 140 and 240, consist of a very thin, 3-inch concrete overlay over an existing 7-inch concrete pavement constructed 20 years ago. Some unique features of the design include the use of a fiber-reinforced concrete mix, two different thicknesses of the nonwoven geotextile, and the use of a special type of glue, rather than nails, to fasten it to the existing concrete before paving.

The fabric and fiber used in the concrete mix were supplied through a public-private partnership with Propex Geotextile Systems. The results of this study, along with other unbonded overlays constructed at MnROAD and around the country, will be incorporated into a new national pooled fund project — TPF 5-(269) — led by MnDOT. This project will develop an improved mechanistic design procedure for unbonded overlays.

A second application being demonstrated at MnROAD is the use of a geosynthetic drainage system under several dowel bar baskets in new concrete pavement test section. Minnesota has historically used a dense-graded base layer under concrete pavements to provide a stable foundation and construction platform. However, this material drains very slowly, and traps moisture within the joints, leading eventually to significant distress (See Effect of Drainage on the Performance of Concrete Pavement Joints in Minnesota.) This application will compare the use of the geotextile drainage material placed under both sealed and unsealed joints, as well as a control joint without the drainage material.