The overarching goal of this research is to increase the ability of LCA to evaluate, quantify and help reduce the life-cycle impacts of concrete pavements. This document promotes a transparent methodology to evaluate the environmental impacts of pavements. From a methodology perspective, the intent is to promote good practice application of LCA for pavements, thus providing guidance to the pavement community on the development and adoption of standardized pavement LCA protocols.

Wheel-slap is not as critical an issue today in some states as it was five years ago, because many agencies have changed their details for joint sealing to use a narrow 1/8-inch wide reservoir (i.e. single sawcut), filled with sealant. The agencies taking this approach are getting all of the associated benefits from their decision, including the opportunity for multiple resealing projects before joint reservoirs become wide enough to start causing wheel slap.

This manual has been developed, with permission, from information published by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the American Concrete Pavement Association’s Concrete Pavement Repair Manual, which was printed in May 2003. It includes joint repair, partial-depth repair (PDR), full-depth repair (FDR) and dowel bar retrofit (DBR).

In rural areas that have vegetated slopes, the slurry/concrete grinding residue (CGR) can be deposited on the slopes as the grinding opera tion progresses down the road. As a part of the contract documents, the engineer shall identify wetlands and other environmentally sensitive areas where slurry discharge operations are not permitted. No discharge from bridge decks shall be permitted.

On July 10, 2010 Husqvarna Construction Products and Interstate Improvement, Inc. constructed a test strip on Cell 37 of the MnROADs Low Volume Road test facility to demonstrate the ability of one of their specialty blades to provide additional texture on the land of the NGCS surface; a process termed NGCS LITE.

Roads and Maritime Services has carried out low noise diamond grinding of existing concrete pavements in the Valla Beach area of the Nambucca Heads to Urunga (NH2U) project. The project was proposed as a trial to determine the noise benefit from the grinding process. The On-Board Sound Intensity measurements also found lower noise levels post grinding. The diamond ground concrete pavements produced comparable noise levels to the traditionally ‘low noise’ 10 mm stone mastic asphalt pavement.