Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/732903
the job. We feel like we have a good reference point on how long it's going to take a crew to perform per foot, whether it be pipe, or by the square yard, or by the ton of asphalt," he says. "When you're delayed, that hits your pocket." Covington feels the problem is pri- marily due to inaccuracies in records, or simple placement problems, but then the blame game starts. "When we try to recoup on those additional costs from the delays, the justifi cation to us from the owner is that we should have known. Well, how can we know if a utility has been moved, but not documented properly? It could have been moved, but either not deep enough or far enough back." Communication Engineers try to involve the utility folks, Covington says, and review the design to pinpoint what needs to be moved. But, follow-through is where the ball is dropped. "You hear back from the engineers, and they say they've had our plans and they know the depths, but we don't know why they're not doing it correctly," Coving- ton says. He doesn't blame one particular party for this frustration, and says the issues are most likely due to the rapid growth of population, and com- mercial growth in the area. He says these factors result in multiple adjust- ments to plans over just a few years, causing utility locations to get lost in the shuffl e. "Things are moving and grow- ing at such a pace, that the utilities can't keep up," he says. "We've done some work on highway projects that the design was fi ve years old. In that situation, the elevations might not be exact because a temporary overlay may have been put down or a piece of pipe put in. On a $6 million project we're doing here in Rogers, they started the design on it fi ve years ago and it's gone through three design en- gineers. It's hard to understand what everybody's wanting." EquipmentWorld.com | October 2016 55 DECCO-Contractors Paving Base moisture removal K nowing the base soil type and characteristics, as well as underground utilities, is one thing, but taking into account moisture levels in site preparation can be a more complex factor. Part of combatting these moisture issues is the use of a geotextile layer as part of a road preparation plan. For example, says Bret Odgers, director of roadway reinforce- ment for geotextile manufacturer TenCate, expansive soils, such as those appearing in some places in Texas, will expand as they become wetter and conversely contract as they dry out. "As you can imagine, the road is expanding and contracting in dif- ferent areas and you get deteriora- tion of the road," he explains. In Indiana, there is a lot of moisture due to a high water table, and in places such as Alaska, the concern is freeze-thaw cycles and frost heaves. Odgers says one of the com- pany's products, Mirafi H2Ri, has been proven in both fi eld trials and in the lab, to remove water at the base level. The product has been used for a few years, most notably on portions of the Dalton Highway in Alaska. "It's being quantifi ed by the reduction of moisture," he says. "We had one research project that showed about a 25 percent reduc- tion in moisture in the subgrade, compared to if there was nothing there. We're increasing the strength of the grade and base course, which can provide a stronger, longer lasting road." TenCate Mirafi H2Ri being placed for portions of I-69 in Indiana.