Whitetopping

Concrete Overlays for Roads & Streets

2008 Michigan Seminar on

Maintenance of Asphalt Pavements
Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
January 8-9, 2008

Steve Waalkes, P.E.

Director of Engineering, West Michigan
Michigan Concrete Paving Association
Concrete Whitetopping

„ Consists of thin concrete layer (typ. 4 in. or less) on

top of an existing asphalt pavement.
„ Specific steps are taken to bond the new concrete to
the existing asphalt and to saw short joint spacing.
– May or may not contain fibers

. .

.. .
. . .
. .
Concrete Whitetopping

„ Designed to be a cost competitive mid-

term fix
– Actual initial cost bid prices
– Has been shown to last longer than alternative
paving materials
„ Designed for minimal impact on traveling
public
– No earthwork required
– Weekend closures
Concrete Whitetopping

Mill and Fill with Concrete

Scoping/Design Issues
for Whitetopping

„ Pre-Design Investigation
– Visual examination of pavement
„ Check the profile grade line
„ Repairs not typical, only needed for areas of
extreme poor support, subgrade failure
– Cores
„ The more, the better
Scoping/Design Issues
for Whitetopping

„ Milling
– Reduces need for adj. structures, tie-ins
to driveways, overhead clearances, etc.
– Roughened surface enhances bond
„ Support
– Adequate asphalt thickness after milling?
„ Minimum 3 inches desired
– Thicken up whitetopping in areas of weak
support (over culverts, subgrade failures)
Scoping/Design Issues
for Whitetopping

„ Thickness
– 4 inches typical in Michigan
– 3.5 inches common (2x4 forms)
„ Design Life
– Can be estimated/predicted with software
– 10 to 15 years is target
– Properly designed & constructed, can be
>20 years
Construction Steps

„ Mill and clean the asphalt

„ Place, finish, and cure the concrete
„ Early-entry saws for control joints
„ Open to traffic
– 1500 to 3000 psi compressive, or
– 350 to 550 psi flexural
„ Actual
number depends on amount of heavy
commercial traffic
Construction Steps
Mill Surface

Clean Surface
Construction Steps
Placement using
Slipform Paver

Placement using
Vibrating Screed
Construction Steps
Finishing

Curing
Construction Steps
Early Saw

Open to
Traffic
 Whitetopping
in Michigan
„ Driveway to Cornillie Concrete, Traverse City
– Fall 1996, 3.5 in.
„ Schaefer Hwy., City of Detroit, Fall 1996
– Bus Terminal just north of Schoolcraft St., 3 in.
„ Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. & Pleasant Lake Rd., Washtenaw County,
Fall 1997
– Left turn lane, 4 in.
„ M-46, Port Sanilac, Summer 1999
– West village limits to M-25, 3.5 in.
– Greening Rd. to W. village limits, 5.0 in.
– Goetze Rd. to Greening Rd., 8.0 in.
„ Campground Rd., Macomb County, 2000
– 28 Mile & 29 Mile, 4 in.
„ Zeeb Road, Washtenaw County, Summer 2000
– 1 mile, S. of I-94, 6.0 in.
„ College Avenue, City of Grand Rapids, Fall 2000
– Approach to Fulton St., 4 in.
Whitetopping
in Michigan
„ 44th & Burlingame, City of Wyoming
– Summer 2001, 4 in.
„ Wealthy Street, City of Grand Rapids
– Late Fall 2001, 4 in.
„ Laketon & Barclay, City of Muskegon
– Summer 2002, 4 in.
„ 36th & Byron Center, City of Wyoming
– Summer 2003 4 in.
„ Lafayette & Fulton, City of Grand Rapids
– Summer 2003, 4 in.
„ 44th & Breton, Kent County
– Summer 2004, 4 in.
„ Breton & 32nd, City of Grand Rapids
– Summer 2004, 4 in.
„ Division & 36th, City of Wyoming
– Summer 2004, 4 in.
Whitetopping
in Michigan
„ Portage & Cork, City of Kalamazoo
– Summer 2004, 4 in.
„ City of Grand Rapids, City Wide – 9 locations, Fall 2004, 4
in.
– Leonard & Plainfield
– Leonard & Diamond
– Leonard & Fuller
– Michigan & Plymouth
– Michigan & Fuller
– Michigan & Lafayette
– Burton & East Beltline
– Burton & Eastern
– Eastern & Alger
„ Coolidge & Wattles, City of Troy
– Summer 2005, 4 in.
 Whitetopping
in Michigan
„ City of Grand Rapids, City Wide – 3 locations, Spring 2005, 4 in.
– Fuller & Plainfield
– Burton & Kalamazoo
– Burton & Madison
„ Burton St. & Clyde Park, City of Grand Rapids
– Summer 2005, 4 in.
„ Kalamazoo Ave., 32nd & 36th Streets, City of Grand Rapids
– Summer 2006, 4 in.
„ Patterson Avenue, Kent County, Summer 2006
– 44th to 36th, 1 mile, 36,000 SY, 4 in.
„ Fuller Ave. & Evangeline, City of Grand Rapids
– Fall 2006, 4 in.
„ Patterson Avenue, Kent County, Summer 2007
– 36th to 28th, 1 mile, 33,000 SY, 4 in.
„ Main Street, City of Capac, Summer 2007
– Downtown Development, 4 in.
Whitetopping Overlays
On Streets & Roads
In Michigan
Whitetopping Overlays
On Streets & Roads
In the Grand Rapids Area 2005

2004 2004

2004
2004 2004

2006
2003 2000

2001

2005 2004 2005 2004

2005

2004

2006 2004 2007

2003 2004

2006
2006
2001 2004
Traverse City, Cornillie Concrete
3.5" UTW, 1996
Cornillie Concrete, 2004
Cornillie Concrete, 2004
Cornillie Concrete, 5/2/07
Cornillie Concrete, 5/2/07
Ann Arbor-Saline / Pleasant Lake Road
Washtenaw County June 1997
Ann Arbor-Saline / Pleasant Lake Road
Washtenaw County
Left Turn Lane, 4 in., 1997
Ann Arbor-Saline / Pleasant Lake Road
Washtenaw County
Left Turn Lane, 4 in., 1997
Pleasant Lake Left Turn Lane – Spring 2005
Ann Arbor-Saline/Pleasant Lake Road
Summer 2005
Ann Arbor-Saline/Pleasant Lake Road
Summer 2005
Ann Arbor-Saline/Pleasant Lake Road
Summer 2005
Ann Arbor-Saline/Pleasant Lake Road
Summer 2005
Fulton & Lafayette, GR - 2003
Patterson Ave. Whitetopping
44th to 36th – Summer 2006
„ 4 in. nominal thickness
„ 1 mile long (44th St. to 36th St.)
„ 5 lanes (2 ea. way, 1 center turn)
„ 36,000+ sq. yds.
„ Mainline paved in 6 paving days
„ Furnish: $73.67 / cu. yd.
$12.79 / sq. yd.
„ Place & finish: $4.19 / sq. yd.
„ Cold mill 4 inches: $2.00 / sq. yd.
Gaps
Traffic Control
Manholes
Patterson Ave. Whitetopping
36th to 28th – Summer 2007
„ 4 in. nominal thickness
„ 1 mile long (36th St. to 28th St.)
„ 5 lanes (2 ea. way, 1 center turn)
„ 33,000+ sq. yds.
„ Mainline paved in 5 paving days
„ Furnish: $79.22 / cu. yd.
$14.67 / sq. yd.
„ Place & finish: $4.11 / sq. yd.
„ Cold mill 4 inches: $0.56 / sq. yd.
Milling
Paving
Night Paving
Joint Sawing
 Thin Concrete Overlays of
Composite Pavements

New Concrete Overlay

Asphalt Separator Layer

Old Concrete Pavement

Thin Concrete Overlays
of Composite Pavements in Michigan

„ Experience shows…
– Minimal design/survey needs to be done
upfront
– After the milling is completed, the field
engineering begins
– Common sense should prevail…What we
are looking for is uniform support upon
which to build the overlay
Thin Concrete Overlays of
Composite Pavements in Michigan

„ Local Roads & Streets

– Coolidge Highway, Royal Oak, 1983
„ 13 Mile to 14 Mile, 5 in.
– Enterprise Drive, Allen Park, 1997
„ Oakwood to S. Dearborn, 6 in.
– W. Outer Drive, Dearborn Heights, Wayne County, 2000
„ Ford Rd. to Hines Drive, 1 mile, 35,000 SY, 4 in.
– Merriman Road, City of Westland, Wayne County, 2003
„ Michigan Ave. to Palmer, 1 mile, 40,000 SY, 4 in.
– Oakman Boulevard, City of Dearborn, Wayne County,
2003
„ Michigan Ave. to Ford Road, 0.5 mile, 20,000 SY, 4 in.
 Thin Concrete Overlays of
Composite Pavements in Michigan

„ Local Roads & Streets

– Ryan Road, City of Warren, 2004, 40,000 SY
„ 9 Mile Road to 10 Mile Road, 1 mile, 4 in. on inside lane
– Nadeau Road, Monroe County, 2004
„ 5,000 SY, 7 in. mill/fill
– Griswold Street, City of Northville, Wayne County, 2005
„ Main St. to Baseline Rd., 0.75 mile, 11,000 SY 4 in./6 in.
– M-3 (Gratiot Ave.), City of Detroit, 2005
„ I-375 to I-94, 3.2 miles, 198,000 SY, 4 in.
– Coolidge Highway, City of Oak Park, 2007
„ 8 Mile to 10 Mile, 60,000 SY, 6 in.
 Thin Concrete Overlays of
Composite Pavements in Michigan

„ Local Roads & Streets

– Racho Road, City of Taylor, 2007
„ 10,000 SY, 4 in.
– Marsh Road, Ingham County, 2007
„ Haslett Rd. to Towner Rd., 27,500 SY, 3.75 in.
Thin Concrete Overlays
Of Composite Pavements
On Streets & Roads
In the Detroit Metro Area
MDOT Gratiot Avenue Demo
Gratiot Demo Project Scope

„ Mill existing asphalt overlay, approx. 5 in.

„ Place 1-inch asphalt separator layer, both
standard and open graded mixes
„ Place 4-inch plain concrete overlay
„ Well graded concrete mix
„ Approx. 6-foot joint spacing
„ Single saw cut – sealed and unsealed joints
MDOT Gratiot Avenue
Demo
„ Existing Conditions:
– 3 mile section
– 9 lanes across
– 5 in. of asphalt on top
– 9 in. plain pavement below
– Old rail located under center
lane
– Old brick located under
asphalt in bus lane
– Existing curb to remain in
place
– Many, many, intersections…
Gratiot – Jointing
Gratiot – Manholes
 Gratiot – Manhole Detail

Overlay Casting
Separator
Layer
Existing
Adjustment Rings
Pavement

Expansion
Material

Manhole / Vault
Gratiot – Pedestrian Traffic
Concrete Overlays

„ Not hard to construct

„ Do not require extensive engineering
expense – more field engineering than
plans & survey
„ Initial cost is competitive with current
repair methods
„ Can be constructed quickly with
minimal traffic impact
 Questions?

Feel free to contact me:

swaalkes@miconcpave.com or 616-633-9629