Effective pavement preservation by identifying distress conditions, causes, and cures

Transverse cracks
● Appear at approx. right angles to the centerline
Block cracks
● Interconnected cracks
Intersecting at nearly right angles, forming blocks which often break loose
Longitudinal cracks
● Run nearly parallel to the centerline of the roadway
● Can be caused by deterioration of longitudinal joints formed during construction or by
heavy loading in the wheel path
Edge cracking
● Displays longitudinal or crescent shaped cracks usually within one foot of the edge of the
roadway
Ailments that are unique to asphalt pavements

Rutting
● Vertical deformation in the pavement surface , along the wheel path not unlike the ruts
that used to form in muddy dirt roads
Corrugations
● Used to be called washboard roads but corrugations are a series of transverse ridges
and valleys at regular interval
● Usually form in areas where heavy truck traffic comes to a forced stop regularly likewise
at bus stops
Debonding
● Condition where the upper layer of the asphalt surface separates from the lower layers,
usually the upper layer then breaks apart and is washed away leaving a shallow pothole
Raveling
● Disintegration of pavement from the surface downward due to the loss of aggregate
particles
Potholes
● Bowl shaped voids or depression in the pavement surface
Bleeding (flushing)
● Presence of free asphalt binder in the pavement surface recognized by the sound as the
cars drive over it in the hot summer day
Conditions, causes, and cures of rigid concrete pavement distress
Transverse cracking
● Looks like transverse cracking in asphalt pavement
● Cracks or breaks are approx. right angles to the centerline

● Slab curl - temp. Gradients in the slab create a cantilever effect that will crack the slab
with load
● Curing - as moisture cures out of the slab, the volume decreases without contraction
joints or saw cuts. cracking is inevitable
Longitudinal cracking
● Very similar to the transverse cracking

● When cracks wander through a slab, they are also known as meander crack
Pumping
● Ejection of fine soil particles through cracks, joints, or along pavement edges as the slab
moves up and down with load

● When water seeps beneath the slab, the subbase becomes less able to support the end
of the slab so the slab tilts down into the subbase ejecting the fines. Eventually, a cavity
is formed in the end of the slab cracks.
Faulting
● Difference in elevation between a budding slabs at joints or cracks
Transverse Joint Spalling
● Breakup or disintegration of the concrete at the joint
Wear & polishing
● Results in a polished surface which can become slippery in rain. This condition can be
dangerous
Scaling
● Surface deterioration where fine aggregates and mortar are lost
Shallow reinforcing
● Curious combination of spalling with telltale rust stains in the surface cracks of the slab
● Does Not show up until water has had time to seep in and start corrosion in steel
D-cracking
● Stands for durability cracking
● Recognized by closely spaced crescent-shaped hairline cracks occurring adjacent to
joint, cracks, or free areas initiating in slab corners
Corner cracking
● Diagonal cracks near the corner of concrete slab, usually one foot of the corner
Blowups
● Occur when a slab is pushed up or crushed at a transverse joint
Crack repair in asphalt concrete pavement

To focus on medium sized cracks which are 3-12 mm wide or the thickness of the finger. Cracks
can be linear or area in nature.

Linear cracks
● Can be line breaks along the edge of the pavement, cracks along joints in the pavement
or line breaks just about anywhere throughout the pavement.
Area cracks
● Recognized as a network of random cracks in the pavement
● Often called alligator cracks
● Patterns formed in the pavement resembles the pattern of an alligator hide.
● Caused by heavy flow of traffic on the pavement above a weak place in the road base
● The pavement surface must be repaired as soon as the cracks can easily be seen
because water can pass through the cracks causing more damage to the road base. If
work is delayed, pavement will be badly broken up and will require major repairs.

Pavement with cracks wider than the thickness of your finger requires more extensive repair.
These wide cracks indicate serious damage of the road base that you should schedule to be
repaired.

To Repair linear and area cracks You will need hand tools and equipment designed to do the
job best. Proper hand tools include:
● narrow and wide squeegees
● Sharp pointed rod
● Rake
● Stiff brooms
● Shovels
● Pouring pot - for the asphalt mixture
● Asphalt sprayer - to apply the asphalt to seal cracks
● Air compressor - to remove debris from the surface and cracks. Be sure to take along
the blowpipe attachment
● Dump truck - to transport the materials, equipment and crew to the worksite

Proper materials include:

● Asphalt slurry mixture - for filling the cracks. This Mixture can be made before going to
the worksite. It consists of 10 liters of asphalt emulsion to every 35 kg of sand with water
added as needed. The mixture has reached the desired consistency when it is thick
smooth and free of lumps.
● Asphalt emulsion or asphalt cut back - to fill and seal the cracks
● clean medium sand - approx. 1 mm to 2 mm in size for cover aggregate

8 steps for repairing linear and area cracks in asphalt pavement

1. Place the traffic control devices
 ● Proper placement of these signs, cones, and barricades is important to the safety
of crew and passing vehicles. Place these devices so that drivers have adequate
time to respond.
2. Clean the surface area and cracks
● A broom will do the job adequately, but compressed air is more effective. After it
is cleaned, you must inspect them for damage. Identify the cracks that need
more cleaning to your crew. A sharp pointed rod may be necessary to remove
any material stuck in the cracks. Remove any loose material from the area to be
repaired.
3. Fill cracks with asphalt mixture
● The asphalt mixture must be smooth immediately after it is poured. Run the
squeegee over the cracks and along both sides. Any excess asphalt mixture
must be removed.
4. Apply the liquid asphalt over the cracked area
● Before you begin, make sure the asphalt mixture in the cracks has cured. The
liquid asphalt should be sprayed over the area in a light coat. You can use a wide
squeegee if a sprayer is not available. Make sure the light coat extends beyond
the cracked area about 30 cm or the distance equal to the length of your foot.
This step is not done for linear cracks.
5. Spread the cover aggregate
● The aggregate must be spread immediately after the liquid asphalt has been
applied. Be sure that the cover aggregate is cast evenly over the liquid asphalt in
a single layer. Do not dump the aggregate in piles. The aggregate will protect the
surface of the repair. It will prevent the tires from picking up the asphalt mixture
or sealer. The aggregate also provides good friction for vehicles.
6. Roll aggregate
● Roll aggregates using the truck. It must be driven several times across the
aggregate to make aggregate particles fit tightly together.
7. Clean the worksite
● All unused material must be loaded on the truck. Do not leave any unused
materials at the worksite. The tools used to make the repair must be cleaned at
the end of the day and loaded back on the truck. Loose aggregate should be
swept up and properly disposed of, away from the road and drainage ditches.
Check for anything left behind and be sure it gets loaded in the truck.
8. Remove traffic control devices
● Pick them up in the reverse order of their placement.

Crack repair is very important because it prevents the deterioration of pavement surface and
protects the base from water damage. Proper repair of linear and area cracks will prolong the
life of the pavement.
CITY CONCRETE STREET REPAIR

Concrete streets are very different from asphalt streets and that means the repairs to
them are also unique. Roadways made of concrete can last decades following proper preparing
techniques will extend the life of our concrete streets and reduce the maintenance costs.

TWO KINDS OF REPAIRS PERFORMED ON THE CITY’S CONCRETE STREETS

● Full Depth Repair- this requires complete removal and replacement of a section of the
concrete roadway.
● Partial Depth Repair- this requires the removal of the pavement surface generally
through milling.

Before any repairing take place, the street needs to be inspected to determine which
kinds of repairs are appropriate. Identify the type of work that needs to be done, document it
and mark it with spray paint. Frequently, there are obvious signs to look for such as random
cracks or sunken pavement.

If the damage is limited to the crack, the partial depth repair would be appropriate.

● Mark the crack for milling, examine joints between concrete slabs as well.
Anything that’s more than a quarter inch wide should also be marked familiar.
● Some signs of damage are not as visible, you’ll need to sound the pavement
area to find voids that have formed beneath the surface. Sounding is done with a
chain or hammer. You can hear the difference in sound that a hollowed void
beneath the pavement surface creates.
● Hammering helps you find the limits of the void so you can mark the repair area.
● Err on the side of caution when marking. You want to make sure the limits you
mark cover the entire void.
● Sometimes, concrete streets have metal reinforcement bars connecting the
concrete panels and it is helpful to know where they are before you remove
concrete. Use metal detector to find these metal reinforcement bars and mark the
streets where they are.

Areas that have extensive cracking and other damage may require a full depth repair.
Signs to look for include many cracks in the pavement and sunken concrete panels or curves.
These are signs that a partial depth will not provide a long-term correction to the problem.

● Mark off the whole panel or a portion of the panel for removal.
● Replacing part of a will create smaller slabs. Avoid making a new slab that’s less than
3 feet wide because it won’t be structurally strong. In those cases, it makes more sense
to remove the whole slab than to save a fraction.
● When angle cuts are needed like around manholes, avoid creating sharp angles and
always try to make your angles as close to 90 degrees as possible.
● When you’re ready to make partial depth repairs, you’ll need a milling machine. A 10-
inch-wide mill is the typical one you want and it will need to be fitted with teeth suited for
 grinding Portland concrete. The mill will follow the paint marking on the street, removing
about 2 – 3 inches of the roadway surface.
● When the milling is done, review the milled area to make sure all of the failing concrete
is removed. You may need to use a small 40-pound jackhammer to complete the
removals.
● Sound the milled area with a hammer to make sure there’s no unbound concrete or
voids.
● Then, sandblast the milled area to make sure the new concrete has a good surface to
bond to.
● You’ll need to create a bonding material for the surface that is typically a mixture of
Portland and mortar sand mixed to the consistency of whipped cream.
● Brush on the bonding material to the prepped surface and make sure the bonding mortar
doesn’t dry out.
● You’re now ready for the concrete patch. This is not the typical concrete used to pave
roadways. A special concrete called three u18 needs to be mixed on site.
● Before placing the concrete patch material in the milled area, use compressible inserts
to reestablish the crack. Compressible inserts are essentially cardboard covered in wax.
Do not use expansion felt for partial depth repairs. Only use them for full depth repairs
where needed. The insert will help turn the crack into a new seam between two smaller
concrete panels. The manage crack will prevent an unmanaged from forming.
● Shovel in the three u18 concrete mix and trowel into the milled area. Make sure to use a
small concrete vibrator to help consolidate the three u18.
● When that’s done, use some bonding material to feather out the edges of the patch. This
is a critical step in making the patch bond with the existing concrete.
● Once that’s done and a patch surface is smooth and brushed, apply a heavy coating of
concrete curing membrane to the surface. Do not use a water-based membrane. Check
on your engineer on the specified curing compound.

After the concrete has cured, another crew will place bituminous crack filler into the
crack. Your partial depth repair is now complete. Now, to make full depth repairs of concrete
streets. The failed concrete needs to be removed.

● Saw the pavement to its full depth. You’ll need a large concrete sawing machine
for this work. A machine with 60 horsepower or greater is generally required.
● Once the panels are cut, you can remove the old concrete. For the larger pieces,
put in anchors and lift the panel with a crane. Lifting out intact panels prevents
damage to the soil underneath which saves time on the project.
● When panels are too damaged to lift out, carefully remove them with a forklift or
other machinery.
● Once the damaged roadway is removed, replacing it is very similar to creating a
new concrete roadway with some important exceptions. One of those exception
is the installation of steel reinforcement bars in the remaining concrete road.
When the roadway has replaced the bars, it will help distribute the weight of
vehicles from one concrete panel to the next.
● Use a gang drill or a drill that can make holes horizontally to drill into the adjacent
concrete pavement panels. The bars are usually spaced twelve inches apart but
you can locate them, so they’ll be under the wheel path of vehicles. There’s less
of a need to place the bars in the roadway that’s used for parking.
● A rule of thumb is to have an eight-inch diameter of bar to an inch of
pavement depth. In the project you see here, the pavement is six-inch thick so
¾ bar or a number six bar was used.
● Before putting the bars into the holes, they’ll need non-shrink grout applied so
they’ll adhere the steel bar into the pavement panel. The other end of the bar is
grease oil or oil to make sure it does not adhere to the new pavement.
● When its time to place the concrete, a typical 3A42 MnDot is sufficient.
● If there are manholes or drains at a fabric around the rim before pouring the
concrete and once the concrete is in place, sinking bars to help reinforce the
drain area. This is important because manholes and drains are areas where
cavities and other erosion often take place.
● After the bleed water has evaporated, trowel and broom the finished concrete as
would in a normal concrete road paving project.
● Apply the concrete curing membrane. The final step in in concrete rehabilitation
involves diamond grinding the entire pavement surface. This place about 4
weeks after the patches are made to give some time for the concrete to cure.
● Diamond grinding creates a uniform concrete paving surface and since it’s being
done at the end of a project, the diamond grinding makes transitions from the
patches you made to the existing pavement a lot smoother.
● The end result is a better driving surface for the public. The concrete repair
should extend the life of the roadway by 15 years or more and that provides a
smooth roadway and saves the city money.
Concrete Pavement Restoration - Type A Repairs

These repairs involve sealing joints and cracks during rehabilitation of concrete pavements.

Before detailing type, A repairs it is important the need to maintain a proper shape factor for the
sealing materials. The shape factor is the ratio of the width of the seal to the depth of the seal.
For example, the recommended shape factor for tooled silicone sealant is 2:1. For a 5/8 inch
wide joint a silicone seal 5/16 an inch deep is required.

If the shape factor is wrong the joint seal will fail. If the sealant is too thick the material will be
less elastic and will either tear away from the pavement or even pull the pavement apart at the
seal. If the sealant is too thin the seal will be weak and is likely to fail by tearing apart. In either
case, the seal will be broken, and incompressible material and water will be allowed to enter the
pavement structure.

It is ineffective to seal cracks or joints greater than one and one quarter inches wide for these
situations the appropriate type B repair should be considered.

Five Basic Steps:

1. Remove any in place sealant material present in the joint or crack
2. Form a reservoir for the sealing material by sawing the existing crack or joint. This is
often referred to as widening.
3. Clean and dry the repair by sand blasting and air blasting
4. Provide the properly shaped reservoir by installing the proper backer rod as required
5. Install the required sealing material to provide a seal for the joint or crack

Details:
For joints, the existing joint is sawed with a diamond saw to a dimension 1/8 inch wider than the
original joint. For random cracks, the crack is widened by sawing a sealant reservoir following
the original pavement crack. The depth of these cuts varies with the width of the repair and the
type of sealant used as detailed.

Immediately after sawing the joint or crack must be thoroughly cleaned by water flushing to
remove all slurry and foreign materials.

Sand blasting must be done to ensure that both phases of the joint or crack are cleaned. After
sand blasting, loose material is removed from the joint or crack by high-pressure air blasting.
This operation must be done immediately before sealing since material blown into the reservoir
by wind or traffic must be removed by additional air blasting the reservoir walls should be
inspected to ensure they are free of residue.

Installation of backer rod to provide the proper shape factor for the sealing material and reduce
the amount of material needed to seal the crack or joint. Specifications require different
diameter of backer rod depending on the width of the reservoir and the sealant material. In
general, the rod should be 1/8 inch larger than the crack or joints, so kit pushes against the
walls of the reservoir. It is important that the backer rod be installed at the proper depth so the
sealant material will perform properly.

Two types of sealant used:

1. Hot poured elastic type
2. Silicone type
.
It require that both sealant be applied as recommended by the material manufacturer. Hot place
sealants are placed in the reservoir, so the top of the sealant is between 1/8 inch below to even
with pavement surface. Silicone sealants are used also to seal transverse joints. Silicone is first
placed in the reservoir and is then tooled to the proper shape using backer rod or another
approved device. If the sealant is higher than the pavement surface, traffic and snowplow
activity may damage or pull the sealant out of the repair. Joint sealant material should be fully
cured before construction operations are continued.