Regina Bypass Paving Q&A
RBDB Communications had a chance to visit with our Highway 1 East paving team. Here is the in-depth question and answer session and the important information you need to know about the innovative RBDB repaving process.
1. What is the 2016 Repaving Plan and what work is scheduled for 2017?
The 2016 plan is to complete works on the EB/WB lanes from Eastern Project Limits at Balgonie to Crossover limits near Pilot Butte. These works will include Milling, Full Depth Reclamation and Paving.
During the 2017 season RBDB plans to complete remaining works in the EB/WB lanes, from Crossover limits near Pilot Butte to Tower Road, and including required tie-ins with the new Regina Bypass.
2. Tell me about the innovation used on this repaving project.
RBDB is using a process called Full Depth Reclamation (FDR), which recycles existing asphalt with the addition of asphalt bitumen and Portland cement, through the use of a specialized pulverizing machine. Once the FDR process is complete, RBDB is paving existing Highway 1 with the same pavement that will be used for the new Regina Bypass.
3. I understand you are recycling some of the current asphalt materials and reusing them in the repaving process.
Correct. We are milling and trucking the Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) to our Asphalt Plant, and mixing the RAP into new pavement. Depending on the mix we are using, we use anywhere from 10-15% RAP in our mix. Using the RAP decreases our required aggregate import and binder requirement for the new asphalt, both of which make producing the new asphalt more economical. Lastly, and most importantly, using RAP has an added environmental benefit for the project, wherein we don’t require as much virgin material and greatly reduce aggregate production impact.
4. How does the new process enhance the life of the new pavement? Once the Milling, FDR and Pavement is complete, the new highway will follow the same maintenance program as the new Regina Bypass and therefore greatly reduce the amount of resurfacing work required throughout the duration of the 30 year Operation and Maintenance program.
5. What was the primary rationale for repaving one separate highway at a time?
Safety, quality and schedule. The highway 1 corridor, from Regina to Balgonie, has significant traffic volumes and we needed to come up with a solution that mitigated as many risks as possible. Our plan to close both lanes, and divert traffic onto corresponding carriageway allowed us to achieve our three requirements (Safety, quality and schedule).
6. Why was it important to do long stretches of paving at a time?
Similar to the question above, long stretches of pavement are beneficial for both quality and schedule. Eliminating cold joints and allowing the pavers to perform long stretches of paved surface allows for a smoother finished product that will ameliorate the ride felt by drives, and reduce cracking for long term pavement durability.