Pavement Groups Test First Urban Use Of Noise-Reducing Surface Treatment

A stretch of Interstate 35 near Duluth, Minn., marks the Next Generation Concrete Surface (NGCS) premiere on mainline highway pavement

Source: International Grooving and Grinding Association, West Coxsackie, N.Y.

A stretch of Interstate 35 near Duluth, Minn., marks the Next Generation Concrete Surface (NGCS) premiere on mainline highway pavement. Resembling a combination of diamond grinding and longitudinal grooving, NGCS can be implemented as either a single- or two-pass operation using diamond tipped saw blades on conventional grinding and grooving equipment. It represents the industry’s most significant advancement in quieter concrete pavement surfaces, notes American Concrete Pavement Association Director of Pavement Innovation Larry Scofield, adding that surface configuration may change as research identifies potential improvements.

NGCS was developed by ACPA, IGGA, Portland Cement Association and Purdue University; subsequent Minnesota Department of Transportation testing was conducted at the MnROAD pavement research loop along Interstate 94 outside the Twin Cities. MnDOT, IGGA, and the Concrete Paving Association of Minnesota will host a September 22 demonstration of the I-35 NGCS, placed on northbound and southbound lanes between Boundary Ave. and Cody St. Registration details can be obtained from IGGA’s Michele Rivenburg, 518/731-7450; [email protected].