Sources: Cemstone Products Co., Mendota Heights, Minn.; CP staff
Minnesota Department of Transportation approval enabled a sweeping commercial debut for Rapid Pave Ultra Fast Setting, High Early Strength concrete, designed for high-volume roadways and intersections requiring quick lane or entire thoroughfare reopening.
Developed by Twin Cities ready mixed market leader Cemstone, Rapid Pave was specified for 7.6 miles of Interstate 94 joint repair, one of the largest projects of its kind on the 2011 federal-aid highway schedule. Contractor Interstate Improvement, Inc., poured sections at night to limit lane closures to evening traffic; mixes reached compressive strengths in excess of 3,000 psi after three hours, making all six lanes of the interstate rush hour-ready the next morning.
“With an impressive 24,000-cubic-yard project under its belt, Rapid Pave comes to market with a successful track record for innovation and performance,” says Cemstone President Thor Becken. “Meeting a community’s need to complete roadway projects quickly, and with as little traffic interruption as possible, is a balancing act. Businesses and their patrons, commuters, and residents all rely on uninterrupted roadway travel. Rapid Pave sets a new benchmark for ultra fast setting, high early strength concrete.”
“We engineered Rapid Pave as a two-part system, with a batch mixed reactive component and hardener added at the jobsite,” adds Vice President of Engineering Kevin MacDonald, Ph.D., P.E., FACI. “It is a self-consolidating concrete that, in this specific application, generated 3,250-psi strength in three hours and 10,800 psi in 28 days.”