Sources: Federal Highway Administration; CP staff
As part of its Long Term Bridge Performance Program, geared to studying and collecting field data on structures completed since 1960, FHWA has delivered its first timeline tracking materials progress, “National Changes in Bridge Practices for Reinforcing Bars.”
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A new Federal Highway Administration Tech Brief cites benefits and drawbacks of fly ash, slag cement, silica fume and natural or alternative pozzolans for transportation structure-grade concrete. “Supplementary Cementitious Materials — Best Practices for Concrete Pavements” (FHWA-HIF-16-001) outlines how agencies overseeing road construction and maintenance confront increasing service demands on concrete structures, expectations for reduced environmental impact, plus lower initial and lifecycle costs.
Read MoreSources: Federal Highway Administration; CP staff
A new FHWA Tech Brief cites benefits and drawbacks of fly ash, slag cement, silica fume and natural or alternative pozzolans for highway-grade concrete. “Supplementary Cementitious Materials — Best Practices for Concrete Pavements” (FHWA-HIF-16-001) outlines how transportation agencies approach increasing service demands on concrete structures, along with expectations for reduced environmental impact plus lower initial and lifecycle costs.
Read MoreCiting a late-2015 U.S. District Court decision vacating Federal Highway Administration Buy America exemptions for miscellaneous steel components, the National Precast Concrete Association is urging members who fabricate precast structures for federally funded projects to evaluate use of tie wire, lifting devices and any other elements from foreign sources, and assume requests for documentation that all structure components are domestic.
Read MoreSources: National Precast Concrete Association, Carmel, Ind.; CP staff
Citing a late-December U.S. District Court decision vacating Federal Highway Administration Buy America exemptions for miscellaneous steel components, NPCA is urging members who fabricate precast structures for federally funded projects to evaluate use of tie wire, lifting devices and any other elements from foreign sources, and assume requests for documentation that all structure components are domestic.
Read MoreA Federal Highway Administration and Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) product developed by Austin, Texas, engineering and design firm Transtec Group, ProVAL software has been upgraded to offer highway agencies and contractors map-based features alongside pavement profile characteristics.
From the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association … To provide federal, state and local motor carrier enforcement officials uniform information regarding computer software and devices heavy duty truck drivers use in recordkeeping, Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration has issued guidance indicating it will accept electronically generated hours of service record of duty status logs with electronic signatures.
Read MoreSource: Transtec Group, Austin, Texas
In an effort to reduce costs, increase pavement quality, and minimize travel delays caused by road construction, the Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and Transportation Research Board will help agencies implement a tool that allows contractors to identify concrete pavement surface irregularities during construction.
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From the Federal Highway Administration’s Focus newsletter… Alkali-aggregate reactivity (AAR) can occur in concrete structures and pavements as both alkali-silica reaction (ASR) and alkalicarbonate reaction (ACR). FHWA’s new Alkali-Aggregate Reactivity Facts Book (Pub. No. FHWA-HIF-13-019) discusses both types of reaction but concentrates on ASR, as cases of ACR are more limited.
Read MoreSources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff
Toward the 9th annual International Concrete Sustainability Conference, May 12-14, in Cambridge, Mass., NRMCA has secured 60-plus experts to cover the latest developments in design, specification, production, testing, construction, maintenance and research of concrete as they relate to sustainability.
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