By: Jan R. Prusinski, PE
Is your knowledge up to date on how to design, construct and maintain concrete pavements?  Do you know current best practices for stabilizing base materials and soils with cement?  Have you considered roller-compacted concrete for a street or industrial site, but don't know how to design or specify it?  Are you giving your clients--public agencies, facility owners, the traveling public--the best performing pavements at the lowest cost?  If these or similar questions are on your mind, then the Cementx Pavement Blog is for you.  Also, you can register for updates and a free giveaway.

By: Jan R. Prusinski, P.E.

The Cement Council of Texas has redesigned it's website for 2017.  You can still find us at www.cementx.org but the site is now is easier to read and navigate, as well as being mobile and tablet friendly.  We want to make this site better for you, the building professional, and make it your Texas resource for news, knowledge and events on concrete and cement pavements, infrastructure, and construction. We're celebrating by giving away valuable publications on concrete pavement and stabilized bases/subgrades for subscribers to our email updates.  And you'll also be registered for a May 1st drawing for even more valuable publications from the American Concrete Institute and the Portland Cement Association.

By: Matthew W. Singel
Golf course sand bunkers can be a maintenance nightmare if not properly installed.  In recent years, one contractor developed a rehabilitation method that integrates the benefits of soil cement with the drainage system resulting in high performance.  Proper irrigation and drainage on a golf course are critical to offer patrons a pleasant experience but also to reduce expensive maintenance issues.  

This soil-cement rehabilitation technique offers maximum drainage in the bunkers plus the long-term performance benefits of soil-cement.  The soil-cement subsurface layer virtually eliminates soil migration that contaminates high quality bunker sand.  This tool in golf course maintenance is gaining traction, having been used on multiple golf courses in Texas and recently in the Southeast.
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Cement-stabilized soils and aggregates offer many solutions beyond transportation infrastructure.
"This blog was previously posted in the Cement Council of Texas' "Texas Cement and Concrete Blog" (now inactive) and was carried forward to the current blog ("Cementx Pavement Blog") as it contains content that may be of interest to the reader".

By: Matthew W. Singel
​Extended periods of high temperatures and low rainfall wreak havoc on agriculture, drinking water supply and lake access for recreation.  For civil engineers and public works professionals, these conditions can create an imbalance in the subgrade moisture content, leaving soils under the center of the road at a higher moisture level than the edges, which dry out more quickly.  This is most prevalent on roads with deep drainage ditches (i.e. subgrades with exposed sides).  In the presence of expansive clay soils, deep longitudinal cracking often occurs near the road edge.

By: Matthew W. Singel
When stabilizing soils with calcium-based additives (cement, lime, etc.), accurately determining the presence and concentration of sulfates (gypsum) is important.  If high sulfate concentrations are present and not recognized in advance, sulfate-induced heave can occur.  

By: Matthew W. Singel
​An often-asked question when discussing soil stabilizing additives is whether cement or lime is the cheaper option.  This answer goes much deeper than the current price-per-ton comparison.  When asked, this question, I often answer, “that depends”, followed by a series of questions that might include: