Cement Council of Texas
  • Home
  • Pavements
    • Airports
    • Highways
    • Industrial
    • Parking Lots
    • Pavement & Soil Stabilization
    • Streets
    • Trails
  • Calendar/Events
    • Calendar
  • News & Resources
    • News
    • Industry Links
    • Resources & Presentations
  • Blog
  • Projects
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • CCT Members
    • CCT Staff >
      • Richard B. Rogers, PE
      • Amy C. Swift
      • Nancy Aguirre Beltran, PhD., EIT
      • Randy Bowers, PE
    • Contact and Subscribe

Cementx Pavement Blog

Concrete Solutions for the "Texas Miracle"

6/18/2014

0 Comments

 
By: Jan R. Prusinski, PE
ll Hammond, CEO of the Texas Association of Business, makes a good point.  In his op-ed piece in the June 17, 2014 Houston Chronicle "Coping with the 'Texas Miracle'," he states "given the tremendous growth and population boom Texas continues to experience, the stress, strains and demands on our infrastructure are far more acute."​
He notes that Texas, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card, is "dangerously close to failing."  In fact, Texas rates a D or less in five of 12 categories, including roads. He pushes for Texas voters to approve the November ballot initiative that would allow annual disbursements from our oil/gas production tax into the State Highway Fund.  This is both imperative and common sense.  He also supports a modest increase in the State's vehicle registration fee, an end to diversions of gas tax money from transportation projects, and dedicating a portion of the vehicle sales tax for roads. More good points.

If--and hopefully when--the voters and legislators approve and implement these changes, the additional funding needs to be put into long-lasting, high value highway assets.  One of the best ways of doing this is through the use of concrete pavements.  TxDOT studies have shown that continously reinforced concrete highways need virtually no maintenance for their first 30 years.  And these pavements are not "expensive" relative to flexible paving alternatives: Several of the portions of the Central Texas I-35 corridor improvements now being constructed were bid as alternative designs for concrete and asphalt.  Concrete won the bids in each and every case.

And TxDOT is expanding the pallet of concrete choices, by allowing more jointed (unreinforced) pavements in appropriate circumstances.  These pavements--used in most other states, but less commonly in Texas--can provide decades of high-quality service life for urban arterials, frontage roads, and even some mainline highways.  TxDOT is also beginning to utilize innovative concrete pavement solutions, such as roller compacted concrete (RCC).  The efficiency of RCC production and placement can make these a competitive--and longer lasting--alternative for heavily-loaded energy sector roads, for instance.

Building with concrete makes sense.  It is often the same cost or less expensive than equivalently-designed flexible pavements. It is certainly much lower in life cycle costs, given the 7-10 year overlay cycle needed for most asphalt roads.  Why build a critical highway asset that will require significant maintenance in the near term, when a low-maintenance concrete highway can often be built for the same or less cost. That savings in maintenance can be put into expanding infrastructure, not just maintaining it. Another good point.
"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".
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Subscribe to Updates

    PURPOSE

    The Cementx Pavement Blog seeks to make pavement owners, engineers and contractors smarter about selecting, designing, constructing and maintaining pavements. New blog postings began February 1, 2017; however, we carried over pavement-related blog postings from our older blog, the "Texas Cement and Concrete Blog," which ran until December 2016.

    Authors

    Jan R. Prusinski, PE
    Executive Director

    Richard B. Rogers, PE
    Sr. Director, Concrete Pavements

    Matthew W. Singel
    ​Director, Soil-Cement and RCC Pavements

    Category Filters

    All
    Author: J R Prusinski
    Author: M W Singel
    Author: R B Rogers
    Cement Modified Soil
    Cement Treated Base
    Concrete Overlays
    Concrete Pavement
    Flexible Pavements/Asphalt
    Full Depth Reclamation
    Pavement Design
    RCC Pavements
    Structures And Homes
    Transportation Funding

    Archives

    May 2019
    January 2018
    July 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    June 2014
    April 2013
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011

Picture
​The Cement Council of Texas promotes the proper use of cement and concrete in pavements, infrastructure, buildings, homes and other construction applications.  We are the non-profit trade association of portland cement manufacturers and shippers in Texas.

Office: 817-281-6799
​Email: info@cementx.org
​© 2017 Cement Council of Texas
Subscribe for Updates!
    Name is optional
    By subscribing, the Cement Council of Texas will send occasional updates for events, blogs, and other content, averaging once to twice a month. You may unsubscribe any time.
Subscribe
The materials and information contained herein are for general guidance and reference purposes only for professionals competent to evaluate the significance and limitations of their content.  The materials and information do not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.  Third party materials reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the accuracy of the facts, data, opinions, findings, and conclusions presented therein.  The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Cement Council of Texas.
​​
  • Home
  • Pavements
    • Airports
    • Highways
    • Industrial
    • Parking Lots
    • Pavement & Soil Stabilization
    • Streets
    • Trails
  • Calendar/Events
    • Calendar
  • News & Resources
    • News
    • Industry Links
    • Resources & Presentations
  • Blog
  • Projects
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • CCT Members
    • CCT Staff >
      • Richard B. Rogers, PE
      • Amy C. Swift
      • Nancy Aguirre Beltran, PhD., EIT
      • Randy Bowers, PE
    • Contact and Subscribe