Competition among materials that are used to build our society’s infrastructure is good for its citizens, as it drives down the costs for all materials in competition for that infrastructure. However, everyone knows that not all materials perform the same as some are more durable and need less maintenance than others. A common practice for cities is to require a two-year maintenance bond on this new infrastructure. The problem is that almost all paving materials can withstand two years under normal traffic conditions. The cost for cities is realized after the 2-year maintenance bond has expired. A chip seal surface may last 5-7 years without maintenance, and a thicker hot mix overlay may last 10-12 years without major maintenance. Concrete pavements have a service life of 30-40 plus years. When using concrete pavement instead of a road base with a chip seal at least 6 cycles of this treatment are defrayed and when using concrete pavement in lieu of an asphalt overlay on a road base at least 3 cycles of that treatment are defrayed. Also, included in these likely costs are the repair costs if a non-stabilized road base is used. When using concrete pavement, a longer lasting road means no maintenance for many years and improved safety because road work is minimized.
A great example worth pointing out is Overland Park Kansas. This city’s engineering staff concluded that the cost over the life cycle of the pavement is approximately equal for concrete and asphalt roads. Knowing the durability and strength of concrete it is good to bet that concrete pavement may not need the estimated maintenance. See the attached link for the whole story:
https://johnsoncountypost.com/2023/09/12/overland-park-concrete-streets-adopted-212512/
The Cement Council of Texas is currently investigating other cities in Texas that are using this strategy to defray maintenance costs. If you are implementing this strategy or are aware of the implementation of this strategy, please contact us and we will share your story with others who want to build Longer Lasting Roads.
