Contractor Tackles Large Interstate Micro Surfacing Project

By Lisa Cleaver, editor
Created: May 3, 2012

Coordinating work crews doing patching, micro surfacing, traffic control and striping, Micro-Surfacing Inc. completed the job on time and under budget

The micro surfacing on this project was mixed and applied by a Bergkamp M-1 continuous paver.
The micro surfacing on this project was mixed and applied by a Bergkamp M-1 continuous paver.
In St. Louis, MO, the four-year-old Novachip surfaces on I-70 and I-270 were beginning to polish, creating safety skid issues.
In St. Louis, MO, the four-year-old Novachip surfaces on I-70 and I-270 were beginning to polish, creating safety skid issues.
To rehabilitate I-70 and I-270, the project included 38 separate pay items including milling, patching, HMAC overlays, concrete patching, rumble strips, traffic control and striping items.
To rehabilitate I-70 and I-270, the project included 38 separate pay items including milling, patching, HMAC overlays, concrete patching, rumble strips, traffic control and striping items.
The biggest challenge of this project was coordinating the work crews doing patching, micro surfacing, traffic control and striping so that each crew could get in a full night's work and still have...
The biggest challenge of this project was coordinating the work crews doing patching, micro surfacing, traffic control and striping so that each crew could get in a full night's work and still have the roadway opened and re-striped by 5 a.m. each morning.
The micro surfacing work called for a two-pass, 30-pound total application of asphalt emulsion micro surfacing on 746,937 square yards of roadway.
The micro surfacing work called for a two-pass, 30-pound total application of asphalt emulsion micro surfacing on 746,937 square yards of roadway.
ISSA presented its 2012 President's Award for Excellence to Micro-Surfacing Inc. during its 50th Annual Convention, held in Bonita Springs, FL.
ISSA presented its 2012 President's Award for Excellence to Micro-Surfacing Inc. during its 50th Annual Convention, held in Bonita Springs, FL.
The project had work hour restrictions of 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. each day, with a $1,000 penalty for every 15-minute delay.
The project had work hour restrictions of 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. each day, with a $1,000 penalty for every 15-minute delay.

In St. Louis, MO, the four-year-old Novachip surfaces on I-70 and I-270 was beginning to polish, creating safety skid issues. To rehabilitate the two highways, the project included 38 separate pay items including milling, patching, HMAC overlays, concrete patching, rumble strips, traffic control and striping items. It also included 100 lane miles of urban highway micro surfacing.

“Micro-Surfacing Inc. has been doing micro surfacing for about 20 years,” says Tom Ritschel, president of Micro-Surfacing Inc. (MSI), St. Louis. “We have also done a lot of night work. We have also worked in St. Louis before, including expressway work at night, but no other jobs near this large.

“Cost and speed of application were major reasons why micro surfacing was chosen,” he explains.

A versatile tool in the road maintenance arsenal, micro surfacing is a polymer modified, cold mixed, quick setting, asphalt resurfacing material that can remedy a broad range of problems on today’s highways. It’s designed to be applied in a semi-liquid condition with a specialized mixing and paving machine. By design it chemically changes from a semi-liquid material to a dense cold mix material that is able to carry normal traffic within one hour after application.

The micro surfacing work specification for the I-70/I-270 project was from the Missouri Standard Specification book section 413.1. It called for a two-pass, 30-pound total application of asphalt emulsion micro surfacing on 746,937 square yards of roadway. For friction purposes, an air-cooled blast furnace slag aggregate was used. The micro surfacing on this project was mixed and applied by a Bergkamp M-1 continuous paver.

The prep for micro surfacing included 11,000 tons of HMAC on ramp overlays and some mainline patching, miscellaneous milling and cement repairs, and removal/replacement of existing pavement markings and inlaid markers.

Safety is paramount

The I-70/I-270 project was a traffic safety project to improve pavement surface friction on both interstate highways in St. Louis, says Ritschel. In addition to improving pavement surface, the project included improving many ramps with HMAC overlays in the same contract.

The biggest challenge in this project was coordinating the work crews doing patching, micro surfacing, traffic control and striping so that each crew could get in a full night’s work and still have the roadway opened and re-striped by 5 a.m. each morning.

This project is the largest interstate micro surfacing project ever done in the four state area of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa, says Ritschel. Traffic volumes on the sections micro surfaced varied from 100,000 to 140,000 vehicles per day.

Over 70 nights, one or more crews worked on the project. There were no accidents or work-related injuries.

Restrictions & challenges

The job was bid in May 2011 with patching work beginning June 23. Micro crew work began on July 11 and was completed on September 15. HMA work was completed October 26. All work needed to be complete by November 1 or a penalty of $21,625 per day would be implemented.

The project had work hour restrictions of 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. each day, with a $1,000 penalty for every 15-minute delay. When the St. Louis Cardinals played night games at Busch Stadium, crews had lane closure restrictions that started 45 minutes before and after the game.

Summer temperatures were also a challenge during the project. Air temperatures reached 100 degrees F with pavement temperatures near 120 degrees F.

“The temperatures were tough on the crew; plenty of water was needed on the jobsite,” says Ritschel. “But the crew was grateful that the work was not during the daytime hours. The emulsion in the mix was adjusted by the manufacturer, Bi-State Emulsion, to mix and set properly in warm temperatures. Here again, daytime conditions would have been more difficult.” (Continued on page 48)