GOMACO Paver Achieves Stringless Overlays Only 4 Inches Thick

Created: July 18, 2012

Concrete Foundations Inc. uses a stringless system and a GOMACO GHP-2800 paver to place 32 miles of Iowa overlays.

The new overlay was placed on the existing asphalt roadway at a thickness of 4 inches.
The new overlay was placed on the existing asphalt roadway at a thickness of 4 inches.
Transverse joints in the new 4-inch-thick, 22-foot-wide overlay are every 6 feet, and longitudinal joints are every 5.5 feet.
Transverse joints in the new 4-inch-thick, 22-foot-wide overlay are every 6 feet, and longitudinal joints are every 5.5 feet.
CFI is using four Leica total stations on the overlay project. Production on the project increased by 1,000 feet of paving per day with the introduction of the stringless system.
CFI is using four Leica total stations on the overlay project. Production on the project increased by 1,000 feet of paving per day with the introduction of the stringless system.

“Trackline is a huge variable,” Schmitt said. “Once we get onto a hard grade where the trackline is good, our readings are virtually flat. Our four-track machine handles the variables in the trackline a lot better, too.”

All in all, the switch to stringless has proven to be a positive choice for CFI. “I guess if we had known it was this easy, we would have switched to stringless a couple of years ago,” Schmitt said. “I think at first everybody was a little apprehensive, but now they wouldn’t ever go back to stringline if they didn’t have to.”

Concrete Foundations Inc.'s parent company, Croell Redi-Mix, was created by Roger Croell in 1965 with one concrete plant in Lawler; it now has over 65 plants in six states. In 1999, it decided to enter into the concrete paving market by purchasing CFI. CFI started out hand forming sidewalks and driveways and grew into mainline paving. Today, the company specializes in concrete work, from driveways to interstate paving.