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Full-Depth Reclamation (FDR) is offering small municipalities, like South Fayette Township, PA, a cost-effective way to reconstruct roads quickly with minimal disruption to traffic. Cutting Edge Reclamation, Murrysville, PA, recently completed a two-mile stretch of a two lane road in South Fayette, and the FDR process should provide this community with a well-constructed, long-lasting roadway.

South Fayette is a progressive suburban community located 10 miles south of Pittsburgh. Within the community’s 21-square-mile area, approximately 65 miles of township streets and highways must be maintained. As is the case in many communities, many of these roads were not designed to carry the weight and volume of traffic they now bear, but have evolved over time to their present composition.

One such road, Old Oakdale Road, is a heavily-traveled corridor knifing through the center of the township and also the location of the community’s junior/senior high school complex. When the triumvirate of Township Manager Michael Hoy, Engineer Dave Gardner and Director of Public Works Bob Barish looked at upgrading the traffic capacity on Old Oakdale, they worked with township municipal engineering firm The Gateway Engineers Inc. to explore the merits of FDR.

With a bid proposal featuring an FDR approach, Amity Asphalt Paving Inc. of Houston, PA was selected as the general contractor and Cutting Edge Reclamation was selected as the subcontractor to handle the FDR work. In addition to the FDR process, the original specifications called for the road to be widened two feet on each side prior to stabilization, with PENNDOT 2A limestone to be placed into slots cut along each side of the road.

Cutting Edge Reclamation used a CMI RS-500B Road Reclaimer to uniformly pulverize the existing pavement, subbase material and 2A limestone to a depth of 8 inches. The reclaimer/stabilizer was used to grind and pulverize the existing 20-foot-wide, 8-inch-thick road, as well as to blend the new limestone used to widen the road. This untreated material was then spread, graded and compacted to the new lines and grades of the redesigned roadway as directed by the engineer. Project specifications called for a new road cross-section crown of 3 inches, to be maintained by the contractor throughout the two-step stabilization process.