CHARLOTTE, NC – The Carolinas Ready Mix Concrete Association (CRMCA), the Carolinas Concrete Pavement Association (CCPA), and the Southeast Cement Promotion Association (SCPA) are pleased to announce the publication of the NCDOT Streets and Local Roads design supplement for immediate use.
The design supplement provides improved guidance for both the design and construction of Portland cement concrete pavement for residential and collector roads with up to 500 trucks per day.
The design supplement consists of three parts. First, a simplified design guide provides graphs to determine pavement thickness from the expected truck traffic, concrete strength, subbase, and subgrade conditions. Second, construction details and notes appropriate to lower-volume roadways are provided for easy inclusion in plans. Finally, supplemental specifications to NCDOT’s Standard Specifications for Roads and Structures are provided to cover items such as fixed form paving that are typical to smaller-scale projects.
“This is a big win for municipalities, developers, designers and any other private or public entity,” said Eric Johnson, engineer for the CRMCA. “Using NCDOT guidelines, designers can now easily provide appropriate designs for streets and local roads. Appropriate designs result in appropriate initial bids and allow for appropriate life cycle cost analysis when comparing pavement system types.”
Under the appropriate conditions, the new design procedure allows the concrete to be as thin as five inches and placed directly on the subgrade. Positive load transfer at transverse construction joints via smooth dowels is only specified for the thickest pavement at the upper end of the included traffic spectrum. For pavement zoned for 45 mph or less, a quiet turf-drag surface is allowed.
“Many non-NCDOT projects still reference NCDOT specifications and procedures,” said Andy Johnson, Pavement Design Engineer for the SCPA. “While their standard specifications are very thorough and considered, they have evolved over time to concentrate on large, freeway-type projects with requirements that may not be appropriate to residential streets. This supplement ‘right-sizes’ the specifications and details for smaller work. This provides new options for any entity, private or public, who will benefit from the advantages of concrete pavement.”
The new supplement is available for download and can be found here on NCDOT’s web site [http://www.ncdot.com]. For assistance in using the new supplement, please contact Eric N. Johnson, P.E. LEED AP at 704-717-9199 or [email protected].
ABOUT CRMCA
The Carolinas Ready Mixed Concrete Association is a nonprofit industry trade organization established in 1951 by large and small ready mixed concrete producers and associated members who supply materials, equipment and services to our industry in North and South Carolina. The core goals of the Association are to provide member support for product promotion, industry advocacy, education and technical services. For more information, visit: http://www.crmca.com or call our office at 704-717-9199.
