MnROAD | NRRA | Structure & Teams | Rigid Team
Construction and Performance Reports for Jointless FRC Roundabout in Minnesota
Status: Complete
Contract #: 1034467
Summary
The use of roundabouts to improve safety and traffic flow in rural areas is growing rapidly in the U.S. Proper design details and construction methods are important to the long term performance of these facilities. Joint layout in roundabouts constructed with concrete pavement are especially challenging. To reduce the need for sophisticated joint layouts, some roundabouts are now be constructed without joints, utilizing structural fiber-reinforced concrete to bridge cracking that might occur. Fiber-reinforced concrete is also being used in thin concrete overlays to increase longevity and enhance joint load transfer capacity.
In 2018, Minnesota’s first jointless fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) pavement roundabout was constructed near the city of Sleepy Eye. It is of interest to the NRRA Rigid Team members to understand the design, construction, and near-term performance of this roundabout. Also constructed in 2018 were two fiber-reinforced concrete whitetopping (bonded concrete overlay on asphalt) projects in southern Minnesota. These projects were unique in that early construction vehicle loading was applied to each project to encourage the deployment of transverse contraction joints. The NRRA Rigid Team members are interested in documenting the innovative steps performed during the early loading process.
The objectives of this study are twofold: 1) Write a construction report and carryout a 3-year performance monitoring regime for the jointless FRC roundabout project, and 2) write a construction report for the two FRC whitetopping projects subjected to early loading.
Methodology
This project will create two construction reports; one for the jointless fiber-reinforced concrete roundabout near Sleepy Eye, and one for the fiber-reinforced whitetopping projects constructed in Minnesota in 2018. This project will also include field monitoring and reporting on the performance of the FRC roundabout for 3 years.
Tasks
Task 1: Construction report for MnDOT TH-4 jointless fiber-reinforced concrete roundabout
Create a report documenting all design, materials and construction aspects related to the TH 4 jointless fiber-reinforced concrete roundabout constructed near Sleepy Eye, Minn. This will involve interviews with the project administrators (materials engineer, project engineer, construction inspector), contractor personnel, MnDOT Concrete Unit, Concrete Paving Association of MN, and the fiber supplier. The report should include all field test data as well as mix design and trial batching data available from the MnDOT Concrete Unit. Also include photographs from construction and post construction activities.
- Scheduled date for task final approval: November 30, 2019
- Deliverable: Construction report for MnDOT TH 4 jointless fiber-reinforced concrete roundabout project (PDF)
Task 2: Construction report for 2018 fiber-reinforced concrete whitetopping projects
Create a report documenting all design, materials and construction aspects related to the MnDOT TH 63 and Winona County CSAH 25 fiber-reinforced concrete whitetopping projects constructed in 2018. This will involve interviews with the project administrators (materials engineer, project engineer, construction inspectors), contractor personnel, MnDOT Concrete Unit, Concrete Paving Association of MN, and the fiber supplier. The report should include all field test data as well as mix design and trial batching data available from the MnDOT Concrete Unit. Also include photographs from construction and post construction activities. Describe in detail the loading process used to encourage early transverse joint deployment.
- Scheduled date for task final approval: April 30, 2020
- Deliverable: Construction report for MnDOT TH 63 and Winona County CSAH 25 fiber-reinforced concrete whitetopping projects (PDF) (6/9/2020)
Task 3: Performance monitoring of MnDOT TH-4 jointless fiber-reinforced concrete roundabout
Gather previously collected performance data and create a field performance monitoring plan. Conduct annual site visits at project ages of 1, 2 and 3 years. Create comprehensive annual performance reports and present findings to TAP and NRRA Rigid Team members.
- Scheduled date for task final approval: October 31, 2021
- Deliverable: Annual performance report and presentation at ages 1-3 years after construction.
Final research project page
Project team
Principal Investigator: Peter Taylor, National Concrete Pavement Tech Center, Iowa State University
Co-investigator: Seyedhamed Sadati, National Concrete Pavement Tech Center, Iowa State University
Technical Liaison: Maria Masten, MnDOT
Project Technical Advisory Panel (TAP):
- Tumer Akakin, ARM
- Greg Bauer, CPAM
- Tom Burnham, MnDOT
- Jacob Gave, Cemstone
- Rita Lederle, University of St. Thomas
- Charles Wienrank, Illinois DOT
Related materials
NRRA Newsletter Article, October 2018