Sustaining an Aging Infrastructure

Stabilizing I-80 in Mahoning County, Ohio

PROBLEM

LOCATION:  I-80, Mahoning County, Ohio

Situation:

ODOT District 4 had been experiencing unstable road panels for over a year on a section of I-80 that is one the busiest sections of interstate traffic in America. The panels began to settle even more over the recent winter months. ODOT tried mudjacking them using cementitious grout, with limited improvement which was only temporary. The cemenitious grout failed. As water entered the pavement system and mixed with the pulverized grout, the constant pounding of the traffic pumped the slurry mix out from the control joints and stained the concrete pavement.

ODOT was familiar with URETEK USA from a recent training seminar and the Transportation Research Board (TRB) convention. After discussion with one of the ODOT central office engineers, it was determined that Deep Injection process was the viable solution for this project.

Factors for Consideration:

The interstate consists of 14” thick concrete panels, a 4” drainable base, 6” of 304 stone, 20” of compacted bedrock sub-base sitting atop solid bedrock.

Under heavy rainfall, water became trapped in the pavement system resulting in premature slab cracking and settlement (up to 4”) forcing lane closures due to safety concerns.

LEADERSHIP

• Leader in cost and time savings, accuracy and precision
• Environmentally inert materials and processes

INNOVATION

• Inventor of polymer-based technology in use today
• Most patents in industry – Period Ongoing engineering research and development

EXPERTISE

• Developed the industry’s most accurate, monitoring process
• Developed URETEK 486 STAR material
• Pioneered the URETEK Deep Injection Process
• Most experienced technicians and best safety record in industry

SOLUTION

URETEK Deep Injection Process

Soil testing was preformed to ascertain sub base strengths. URETEK  USA employed the URETEK Deep Injection (UDI) process to inject expansive, water-resistant, high-density structural polyurethane into the pavement system to strengthen and raise the road system back to grade. This process was accomplished in less than one day returning traffic within minutes of completion.

RESULTS

URETEK  was able to raise the panels, stabilize the sub base, limit material infiltration into the drainable base, and significantly extend the service life of the roadway.

• Foundation soils stiffened with minimal infiltration into the drainable base
• Settled slabs lifted back to the desired elevation
• Project executed and roadway returned to service in 2 days
• Pavement life extended due to restoration of slab support
• URETEK provided a two-year unconditional warranty against settlement

TESTING

ODOT performed pre-injection and post-injection Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) testing to evaluate the improvement in pavement stiffness due to the UDI process.

Qualitative Analysis for comparisons of stiffness before and stiffness after polyurethane injection revealed:

• Minimum improvement in stiffness          =     42 %
• Maximum improvement in stiffness                =  1368 %
• Average improvement in stiffness                  =    388 %