“Guide to Concrete Trails” Serves Public Health
Click to download Guide PDF
COVID-19 has increased Americans’ health consciousness in terms of both physical health and mental health. A recent World of Concrete (WOC) article titled “Restoring Our Health and National Parks” points out how the concrete pavement industry can help communicate the value of concrete trails. The Zion National Park’s Emerald Pools Trail complex has remained partially closed for nearly a decade following severe storms and rock slides. Sustainable, integral color concrete trails are now helping complete its reopening.
Zion National Park’s Lower Emerald Pools Trail restoration via concrete trail
Before (L): Photo by the National Park Service, public domain
After (R): Photo by Rick Yelton, World of Concrete, used with permission
Click to enlarge
As noted by WOC, the FREE Guide to Concrete Trails, produced in collaboration by the National Concrete Pavement Technology (CP Tech Center) and the Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) Research & Education Foundation, supports this industry opportunity to serve public health by promoting exercise, fresh air, and interaction with the beauty of nature in urban areas and beyond.
CHOOSING CONCRETE FOR TRAIL PAVING: Concrete is commonly used as a construction material for infrastructure projects due to the following benefits:
Durability—Long-term durability even in harsh freeze/thaw environments
Long-life service to the public. A Guide for Maintaining Pedestrian Facilities for Enhanced Safety (Huber et al. 2013) suggests that a concrete sidewalk can last as long as 80 years.
Competitiveness—Ready-mix plants concrete production is a nationally competitive market
Ease of Construction—Concrete trails can be built in a variety of ways— by fixed-form and a variety of slipform pavers, and concrete is easy to place
Minimal Maintenance—Concrete trails require minimal maintenance
No Steel Reinforcement in MainlineTrail Pavement
Life-Cycle Value
A resourceful, economical derivation of many concrete trails:
Rails-To-Trails:
• 1968: the National Trails System Act called for establishing trails in both urban and rural settings for people of all ages, interests, skills, and physical abilities
• 1976: The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act included a Rails-to-Trails Grant Program to help establish those efforts
• 1980: The Staggers Rail Act allowed the discontinuation of unprofitable rail routes—struggling railroad companies began abandoning 4,000 to 8,000 mi of rail lines each year
• Congress amended the National Trails System Act to allow railbanking, which permits a trail agency to contract with a railroad company to lease-purchase an unused rail corridor.
Guide to Concrete Trails: Click on cover image above, or go to: https://intrans.iastate.edu/app/uploads/2019/08/concrete_trails_guide.pdf
CP Tech Center: cptechcenter.org
“Performance-Engineered Mixtures (PEM)” Update
The 5-year pooled fund initiative is wrapping up year 3—implementing the vision of
(1) Helping agencies select the concrete properties that matter for their region
(2) Finding ways to measure these properties
(3) Developing specifications to ensure the right performance-engineered mixture (PEM) is delivered for every application
A major initial task was developing AASHTO PP84 “Standard Practice for Developing Performance-Engineered Concrete Pavement Mixtures”, which lays out the need to address 6 critical mixture properties that govern pavement longevity, including how to select regionally appropriate limits and test methods. This document will soon be submitted for consideration as a full practice.
ONGOING WORK includes:
• Interviewing 19 State Highway Agency representatives on the concrete properties that matter in their respective regions and helping them determine appropriate next steps for their states’ PEM implementation
• WORKSHOPS (Now on hold due to pandemic shutdown) have been conducted in some pooled fund states, summarizing and demonstrating innovative PEM test methods
• DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS have been conducted by several states on their own—including IA, MN, NC, NY, and SD—some with financial support from FHWA
• REPORTS to date indicate potential cost savings and improved reliability
CP Tech Center staff look forward to continuing to help states update their specifications and connect with the engaged industry to improve sustainability.
For information on all aspects of the PEM project, please go to: https://cptechcenter.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4bf55bc365dca0e5c928442da&id=072b075de3&e=2945805a7f
For more information, please go to: https://cptechcenter.org/performance-engineered-mixtures-pem/