Paving Ramps on Rt 80 (Penn: bus, oil, steel)

[pothole1]

all of I-80 will be repaved in the next year from the new conctrete at i-380 to the NJ line. these projects includes all the ramps too. when complete i-80 in the poconos will be pretty much redone from luzerne county to NJ. how long it lasts is another issue but the carbon county stretch is holding up very well and thats been done for several years now. the interchange at pa 115 is being reconstructed too. the ramps are partially done now with final paving next year along with the old i-80 concrete at the interchange. not sure if the concrete is being replaced or overlaid with blacktop. then the westbound piece between i-380 and pa 115 will be completed in the spring, eastbound was done in the previous 2 years. so it should be smooth driving for a while. thats a good thing.

[varmintblaster]

pothole - I drive that stretch you mentioned quite often.

One thing for sure, they certainly invested a lot of time, money, and materials a few years ago when they reconstructed the eastbound lanes coming down the mountain from 380. The concrete in that stretch must be close to 30" thick. That should last decades.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by pothole1

all of I-80 will be repaved in the next year from the new conctrete at i-380 to the NJ line. these projects includes all the ramps too. when complete i-80 in the poconos will be pretty much redone from luzerne county to NJ. how long it lasts is another issue but the carbon county stretch is holding up very well and thats been done for several years now. the interchange at pa 115 is being reconstructed too. the ramps are partially done now with final paving next year along with the old i-80 concrete at the interchange. not sure if the concrete is being replaced or overlaid with blacktop. then the westbound piece between i-380 and pa 115 will be completed in the spring, eastbound was done in the previous 2 years. so it should be smooth driving for a while. thats a good thing.

Pothole1,

Have you seen how much asphalt NJ lays in one night on their Interstates? I know that they have financial problems - we all do. I just want to talk about their proficiency. We (the public) have been bombarded with recommendations for us to slow down and pay attention while driving through work zones. The problem I have is with exposure. The longer the job takes; the greater the risk to both highway workers and the average motorist. Only about 10% of work zone accidents involve pedestrians. I haven’t seen the actual breakdown; but I suspect there are far more motorist killed than highway workers. Anytime you stop traffic; you could cause an accident.

Do you know if PA has any modern asphalt plants - such as the Tilcon plants in NJ? I feel that many of our paving problems are caused because our State has not kept up with technology.

PA is great at what I call election year blacktop - a thin layer of material that last only until the November election is over. We usually apply it right before the election - since it might breakdown if it has to wait too many months. I think that it is only superficial to keep our incumbents in office.

[Irish Eyes]

Originally Posted by pothole1

all of I-80 will be repaved in the next year from the new conctrete at i-380 to the NJ line. these projects includes all the ramps too. when complete i-80 in the poconos will be pretty much redone from luzerne county to NJ. how long it lasts is another issue but the carbon county stretch is holding up very well and thats been done for several years now. the interchange at pa 115 is being reconstructed too. the ramps are partially done now with final paving next year along with the old i-80 concrete at the interchange. not sure if the concrete is being replaced or overlaid with blacktop. then the westbound piece between i-380 and pa 115 will be completed in the spring, eastbound was done in the previous 2 years. so it should be smooth driving for a while. thats a good thing.

The off ramp for exit 284 was terrible and that was finally repaved. We're very happy!

[ron46]

ave you seen the horrendous paving job they did on Rt 196 in the past few months? It looks like the first coat for a 2 coat job, but they are finished. It is rough, filled with cracks already, and sure to fall apart when it is hit by

It,s called "Superpave" and basically it's a crack sealer "spoke with a pendot Inspector" I work with a paving outfit--and that's the only road I've seen with that done .
Everywhere else it's scratch (1" coat) and then 3" top coat .
Guess the folks up that way haven't much pull ?--Lucky Coolbaugh Folk

[JamMan]

I want to see how it holds up over the winter.

[fisheye]

JamMan,

It isn’t intended to hold up for the winter - only for election day!
You cannot cover collapsing roadbed and expect miracles. You need to fix the problems - even if they are several feet under the asphalt surface.

By the way ron46; Superpave is supposedly a form of Stone Matrix asphalt. The original European designers would turn over in their graves if they saw this application on Route 196. I had asked about Stone Matrix before and was told by a NJ engineer that it cost 10% more but will hold up to twice as long as conventional paving. I always liked the fact that NJ’s paving did not rut from the heavy weight of commercial vehicles (we tend to squeeze the soft asphalt out of the travel lanes - creating lumps).

[pothole1]

Originally Posted by ron46

ave you seen the horrendous paving job they did on Rt 196 in the past few months? It looks like the first coat for a 2 coat job, but they are finished. It is rough, filled with cracks already, and sure to fall apart when it is hit by

It,s called "Superpave" and basically it's a crack sealer "spoke with a pendot Inspector" I work with a paving outfit--and that's the only road I've seen with that done .
Everywhere else it's scratch (1" coat) and then 3" top coat .
Guess the folks up that way haven't much pull ?--Lucky Coolbaugh Folk

sorry ron46 but you are wrong on several comments. the 196 paving is called "ralumac", which is nothing but a step up from oil and chip. it is even used on interstates. mainly to increase skid resistance and to seal the road from water penetration and also to fill in minor rutting and other defects. as for the typical superpave paving job it is usually a 0.5" scratch and a 1.5" wearing course.

happy motoring!!!

[fisheye]

ron46,

Here is a link to a Wiki site on Ralumac pavement: http://semmaterials.pbworks.com/Ralumac+Micro-Surfacing

That is the first time I have seen the term. It does state that it should only be applied to pavements with good drainage. It also does not mention the bad point - the road does not feel smooth.

[JamMan]

Originally Posted by fisheye

ron46,

Here is a link to a Wiki site on Ralumac pavement: http://semmaterials.pbworks.com/Ralumac+Micro-Surfacing

It also does not mention the bad point - the road does not feel smooth.

Thanks for the link, fisheye. Also, I will definitely attest to the fact that it doesn't feel smooth. I drive a school bus up and down 196 every day. It actually feels worse than it did before they resurfaced it.