A candid photograph of Tom trying to figure out where he is.
Category Archives: Pavement
Accesible Parking Dimensions
The photograph presents a nonstandard striping layout. A reasonable person would measure the stall and access-way from center of the double stall striping to the center of the next stall stripe. It appears this is a 9-foot stall with a 5-foot access-way. Depending on the state (and the inspector) the […]
Traffic Calming
Here is an attractive traffic calming installation using differing natural materials to make a visual barrier; create a rough texture with a slight hump; and increase road noise. This has a nicer appearance than a yellow speed bump or hump. A raised crosswalk is another calming technique. The raised sidewalk […]
Basic Concepts: Drainage
The typical pavement is a roadway – a long, relatively narrow strip of pavement which drains to structures along the curbs or out towards ditches. Water is not likely to remain on the pavement surface for long periods. Even water that gets into the pavement layer through cracks will flow […]
Accessibility: Curb Ramp: You’re Doing It Wrong.
Why create a tripping hazard that has to be highlighted in yellow paint? A better solution would have been to increase the ramp width to the building and eliminate the tripping hazard. Zimmer Consultants Photograph
Basic Concepts: Heavy Vehicles
The typical parking lot is designed to carry light loads – passenger vehicles. There will be delivery trucks, garbage trucks, and maybe, buses. If your pavement has failures with cars passing over it, there are serious problems. Trucks and buses are a different matter. There was a rule of thumb […]
Basic Concepts: General Problems of Large Paved Areas
We design and try to build a uniform pavement structure (see above) to cover a site that is not homogeneous. Our most recent example of land resisting being covered happened after several days of heavy rainfall in south Texas. The photograph presents a five-year-old pavement which appears to have […]
Basic Concepts: Understanding Causes of Pavement Failures Saves Money
In the previous post, we discussion pavements have high initial construction cost and ongoing routine maintenance costs. At the end of the pavement’s performance life there will be a resurfacing or replacement cost. The in between cost, maintenance costs, can vary depend on the technique selected. An objective pavement distress […]
Basic Concepts: Pavement Ownership Costs Money
The greatest cost in the pavement lifecycle is the initial construction cost followed by future overlay or reconstruction costs. The surface type selection will determine the number of pavement layers and their thicknesses and the ultimate costs. In general, hot mix asphalt concrete will have lower initial costs in most […]
Basic Concepts: Pavement Performance Primer
Pavements keep us out of the mud Pavements keep us out of the mud This was mentioned in our first posts. There are a multitude of options to keep us clean and dry. What is the budget? What is the surface type, how many layers, and how thick are the […]