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The Port of Virginia Builds RCC Pavement for Tough Duty
The Virginia Port Authority recently completed construction of
a roller-compacted concrete (RCC) pavement for a large container
storage and handling area at the Norfolk International Terminals
(NIT) in Norfolk, Virginia. This project is part of continuing expansion
at the port; currently the 2nd busiest on the east coast in terms
of general tonnage. The NIT South Backlands Project – Stage
I included 26 acres of RCC pavement 16.5 inches thick (57,300 cubic
yards of concrete), topped with 3 inches of asphalt to allow for
adjustments to future differential settlement
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ENLARGE |
| Rutting in asphalt pavement caused by channelized
loading. |
The Norfolk office of Moffatt and Nichol was the engineer for the
design and construction of the facility. Pavements for port facilities
must be strong and durable because of the heavy loading of the container
handling equipment that can have wheel loads of 30-60 kips per tire.
In addition, the channelized traffic can cause significant pavement
distress.
Because of the large pavement area, cost was a significant factor.
Moffatt and Nichol evaluated several possible pavement strategies,
including asphalt, conventional concrete, concrete paver blocks,
and RCC. An overall evaluation of strength, cost, time of construction,
and expected performance resulted in RCC being selected. The design
pavement strength was 450 psi flexural strength in 7 days, which
related to a construction specification of 2,500 psi compressive
strength in 7 days.
The paving contractor for the project was A.G. Peltz Group, Birmingham,
Alabama. The mix consisted of 3,470 lbs of dense-graded aggregate
(1/2 inch nominal maximum aggregate size) and 400 lbs portland cement
per cubic yard. Water content was 6.2% (by weight) of the dry components.
The RCC was mixed on-site with an Aran pug mill operating at 400
tons per hour. Three ABG Titan pavers were used during construction.
One model 511 with a hydraulic variable screed was used to pave
special widths. Another model 511 and a model 525 were used for
large area paving, placing concrete 30 feet wide per pull.
The total 16.5 inch RCC thickness was placed in two lifts. Construction
specifications called for bonding between the two layers, so the
second lift had to be placed within 1 hour of the bottom lift. Quality
control procedures included density measurements during compaction,
and taking cores to check for bonding, thickness, and strength.
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| Paving top lift within 1 hour
of bottom lift placement. |
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Quality control check using pavement cores
after 7 days. |
The overall experience of the project was positive. The final cost
($42 per square yard) and especially the time required for construction
(2.2 days per acre) resulted in a lower cost and faster construction
than other comparable paving projects at the NIT. This is not surprising
since RCC has been successfully used at the Port of Boston (Conley
Terminal), Port of Los Angeles (Pier 300), and for container facilities
at rail-truck intermodal yards in Denver, Colorado (Burlington Northern)
and Calgary, Alberta (Canadian National). The use of RCC at the
NIT is expected to continue, with a project for another 20 acres
currently under contract.
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