National Database Needed to Track Concrete Pavement Durability

To help a client better understand the durability of concrete pavements, Michigan Concrete Association Director of Engineering Kerry Sutton recently contacted NRMCA Senior Director, National Resources, Doug O'Neill to see if he had any knowledge of concrete pavements which were placed at least 10 years ago. O'Neill was able to come up with details and pictures of several projects in the Western New York area that he had worked on more than a decade ago, but immediately realized the need for better  information regarding successful installations across the country.

"I know many states in the Midwest do a great job tracking their successful efforts, but many other states and individual ready mixed concrete producers do very little to maintain a list of parking lots or roads that go concrete," O'Neill said. "A national database with information on projects across the country would be a tremendous benefit to the promoters who are out there trying to convince owners and designers who aren't aware of concrete's durability in other markets. If each producer member of NRMCA could go back and review its successes over the past few years and then conscientiously submit projects going forward, we'd have quite a database."

O'Neill noted that his colleague Jon Hansen has been working on putting a national database together where producers and state affiliates could submit projects that could be viewed by all.

For more information contact Doug O'Neill at doneill@nrmca.org.