The Denver Public Works used EdenCrete® to combat scaling from deicer chemicals, and to improve the roadway’s resistance to abrasion, cracking, and damage from snow plows.
The Denver Public Works used EdenCrete® on Speer Blvd. to combat scaling from deicer chemicals, and to improve the roadway’s resistance to abrasion, cracking, and damage from snow plows. EdenCrete® creates tougher concrete that is more durable than traditional concrete, with better resistance to abrasion and cracking from heavy vehicle loads and volumes. EdenCrete® also reduces the permeability of concrete, which impedes the ingress of moisture and minimizes the concrete’s exposure to those harmful chemicals and/or effects from freezing water.
Denver Public Works places concrete roads in the metropolitan area that are continuously exposed to heavy vehicle traffic, and for four to five months of the year the concrete must endure winter weather. The Colorado winter comes with significant swings in temperature from morning to night, sometimes mixed with rain/snow and rapid cycles of freezing/thawing. CDOT uses magnesium chloride to mitigate icy roads and keep it safe for the motoring public, but this comes at a cost to concrete durability. Concrete roads are damaged by more than heavy traffic and vehicle loads, cracking, and abrasion. It is also the ingress of moisture and what is contained in the water that damages the concrete from the inside outward, especially in winter months. The ability of the roadway to resist scaling from deicer chemicals is a challenge the DPW has been working to overcome.
EdenCrete® at 2 and 3 gal/yd3
In February 2016 the DPW completed its first project with EdenCrete®, used in two small repair slabs placed in a busy downtown thoroughfare in Denver. The evaluation included observation of the in-service concrete and has performed very well over time. A lab program run in parallel demonstrated a significant increase in EdenCrete’s® ability to resist scaling from deicer chemicals per ASTM C1543, over the Reference. After successful lab results and in-place performance, the DPW selected a second, larger trial location to use EdenCrete® again to resist deicer chemical scaling and abrasion. The second trial took place in a neighborhood in Stapleton CO and, after a few months on the ground, the EdenCrete® sections showed improved durability over the reference. This motivated DPW to try a much larger batch.
In February 2017, a paving project on Speer Blvd. removed and replaced a 150’ length of two adjacent lanes near an intersection with a busy avenue in downtown Denver. One lane used 2 gal/yd3 and the other used 3 gal/yd3. Another nearby intersection used EdenCrete 2 gal/yd3 on the access ramp in an area known to abrade and degrade quickly from turning vehicles. Two Reference sections were placed adjacent to the EdenCrete for comparison over time.
To date, the lanes containing EdenCrete are performing equally, and exceptionally well. Both lanes are showing minimal signs of abrasion or scaling from deicer chemicals, and cracking is almost non-existent. However, the Reference sections are abraded, with the broom finish worn smooth in the line of vehicle travel. Joints are spalled and badly damaged. Lab testing run in parallel quantified a significant improvement by EdenCrete to resist scaling from deicer chemicals, and this trend is reflected in the field. Both the 2 and 3 gal/yd3 placements are performing comparably well, allowing the lower 2 gal/yd.3 dosage to be used for future projects to provide better economics for the budget. It is anticipated that the use of EdenCrete® will extend the service-life of the road-sections placed on Speer Blvd, helping to endure more winter seasons before maintenance or replacement is required again and causes additional traffic in the downtown area.
The project involved approximately 80-100 yards of concrete for each of the 2 lanes, dosed with EdenCrete® at 2 and 3 gal/yd3.
