I asked the WSDOT the same question a while back: https://twitter.com/landaire/status/944698354742599681
"The dowel bars help extend the life of the pavement by about 10 years or so."
What are those dents in I-90 outside Seattle?
31–40 of 137 posts
Re: What are those dents in I-90 outside Seattle?
#32A forum! How refreshing.
Re: What are those dents in I-90 outside Seattle?
#33A little funny to not link to the comment that had the answer — they're dowel bar retrofits. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowel_bar_retrofit
If a Wikipedia page about a technological topic (so not a person, place etc) has a very few languages available (in this case 2) then it always makes me wonder how other countries in the World solve the same issue. This seems like a very US thing for example but maybe I’m wrong
Until now, I wasn't aware USA makes highways with concrete. As far as I know, in Poland vast majority of paved roads is made with asphalt, rarely bricks.
Re: What are those dents in I-90 outside Seattle?
#34A forum! How refreshing.
Looks like a discourse.org one
Re: What are those dents in I-90 outside Seattle?
#35Only slightly related, about I-90 generally:
A parent of mine who grew up and lived most of their life on the East Coast, US, visited and we drove east across WA. At one point they could not wrap their head around the fact that we had been travelling at around 80 mph for 2 hours. And it basically looked the same out the window :)
The US West is huge.
Re: What are those dents in I-90 outside Seattle?
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
If a Wikipedia page about a technological topic (so not a person, place etc) has a very few languages available (in this case 2) then it always makes me wonder how other countries in the World solve the same issue. This seems like a very US thing for example but maybe I’m wrong
Until now, I wasn't aware USA makes highways with concrete. As far as I know, in Poland vast majority of paved roads is made with asphalt, rarely bricks.
Only the busiest roads are made with concrete. Most roads are asphalt.
Re: What are those dents in I-90 outside Seattle?
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
If a Wikipedia page about a technological topic (so not a person, place etc) has a very few languages available (in this case 2) then it always makes me wonder how other countries in the World solve the same issue. This seems like a very US thing for example but maybe I’m wrong
Until now, I wasn't aware USA makes highways with concrete. As far as I know, in Poland vast majority of paved roads is made with asphalt, rarely bricks.
In Middle TN, at least, asphalt is coming back in favor. Apparently concrete doesn’t handle the freeze/thaw cycle very well, and is harder to repair than asphalt.
In a side note, TN Department of Transportation recently experimented with a more porous asphalt variant on some major roadways, which was supposed to help with drainage. But in the winter, rain soaked deeper into the porous asphalt, causing much larger pot holes than expected. They repaired this with more traditional asphalt, which really stands out next to the more porous type, when it’s raining. I don’t know what the final fix will be, but it seemed odd that they wouldn’t have tested that scenario more fully.
Re: What are those dents in I-90 outside Seattle?
#38Dowel Bar retrofit.
Details on how to make a set of dowel-bar-retrofits.
https://dot.ca.gov/programs/construction/construction-manual...
Longitudinal grooving to achieve PIARC category of roughness and rolling resistance of an inverse to raised Cat’s-Eye and Botts’ Dots (“turtles” in Washington/Oregon, “buttons” in Texas). They are reflectorless, and are
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/pubs/hif17011.pdf
Not to be confused with Rumble strips which are also known as audible lines, sleepy bumps, wake up calls, growlers, drift lines, waker-uppers and drunk bumps.
Re: What are those dents in I-90 outside Seattle?
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
If a Wikipedia page about a technological topic (so not a person, place etc) has a very few languages available (in this case 2) then it always makes me wonder how other countries in the World solve the same issue. This seems like a very US thing for example but maybe I’m wrong
In the Netherlands we don't use concrete plates. Just asphalt, usually the highly absorbent type. It wears very quickly and ice buildup damages it so it gets replaced a lot. But this is the advantage of a small country with many people. Good infrastructure.
Many roads are composite here. They have a sub-road made of reenforced concrete that creates a stable layer and then asphalt is laid on top. Because the asphalt wears out it is easily ripped off the concrete layer and repaved.
Re: What are those dents in I-90 outside Seattle?
#40A little funny to not link to the comment that had the answer — they're dowel bar retrofits. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowel_bar_retrofit
If a Wikipedia page about a technological topic (so not a person, place etc) has a very few languages available (in this case 2) then it always makes me wonder how other countries in the World solve the same issue. This seems like a very US thing for example but maybe I’m wrong
My understanding is that concrete is generally not used for highways in Canada because it doesn't hold up well in the yearly freeze-thaw cycle that the majority of the country experiences. Asphalt is used as it is more flexible, and also easier to repair (generally just filling cracks with tar) when the inevitable frost heave damage occurs.
Concrete is more durable (but it still needs to be maintained) and that is probably why it is used in parts of the U.S. where this is less of an issue. I can't make much comment on what other countries do though I have only noticed concrete roads in the US.