The Virginia Department of Transportation is deploying innovative construction methods to rehabilitate a section of Interstate 81 in Augusta County, reducing construction time by two-thirds. The new methods are saving VDOT millions of dollars as the department recycles existing road material back into the new pavement.
VDOT calls the $8 million I-81 improvement an "in-place recycling project" that will strengthen and re-compact the 12-inch underlying foundation in the highway's right lane using "full-depth reclamation."
The Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research worked with VDOT to conduct three recent pilot projects employing this process. An upcoming study by the center documents the results and lessons learned from these pilots. The study recommends using full-depth reclamation on other pavement rehabilitation projects where major structural problems exist.
A three-page fact sheet with more detailed information on the innovative processes used in this project is available at bit.ly/VDOTI81AC.
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