RCC Newsletter Fall/Winter 1996

RCC Paves Way to World-Class Compost Facility

The City of Edmonton, Canada’s fifth
largest city, and Trans Alta Enter-
prises have chosen roller-compacted
concrete (RCC) for heavy haul roads
at their new state-of-the-art waste pro-
cessing, composting and recycling fa-
cility located at the Clover Bar Waste
Management Center. Ultimately,
2
30,000 square yards (25,000 m ) of
RCC will pave roads servicing a facil-
ity that will handle nearly 500,000
tons (420,000 metric tons) of waste per
year. Lafarge Canada, Inc., the RCC
contractor, was selected to complete
the first phase of the paving.
A State-of-the-Art Facility
The new co-composter represents a
capital investment of approximately
$55 million US ($75 million Canadian)
and will form the nucleus of an inte-
grated facility. This waste manage-
ment center will include composting
of municipal waste, waste water treat-
ment sludge, landfill operations, a ma-
terials recovery facility, concrete and
asphalt recycling, and landfill leachate
treatment. Various waste streams will
enter the integrated facility and leave
as compost or recycled material (glass,
aluminum, etc.) ready for manufactur-
ing. Trans Alta Enterprises will use
most of the compost to reclaim
strip-mined land
west of the city. At
the same time,
Trans Alta Enter-
prises and the City
of Edmonton will
attempt to develop
more profitable
markets.
construction supervisor Hugh
Donovan, P. E., of the City of
Edmonton’s Public Works Department.
Edmonton, through past experi-
ence, was well aware that RCC could
provide a high load capacity, low-
maintenance paving system which
could survive the yearly temperature
extremes of +90 to -40 F (+30 to -40 C).
Additionally, Edmonton desired a
pavement system which avoided the
severe rutting and maintenance prob-
lems it has experienced with heavily-
loaded flexible asphalt pavements.
Cost was of paramount importance
in this public/private joint venture
and, in fact, sealed the RCC decision.
2
In-place cost per square yard (m ) of
RCC was $17 US ($28.50 Canadian),
about $6 US ($10 Canadian) less than
a comparable flexible asphalt pave-
ment system.
Meridian Street Upgrade
Meridian Street is the public road
leading to the Clover Bar Waste Man-
agement Center and other industrial
sites. The original 14-in. (350 mm) as-
phalt pavement required extensive
yearly maintenance to keep it service-
able. The street’s poor condition and
the projected increased traffic load
dictated complete reconstruction.
The RCC pavement system was de-
signed by the city to withstand nearly
7 million ESALs (equivalent single
axle loads) for a 20-year design life.
Edmonton used PCA-PAVE and
PCA-AIRPORT computer programs
to help design the pavement section
which consisted of:
• 6 in. (150 mm) cement stabilized
subgrade,
• 6 in.(150 mm) crushed concrete/
asphalt aggregate subbase,
• 9 in. (225 mm) RCC pavement,and
• 2 in. (50 mm) asphalt surface
course.
The street is 30 feet (9 m) wide and
about 1 mile (1.6 km) long, for a total
paved area of 18,000 square yards
2
(15,000 m ).
Subgrade preparation was particu-
larly important. A subgrade modulus
(K value) of 140 pci was assumed in
the design; however the highly plastic
and expansive clay soil had an in-situ
moisture of 35 percent and plasticity
index of 30 to 40. This proved to be
unacceptable for both construction
purposes and long term pavement
performance. Instead of importing
costly borrow material, Edmonton
elected to cement-stabilize the top
6 in. (150 mm) of subgrade with 4 per-
cent cement. This dried the soil and
reduced its plasticity and shrinkage
potential. It also provided a solid

Performance
and Cost - The
Deciding
Factors
The expense and
complexity of this
world-class opera-
tion, as well as the
750 vehicle per day
projected traffic
load, demanded a
pavement infra-
structure capable of
providing 20 years
of continuous full-
scale operation with
minimal downtime
and maintenance.
This made RCC a
prime candidate for
the pavement
choice, according to Placing RCC for heavy duty access road using ABG 411 paver.
RCC Newsletter
work surface for subsequent construc-
tion, which is critical in achieving
maximum RCC compaction. A
crushed, recycled concrete/asphalt
subbase was placed in a 6 in. (150 mm)
lift on top of the stabilized subgrade to
provide additional support.
The 9 in. (225 mm) RCC section re-
quired a minimum 28-day compressive
strength of 4,350 psi (30 MPa) with a
modulus of rupture of 650 psi (4.5
MPa). To meet these requirements, the
mix proportions consisted of:
3 3
• 427 lb/yd (253 kg/m ) Type 10
cement,
• 110 lb/yd3 (65 kg/m3) Class C fly
ash,
3 3
• 3048 lb/yd (1805 kg/m ) combined
coarse and fine aggregate as a 3/4
in. (20 mm) road crushed gravel
meeting Alberta Transportation
Designation D2-20, and
• 230 lb/yd3 (136 kg/m3) water.
A 2 in. (50 mm) asphalt surface
course enhanced smoothness and pro-
tected the underlying RCC from pos-
sible salt scaling.
Equipment and Technique
Produce High-Quality RCC
The pavement was placed during a
three day period in September 1996.
Lafarge placed 8,700 tons (7,900 metric pattern, optimized during test section
tons) in a total laydown time of 33
hours, averaging 265 tons (240 metric
tons) per hour.
According to Larry Didick, general
manager of construction operations for specified, thus random cracking will
Lafarge, the quality of RCC is very de- be allowed to occur, with standard
pendent on the use of proper construc- crack sealing performed by Edmonton
tion equipment and technique. To en-
sure project success, Lafarge used an
automated custom built WRT
Control panel for automated pug mill.
Fall/Winter 1996
8000
50
6000 40
4000 30
20
2000
10
0
0 30 40 50 60
10 20
Results of RCC testing for Meridian Street upgrade.
strengths exceeded 4,350 psi (30 MPa)
(Saskatchewan, Canada) pugmill with
a 500 ton/hr capacity rating. An ABG at 28 days (see figure above), while
411 paver capable of achieving 90 - 95 field densities averaged over 100% of
percent compaction prior to rolling the standard proctor test (98% was re-
was used to place the RCC. quired).
The paver laid half of the two-lane
road per pass. The center longitudi-
nal joint was never exposed for more Customer Satisfied—More RCC
than 45 minutes and was kept con- Planned
tinuously moist during this period. Edmonton is extremely pleased with
The paver changed lanes in a stag- the end result and has approved con-
gered pattern to avoid cold longitudi- struction of an additional
2
nal joint conditions. The RCC rolling 12,000 square yards (10,000 m ) of RCC
access road inside the Waste Manage-
construction, consisted of 9 passes ment Center. Beyond this, the city and
with a 10-ton vibratory roller, fol- Trans Alta Enterprises are strongly
lowed by 2-3 passes with a rubber- considering the use of RCC for the
tired roller. Saw-cut joints were not new compost area pavement, mainly
based on the quality, economics and
success of the Meridian Street experi-
ence. Edmonton has also used RCC
as required. Water trucks provided for fast-track intersection rehabilita-
continuous moist curing 24 hours per tion, and in roadway section recon-
day for seven days. The SS1 emulsion struction where the asphalt had rutted
prime coat and asphalt severely due to high stress. RCC has
surface course were become an effective tool in
applied immediately Edmonton’s public works arsenal to
thereafter. maximize the taxpayer’s dollar and
Quality assurance enhance road performance.
was achieved through
calibration checks of
the pugmill, nuclear
gauge moisture/den-
sity tests of the fresh RCC Newsletter is published
RCC, and compressive by the Portland Cement Associa-
strength cores taken at tion, an organization of cement
7 and 28 days. companies in Canada and the
Lafarge also produced United States.
field cylinders to aid Direct comments, address
in monitoring, even changes and subscription
though not required requests to Wayne Adaska,
by the city. These ef- Portland Cement Association,
forts resulted in a su- 5420 Old Orchard Road, Skokie,
perior finished pave- IL 60077-1083 (847/966-6200).
ment, consistently ex- Items from this newsletter may
ceeding the specifica- be reprinted, with acknowledge-
tion requirements. ment, without prior permission.
Both core and cylinder
 PORTLAND CEMENT ASSOCIATION
5420 Old Orchard Road
Skokie, Il 60077-1083
Route to:
_______
_______
_______
Printed in the U.S.A. on recycled paper
RCC Newsletter
and an extensive investigation was be-
gun to evaluate the condition of the
dam and develop alternative
remediation measures.
Solution
Studies of the design, construction, con-
dition, and performance of Penn Forest
Dam concluded that satisfactory long-
term performance could not be ex-
pected without major repairs to both the
embankment and foundation. As a re-
sult, alternatives for removing the dam
from service, repairing the dam, and re-
placing the dam with a new structure
were evaluated. Upon consideration of
all options, the owner elected to pro-
ceed with construction of an RCC re-
placement dam at an estimated project
cost of $65 million. The RCC replace-
ment dam was not the least costly op-
tion, but was believed to be the best so-
lution when other factors such as long-
term risk, constructibility, reliability,
and compatibility with the existing wa-
ter supply system were considered.
The RCC replacement dam will be lo-
cated just upstream of the existing em-
bankment to allow re-use of the exist-
ing spillway and intake structure and
to avoid interference with a state road
and wetland areas located downstream.
Partial support of the 180-foot-high (55-
m) RCC gravity section will be pro-
vided by the modified existing em-
bankment.
The RCC dam will be founded on
firm rock which will be sealed with a
multiple-line grout curtain. The up-
stream face of the dam will be formed
with precast panels with a polyethyl-
ene liner attached to the downstream
face of each panel. A gallery will be
constructed near the base of the struc-
ture to collect seepage from and reduce
pore pressures in the dam and founda-
tion. The gallery will also permit re-
medial grouting of the foundation, if
necessary. The dam will contain ap-
proximately 400,000 cubic yards
3
(306,000 m ) of RCC and will be the
third largest RCC dam constructed to
date in the United States.
Construction
Construction of a cofferdam upstream
of the site was initiated in July and
completed in mid-October. Two other
contracts were awarded in October:
one for removal of a 250-foot (76 m)-
long concrete plug within an existing
12-foot (3.7 m)-diameter diversion con-
duit and another for excavation of ap-
proximately 600,000 cubic yards
3 There will be a PRE-SHOWING
(460,000 m ) of embankment and over-
burden material within the proposed
dam foundation area. It is currently
anticipated that RCC placement will be
initiated in September 1997 and com-
pleted by July 1998. Reservoir re-fill-
ing will begin in September 1998.
The dam is owned by the Bethlehem
Authority and is operated by the City
of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Gannett
Fleming has performed all investiga-
tions and design and is performing all
construction inspection for the City of
Bethlehem. Alvin H. Butz, Inc., is serv-
ing as Construction Manager on the
project.
BULK RATE
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
SKOKIE, IL
PERMIT NO.155
PL332.01W
Fall/Winter 1996
ADVERTISEMENT
NOTICE TO PROSPECTIVE
OFFERORS
The City of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
will use a Two-Step, Sealed Bidding
Procedure to award a contract for the
construction of a Roller-Compacted
Concrete Dam as part of the City’s
Penn Forest Dam Replacement
Project.
Under Step One, the City will pre-
qualify prospective offerors based on
Technical Proposals. The Request for
Technical Proposals will be available
on or about 2/1/97. Step Two will
consist of the submission of Cost/
Price Bids by the pre-qualified
offerors. The City will award the con-
tract to the lowest-priced pre-quali-
fied offeror. The Request for Bids will
be available on or about 6/1/97.
OF TEST PITS AND FOUNDATION
CONDITIONS in early December
1996. Although not mandatory, it is
recommended that prospective
offerors attend the pre-showing to be-
come familiar with the foundation
conditions. Prospective offerors
should contact Rodney E.
Holderbaum, P.E., Gannett Fleming,
Inc., P.O. Box 67100, Harrisburg, PA
17106-7100, Phone (717) 763-7211, Ext.
2539; or Richard P. Schaller, Alvin H.
Butz, Inc., P.O. Box 509, Allentown,
PA 18105-0509, Phone (610) 395-6871
for specific details of the pre-showing.