Road Dip Correction Project in Onondaga County, New York
Problem
In Onondaga County, New York, a significant dip of 3” to 4” along about 50 feet of asphalt roadway had developed over time in the driving and passing lanes. Despite trying to repair the problem with mud jacking grout in the past, the dip kept reappearing. This had been a problem for the local NYSDOT Maintenance Residency Office and its heavily traveled commuter traffic to the Syracuse area for years.
Analysis
URETEK arrived at the location and assessed that water was probably coursing under the roadway and coming off a hill and under the street before creating sinkholes in the highway’s median strip. Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) testing determined optimal injection depths for URETEK Deep Injection® (UDI) using a surface grid pattern of approximately 4’x 4’. Taking these steps addressed the stability of the soils in each area that they would be injecting.
Solution
For the soil stabilization effort in Onondaga County, UDI was the perfect solution to stabilize the soils and bridge the weak area. URETEK drilled injection holes on 4’ centers as determined by the DCP. Crewmembers injected URETEK’s 486 Star® polymer through the tubes and into the soils beneath the base to fill the voids. The work area mainly included lanes and shoulders, creating a treatment area of approximately 2,000 sq. ft while minimalizing traffic closures. Laser instruments monitored the surface to ensure optimum soil stabilization.
Result
URETEK was able to stabilize the foundation soils and lift the asphalt roadway back to grade while at the same time staying under the NYSDOT budget limitations. Afterward, two other locations on both the west and east sides of Rt. 5 in need of repair were discovered. It was decided that this project will now be the first part of a three-year plan to completely stabilize the foundation soils where necessary along this section of the roadway. After an ongoing soil stabilization issue in Onondaga County, NY, URETEK ensured quick, efficient, and long-term repair provided at a fraction of both cost and labor.
URETEK Deep Injection® (UDI)
Widely referenced throughout our industry, UDI involves the injection of structural polymer into base and subgrade soils to increase the load bearing capacity. This is achieved by injecting the polymer through small holes drilled directly through the pavement structure to depths determined by site-specific analysis. Our URETEK 486 Star® material flows easily into voids and weak zones within the soil mass below. Through a controlled chemical reaction, the expanding polymer compacts surrounding soils and applies a controlled pressure on targeted areas of the affected pavement above. If needed, a multi-injection design plan is utilized to gently return the pavement to its original grade. The composite material quickly cures into a strong, dimensionally stable, and water-resistant geo-material, providing years of reliable service.
URETEK 486 Star®
URETEK 486 Star® polymer is a two-component, high-density, expanding thermoset polyurethane system. It was developed to be the ideal solution for under-sealing, void filling, lifting of settled pavement, stabilization and stiffening of weak soils, and for encapsulating and sealing buried infrastructure. URETEK 486 Star® is environmentally inert, non-toxic, and resists underground water erosion or weakening due to its industry-leading hydrophobic properties.
