In 1974, when the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) built the J.A. Cochran Bypass in an undeveloped area around Chester, minimal traffic used the route. Today, the bypass serves as a major truck route shortcut between two interstates. The original asphalt pavement was never designed for this loading and has been overlaid multiple times to the point that the curb was nearly covered. Despite the extra thickness, the pavement cracked through and became a maintenance issue for the local SCDOT office.

To solve this problem economically and with minimum disruption, the SCDOT turned to roller-compacted concrete (RCC). RCC provided the deep strength necessary to handle future traffic and allowed SCDOT to uncover the filled-in curb and restore its water-carrying capability. The five-lane, 1,800-foot long project was completed in approximately two weeks. The RCC portion required three days and the asphalt/other miscellaneous work took five days.

During the last seven years, SCDOT has performed more than 600,000 square yards of RCC on more than 20 projects throughout the state.

Source: Portland Cement Association. For more information, contact Roger Faulkner at rfaulkner@cement.org.