At a recent meeting of the Michigan State Transportation Commission (MSTC), a major step forward was taken to reduce the noise on I-275.
Acting upon the official recommendation of Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Director Greg Rosine, the commission decided to remove the experimental texture on the concrete road by using a technique called diamond grinding.
Rosine stated that MDOT had employed the texture, which is used on concrete pavements to increase the level of skid resistance, based on a study that was done by nationally renowned engineering firm Parsons-Brinkerhoff for MDOT and the City of Farmington Hills.
Rosine stated that there appears to be a higher-than-anticipated level of noise on that section of road.
He indicated in his comments to the commission that MDOT had extensively studied the noise issue along I-275 as well as in other states, including Colorado. He said that based on the information they had gathered, MDOT was confident that diamond grinding—the new type of grooving off from the recently constructed pavement—was the best solution to reduce noise.
Bob Risser, executive director of the Michigan Concrete Paving Association, complimented MDOT’s engineers for the amount of attention they have given this issue in recent months.
"MDOT tried to work with the City of Farmington Hills and its engineering consultant [Parsons-Brinkerhoff] in light of the fact that the city had voiced concerns about noise along the I-275 corridor," said Risser. "The texture that was recommended by the study was never used on a project anywhere else in the United States. It appears that it was a mistake."
Risser said MDOT gave a lot of consideration to the alternatives that were presented to them, including sound walls, earthen berms, landscaping, a decreased speed limit and an asphalt cap. Diamond grinding the concrete pavement will cost about $1.6 million, while the asphalt overlay would have cost at least $10 million in initial costs and would have required extensive maintenance after approximately five years.
"This was not an arbitrary decision by MDOT," Risser said. "Its engineers have processed a lot of data from Michigan and from other states and have concluded that diamond grinding the pavement will eliminate unanticipated noise or whine coming from the texture."
I-275 was reconstructed in 1999. The original concrete pavement had lasted for 25 years.
More than 200,000 vehicles currently travel the road each day, including a large number of commercial trucks. It is widely known that traffic volume and speed are large contributors to highway noise.
According to Risser, MDOT installed an asphalt overlay on the old concrete road in 1997, with the hope that it would last another five years before the state had to reconstruct the highway.
"When the overlay began to fall apart in 1998, MDOT decided to go ahead and reconstruct it," Risser said.
"MDOT is required by law to use the pavement type that will be the best buy for the taxpayers," Risser said. "I-275 came out concrete in their process, and it will be out there for a very long time before it requires any repair or maintenance. That is very important, considering the amount of traffic that uses that freeway."
All state road projects that have more than $1 million in paving costs are run through an engineering formula called Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA), which includes initial construction costs and future maintenance costs.
Rosine also mentioned that other states are employing methods of texturing their concrete roads that have proven over many years to be quiet and safe without sacrificing durability. Risser said the concrete paving industry will be working with MDOT in the future to implement some of those practices in Michigan road construction projects.
"We are very happy with this decision, and know that it has been made after an intense evaluation of all of the options," Risser said. "It is a decision that truly has the best interest of Michigan’s taxpayers at heart."
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