If you were paying close attention at all to the recently completed roadwork that crafted the reconstruction of two miles of Napier Avenue in Michigan’s Great Southwest, you likely saw one of the first projects in our area to utilize “road fabric” to improve road conditions.
The Berrien County Road Department recently capped off the long anticipated reconstruction project, and is being touted by the County Road Association of Michigan for the unique nature of the project which took one of the most heavily-traveled routes in the county and combined both a road diet and the innovation of road fabric for the revamp.
Bringing the road that handles about 18,000 cars a day up to a new smooth ride, Berrien County Road Department crews used the road fabric on that route for the first time ever.
Road fabric is a waterproof membrane placed in between hot mix asphalt layers to keep water from penetrating through it. That not only acts as a waterproofing membrane, but also provides strength to the asphalt.
The local Road Department partnered with members of the asphalt industry to research the road fabric option and determine whether it would be a good fit for their project.
Kevin Stack, Engineering Supervisor for the Berrien County Road Department says, “As road agencies, we design miles of roadways, and the public puts their trust in us to make sure roads last as long as possible and that we’re effectively spending their tax dollars.”
Road fabric is composed of a grid system created by combining “threads” of material. The result is not only fewer cracks in the pavement, but a cost effective way to improve roads as well.
Stack tells us, “Road fabric provides twice the life by only investing a quarter of what it would cost to repave the road,” and adds, “It’s an efficient solution, and we’re eager to see if this treatment will be successful in the future.”
Asked how they will know if the fabric is a success, the agency says that in the coming years, they will compare Napier Avenue to a nearby section of road repaved in 2019 without the fabric.
Along with the use of road fabric, the road department also put Napier Avenue on a diet. The normally four-lane road is now a three-lane road with a turning lane in the middle. Road dieting has resulted in less traffic and the department says they’ve even gotten praise from the public.
The county hopes the combination of road dieting and road fabric will result in a better driving experience for the public.
The use of the road fabric here in Berrien County, is highlighted in the latest issue of Crossroads magazine, the quarterly journal of the County Road Association (CRA) of Michigan, which can be viewed digitally or downloaded at the link below:
https://micountyroads.org/newsroom/crossroads/
The 83 members of the County Road Association of Michigan represent the unified voice for a safe and efficient county transportation infrastructure system in Michigan, including appropriate stewardship of the public’s right-of-way in rural and urban Michigan. Collectively, Michigan’s county road agencies manage 75-percent of all roads in the state, including 90,000 miles of roads and 5,700 bridges. County road agencies also maintain the state’s highway system in 64 counties. Michigan has the nation’s fourth-largest local road system.
The road fabric installation photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market is courtesy of the Country Road Association of Michigan.
