Be prepared for Tulsa's roads to crumble

[Gaspar]

The roads are going to fall apart in the next week.  Be prepared.

With the saturation we got last week, the already compromised asphalt, and warm weather to come, we should see failure on many of our city streets.  I noticed a large amount of separation and loose asphalt this morning.

[cannon_fodder]

Oddly enough I notice the same thing.  Many of the patches have failed.  Too be expected I guess as the wear and tear from the winter freezing is broken loose by the wet weather.

[PepePeru]

+1 vote using that magical material  'concrete'. 

i don't know why asphalt is considered an option.

i guess its this city's love affair with oil.

[Gaspar]

+1 vote using that magical material  'concrete'. 

i don't know why asphalt is considered an option.

i guess its this city's love affair with oil.

Asphalt is a fraction of the price, requires much less labor, no steel, less heavy equipment to install, no forms, can be installed and driven on immediately.

[Mike 01Hawk]

Oh I dunno, it makes my daily commute all the more interesting.

There are several 'known' places that I swerve or slow down to miss... I'm sure it's quite comical (or scary) to the person behind me.

[Gaspar]

Oh I dunno, it makes my daily commute all the more interesting.

There are several 'known' places that I swerve or slow down to miss... I'm sure it's quite comical (or scary) to the person behind me.

There's a new hole between 71st and 81st on Harvard that will knock you clean off the road.  Big enough to swallow a tire.

[PepePeru]

Asphalt is a fraction of the price, requires much less labor, no steel, less heavy equipment to install, no forms, can be installed and driven on immediately.

and falls apart every time the temperature changes or it rains...

[mobboss]

i love it when im on the highway and see the repairs being made- they throw shovel of asphalt into the hole and then they let the cars driving by pack it into the cavity... classy! i have a few small chips on my windshield caused by this technique.

[Gaspar]

i love it when im on the highway and see the repairs being made- they throw shovel of asphalt into the hole and then they let the cars driving by pack it into the cavity... classy! i have a few small chips on my windshield caused by this technique.

Those too can be filled with asphalt.  Amazing stuff!

[custosnox]

you know it gets me, we are a society that is capable of making a motor that is as small as a ball point pen head, and create a 20 mile tube to smash sub atomic particles together, and yet we cannot come up with anything better then concrete and asphalt to make our roads out of.  However (and I wish I had a link on this) as it turns out, the stuff that makes your salt and vinager chips zangy will also waterproof concrete.  Now there is a thought for ya.

[Ibanez]

you know it gets me, we are a society that is capable of making a motor that is as small as a ball point pen head, and create a 20 mile tube to smash sub atomic particles together, and yet we cannot come up with anything better then concrete and asphalt to make our roads out of.  However (and I wish I had a link on this) as it turns out, the stuff that makes your salt and vinager chips zangy will also waterproof concrete.  Now there is a thought for ya.

So your solution is that we build our roads out of potato chips?

I mean the science behind the idea seems to be sound, but what happens during the morning commute when you can't get anwhere because of all the homeless lying in the road and licking it?

[custosnox]

So your solution is that we build our roads out of potato chips?

I mean the science behind the idea seems to be sound, but what happens during the morning commute when you can't get anwhere because of all the homeless lying in the road and licking it?

Oh, I wasn't implying this was a solution, just wanted to get the image of people laying on the streets tounge down into everyones head.

[TurismoDreamin]

Asphalt is a fraction of the price, requires much less labor, no steel, less heavy equipment to install, no forms, can be installed and driven on immediately.

States...and COUNTRIES that use concrete spend a little more on the concrete itself but spend less in long-term maintenance. Concrete is also lighter. Trucks who haul concrete over asphalt get better gas mileage. Asphalt is getting more and more expensive. Just like asphalt, concrete is also recyclable. Unlike asphalt, concrete does not need oil to produce it, thus lowering how much you pay for gas. Concrete is much more visible as a road surface than asphalt (tell me this isn't the truth on a rainy night). Unlike asphalt, concrete does not have small grooves in it for water to seep into which asphalt does. These grooves provide a place for water to settle in and make them slippery..and I don't even have to explain what happens in the winter time with these grooves. This makes concrete significantly less vulnerable to potholes or other road damage. Concrete's lifespan is more than double that of asphalt. The state of Minnesota has developed concrete that is expected to last for more than 60 years without any major maintenance required...and that's in Minnesota..ya know, the land of a thousand lakes, massive snowfall, etc.

I have noticed that Oklahoma doesn't like to fix problems. Instead, we like to cover them up and pretend they aren't there. Instead of patching and causing a very uneven roadway, we just need to replace that particular section. We also need to get a better understanding of what seamless transitions are.

I myself drive a car with an aftermarket sports suspension. You think you feel the bumps in your stock Toyota Corolla...you have no idea how many uneven transitions, raised manholes, deep potholes, and piss-poor patch jobs there are in the state until you've ridden in a car with a sports suspension.

[Red Arrow]

I have seen some places use asphalt as a base for a concrete roadbed.  Any Civil Engineers out there know how this has worked out?

[TurismoDreamin]

I have seen some places use asphalt as a base for a concrete roadbed.  Any Civil Engineers out there know how this has worked out?

From what I've read, it is mainly to control the flow of water. Concrete is dense and very little to no water penetrates it. Instead, it functions best by guiding the water to run off to the sides, ideally to the storm drains. Asphalt is not as dense and is very porous which provides the perfect surface for water to seep through. By using an asphalt base under a concrete surface (called "whitetopping"), the asphalt would act to protect the concrete by allowing the little bit of water that has penetrated the concrete surface to drain straight thru the asphalt and into the ground, therefore, protecting the concrete (especially in the winter). This enables the concrete surface to last longer (the same method used at stoplight intersections and airport runways...that's why they last longer then a conventional asphalt road).

I'm not a civic engineer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.