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236 E Arrow Hwy, Covina, Ca 91722 949-246-4177

Installation Manual

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Table of Contents

History

What is Rapid Roadway

Types of Pavement

Measure/Survey

Saw cut and Removal

Drilling Dowel Opening In Existing Pavement

Base Preparation

Grout Containment

Panel Prep

Panel Installation

Level Panels

Engage Dowels

Bedding Grout

Fill Grout

Final Steps

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History:

California started experimenting with jointed precast concrete pavement in

2010 with an installation of 800+/- panels on the 10 freeway. District 7 (Los

Angeles and Ventura Counties) Maintenance started using jointed precast for

repairs that same year.

Rapid Roadway™ is the result of a unique collaboration of a contractor,

concrete pavement expert and grout supplier. It was developed in District 7 as

an improvement over other existing systems. Rapid Roadway™ provided an

easier and quicker method to install precast pavement over other widely used

precast concrete pavement systems.

Rapid Roadway™ has allowed Southern California contractors to more than

triple their nightly installation versus other precast pavement systems.

The increased production as well as the longer life that reinforced precast

pavement provides has allowed Rapid Roadway™ to be the preferred repair

method for California DOT Maintenance in Los Angeles and Ventura counties

for the past 2 years. It is also being used by San Bernardino, Riverside and

Orange counties. Rapid Roadway has also been installed in Utah and is

pending on a project in Hawaii.

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What is Rapid Roadway™?

Rapid Roadway™ is a precast concrete pavement system that consists of 5

equally important parts. The Gracie Leveling Lift™, the Barra Glide™ Load

Transfer System, Performance Plus™ Bedding and Fill Grouts, Grout

Containment™ and a quality precast concrete manufacturer.

Gracie Leveling Lift™: The Gracie™ is a patented insert that serves a dual

purpose. With four Gracies™ per panel it is used as a lift insert to handle the

precast panels. After the panel has been placed the same insert is used as a

leveler. With its attached bottom plate and a leveling screw the panel can be

leveled to match existing grades and super elevations.

Gracie™ prior to pouring Panels with 4 Gracies™ and leveling screw

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Barra Glide™ Load Transfer System: The Barra Glide™ is a patented center

slot sliding dowel load transfer system. Because of its unique design the

largest top opening is 1 1/8” x 9 ¼” which prevents any possibility that the

1½” x 18” dowel will be dislodged. After the dowel has been engaged the

dowel is encased top and bottom by reinforced precast concrete. Because the

dowel is not cast into the concrete panel, the panel can be manufactured up to

12’ lay lengths. The center slot design ensures that the fill grout will not be

contaminated by the bedding grout.

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Performance Plus™ RH Non-Sanded Bedding Grout: RH bedding grout is a

rapid hardening, non-shrink, very free flowing, zero bleed, sand aggregate

free, cementitious grout. This product is specifically designed as a pumpable,

bedding support for under precast concrete panels. RH Bedding Grout exhibits

rheological fluid properties allowing all small voids between the sub-grade

and precast concrete panels to be filled.

Performance Plus™ RH Latex Fill Grout: RH Latex Fill Grout is a rapid

hardening, non-shrink, free flowing, zero bleed, sanded, cementitious grout. It

is a blend of specialty cements and admixtures designed to provide flow and

shrinkage compensation. RH Latex Fill Grout is sanded, non-metallic and

contains no chlorides. Performance Plus™ Copolymer Latex is added to the

Fill Grout to increase adhesion and to improve overall performance.

Grout Containment: Grout Containment™ is a patent pending method that

serves a dual purpose. It serves as a bond break between the bedding grout

and the existing base and it also contains the bedding grout from migrating

under existing pavement.

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Quality Precast Concrete Manufacturer: A successful Rapid Roadway™

installation cannot be accomplished without a qualified precast manufacturer.

The manufacturer needs to possess the internal quality control to be able

manufacture the precast slabs that meet the required tolerances. We

recommend that all precast manufacturing facilities are either NPCA or PCI

certified.

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Types of Pavement:

Precast Jointed Concrete Pavement (PJCP): PJCP is for permanent

continuous lane replacement. Panels are designed for a 40 year life. When

installing multiple lanes panels as wide as 26’-6” may be used. If panels are

over 15’ wide pre-stressed panels must be used. Two panels may be used in

lieu of the single wide panel for multiple lanes, but requires a longitudinal

construction joint or keyway between adjoining panels. Skewed panels are

required on curved installations per Caltrans standard “Panel Skew

Dimension” table.

Individual Precast Slab Replacement (IPSR): IPSR is for shorter repair

installations. IPSR is produced in single lane widths only. Width is 2” wider

than existing lane. No longitudinal construction joint required for multiple

lane side by side installations. Skewed panels are required on curved

installations per Caltrans standard “Panel Skew Dimension” table. Normal lay

length is 12’.

Because of the Barra Glide’s™ sliding bar design PJCP and IPSR are normally

produced in 12’ lay lengths. Widths of 15ft and under can be reinforced with

either a rebar design or pre-stressed design. Widths over 15ft require pre-

stress design.

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Layout:

Measurement: The goal on all layouts should be to keep the panel variation

to a minimum. A standard panel lay length should be established and when

feasible all layouts should be set to multiples of that length. By keeping the lay

length standard it will simplify production and installation. On shorter runs,

normally IPSR, the layout can be done with a 100ft tape measure and a 90

degree laser. For longer continuous runs, normally PJCP, it may be

advantageous to use a surveyor to layout.

The formula for the length of your layout is

L = (#panels *lay length in inches) + ((#panels -1) * 0.375”) + 1.5”

This formula will give you a lay length in inches

Your panels should be manufactured 2” wider than the existing lanes. Your

layout should be 1” wider than the precast panel. You should offset your

layout a minimum of 1” from the existing joint to ensure a straight cut.

The formula for the width of your layout is

W = panel width in inches + 1”

This formula will give you a width in inches

After your layout is complete you should measure your diagonals to ensure

that your layout is square.

Layout on Curved Installations: The layout on curves is similar to straight

layouts expect that you need to continually change your starting point. Use

the existing joint for reference. Establish your width at the starting point.

Mark your starting point off the existing joint. Measure 1-3 panel lengths,

depending on the severity of the radius, plus joint and mark a new start point

the same distance. Note that the panel lengths are longer on the outside of the

curve than on the inside. Check your width at every new point.

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Precast Panel Types:

When laying out your panel installations there are going to be two types of

panels. The majority of panels will have Barra Glide™ slide openings on one

end and Barra Glide™ receiving openings on the other end. On every

installation that requires doweling into the existing pavement on both the

approach and departure there needs to be one panel (typically on the

departure) that has Barra Glide™ slide openings on both ends.

On the approach slab you want to have the slide opening end of the panel to

abut the existing pavement. This will allow you to slide the dowel into the

pre-drilled openings in the existing panel.

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Saw cut and Removal:

Saw cut: Saw cut on your layout lines to ensure that your width is consistent.

Once you have cut the full width and length cut the length in to thirds (roughly

4ft wide). At the beginning of the layout a relief cut will make removal of the

4ft pull slab easier. Each 4ft pull slab has a 2in diameter hole for removal.

Panel Lift Pin

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Once the 4ft pull slabs have been removed a slab bucket may be used to

remove the remaining existing slabs. The slab bucket does a minimal amount

of damage to the existing base reducing the amount of base repair. After

existing pavement has been removed the corners need to be squared up and

the undercut chipped away on each end.

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Drill Existing Pavement For Dowel Slide:

After removal of existing pavement the existing pavement can be drilled to

accommodate load transfer dowels. Location and depth of drilled holes

should match the precast panels that are going to be placed. Drilled holes

should be large enough to except the dowel and allow enough space for fill

grout to completely encase the dowel. We recommend 2” for a 1.5” dowel.

Depth should be half the length of the dowel, 9” for standard 18” dowel. After

the horizontal 2” holes have been drilled, vertical holes needs to be drilled for

fill grout access. The vertical openings should be a minimum of ¾” and

located in the back half of the horizontal opening.

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Base Preparation:

After removal of existing pavement the existing base needs to be evaluated.

What is the base composition? Lean base or gravel? Depth to base needs to

be compared to the precast panel thickness. The depth should allow a

minimum of 1/8” of space for grout, but should not exceed 1/2”. If existing is

a lean concrete base and extra depth is required then grinding will be

necessary. If base is too deep then a lean concrete rapid setting base (LCB)

will need to be placed. On existing gravel base only, prior to LCB placement

existing base must be properly compacted.

If LCB is not required the existing base must be level with no high spots. High

spots can create a pivot point on the precast panels prior to leveling and

grouting. If the pavement is opened to traffic prior to leveling and grouting,

(emergency situations only) these high points may cause panel cracking.

LCB Placement: There are numerous ways to ensure LCB depth and

levelness. Maximum aggregate size needs to smaller than the required

thickness of LCB. Whatever method that is used for LCB placement depth and

levelness must be ensured.

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Grout Containment:

After the base has been placed the grout containment is placed over the LCB

to aid in curing. Once the LCB has reached 750psi strength the 6mil grout

containment sheet is placed tight against all sides. Reasonable effort should

be used to smooth out bubbles and wrinkles. The sheet needs to overlap on

the ends and the sides to preform correctly. When runs are longer or wider

than a single sheet the overlap needs to follow the flow of the grout.

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Panel Preparation:

Precast panels need to be prepped prior to installation. Prepping includes

cleaning of the Barra Glide™ voids, installation of the Barra Plugs™, attaching

the Barra Pads™ to the dowels, greasing the dowel bars, installing dowel bars

in the slide end of the panel and attaching the expansion foam on the sides of

the panel. Panel prep can be done prior to delivery, but measures must be

made to protect the expansion foam in place and to ensure that the dowels

remain in the slide end.

If panel prep is done onsite, deliveries should arrive approximately 1 hour

prior to setting to ensure ample time for preparation.

Onsite Panel Prep

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Panel Installation:

After the grout containment has been placed and the lean base has reached a

minimum of 750psi panel installation can begin. Panels are placed directly on

the base. It is ok to drive the placement equipment on non-grouted panels. It

is important to compress the transverse foam between panels. Transverse

and longitudinal joint widths should not exceed ½”.

Typical Joints Panel Placement

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Panel Leveling:

After the setting crew has progressed the leveling of the panels can begin. The

first step is to release the bottom plate of the Gracie™, this is accomplished

with a ¾” steel rod and an 8lb

hammer.

Place rod into the Gracie™

opening and hammer until you

feel the plate release. This is a

critical step. The leveling bolts

will not work if the bottom plate

is not released.

After the bottom plates have been

release the leveling bolts are

installed. An impact wrench is

used to level the panels to the

surrounding profiles using the

transverse joint as the primary gauge.

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Engage Dowels:

Once the panels have been leveled the dowels can be engaged from the slide

end of the Barra Glide™ into the receiving end. This is accomplished by

placing a thin metal rod behind the dowel bar and simply pushing the dowel

into the receiving end.

Dowel Prior to Slide

Dowel Slide

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Bedding Grout:

Once the panels have been leveled grouting commences. You want to start

the grout process from an uphill position. The multiple grout ports allow

observation of the grout flow to ensure that all panels are fully bedded. On

larger installations multiple grout crews may be used.

The Performance Plus bedding grout is a Rapid Hardening Material. The

bedding grout is manufactured in such a way as to give the contractor the

optimal set time and early strength.

The set time is controlled with Performance Plus™ Set Control on site. There

are three conditions that effect the set time, ambient temperature, water

temperature and material temperature. After recording these temperatures

the set control is added into the mixer at the proper dosage. It is best to add

the set control after the second bag has started mixing. After mixing, a sample

of the mixed bedding grout is taken immediately and the temperature is

checked. For the best results the bedding grout should have a temperature in

the low to mid 70˚ F range out of the mixer. If the mixed bedding grout is

lower or higher in temperature than the low to mid 70˚ F range the set control

dosage is adjusted up or down.

Performance Plus™ Products will have a tech on site to train grouting

personnel on the dosage rate of the set control at the start of the project and

as needed.

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Grout Truck With Dual ChemGrout Mixers

Grout Wand

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Fill Grout:

After the panels have been leveled and the dowels have been engaged the

Barra Glide™ openings may be filled with Performance Plus RH™ fill grout.

Mix Performance Plus™ Latex Fill Grout per bag instructions making sure the

latex fill grout is fluid enough to totally encapsulate the dowel bar. The latex

fill grout has to be placed as soon as mixing is completed and as quickly as

possible. Fill half of the dowel bar slot allowing any entrapped air to escape

and then return and top off the remaining half of the slot before the latex

grout starts to set. If the latex grout settles below the top of the precast panel

it will need to be topped off again.

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Final Steps:

After the bedding grout has reached 2000psi (approximately 30minutes)

remove the leveling bolts. Cut the overlapping grout containment. Seal all

joints and open to traffic.

THE END

www.RapidRoadway.com

January 1, 2015