I have driven over it on the new parts of 290, and the resurfaced parts of I-10 between BW8 and 610.

Looks like this, and runs parallel to the traffic



Not sure if anyone else feels this way, but seems to cause strange vibrations in the car. It isn't always aligned properly, so leads to a wavy driving experience.

Not sure if this is new tech.

Interesting and informative thread, would read again.

Probably should not follow the trucks into the construction zones. Stay on the main lanes, my man.

I love how I can barely make out the lines on I-10 when it's raining.

It sure is quiet, though!

the grooves reduce noise

nhayden said:

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Interesting and informative thread, would read again.

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It got more informative after other people had a chance to reply, oddly enough.

I'm guessing it is waiting for a topcoat to smooth it over.

No, that's the finished surface. The first pass is to grind down all the high areas of the pavement to make it consistent and smooth. The second pass is to re-groove the pavement with longitudinal tining (vs. the horizontal tining used originally).

Why is it only for short stretches, then? Seems like 1/4 of a mile or so at a time. It's definitely not consistent everywhere on the finished sections.

The stretch on I-10 is for noise in the Memorial Villages. Eventually all of 290 will be done I believe. I'm pretty sure the small portions that are done are where traffic is already in (or very close to) final configuration.

I've noticed that the bridges aren't done on 10. Is there a reason they weren't done?

Bridges probably won't be done. They have different expansion joints and pans that would make it difficult.

I heard it's made of ground up HEB donuts. Any truth to that?

Bridges are constructed differently than normal at-grade pavement (I know, obvious). Bridges are typically only 8" thick with two mats of steel. I believe the grinding operation removes 0.25-0.50". While that wouldn't expose the steel, it does reduce the cover, which is undesirable. I'm not sure if it would also affect the capacity (I doubt it).

The joints at the ends and intermediate at times would present the biggest issue. Their elevation is fixed, so if you remove 0.5" on either side, you would then have a pretty good bump in the road.

aTm2004 said:

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I love how I can barely make out the lines on I-10 when it's raining.

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No joke.
Same can be said on 290 and 610.

The groves in the road surface are acoustically engineered to absorb exhaust noise from redlined crotch rockets. Now all the folks in Memorial can sleep like babies in their Superior waterbeds.

Been wondering about the grooves. Love driving on them.

aTm2004 said:

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I love how I can barely make out the lines on I-10 when it's raining.

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yep. this is pretty awful

Yeah they definitely need to do the dashed lines with a black outline because in rain, dawn, or dusk they become invisible.

The Milkman said:

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Yeah they definitely need to do the dashed lines with a black outline because in rain, dawn, or dusk they become invisible.

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Nah, you're just getting old and your night vision is not what it was.

YellAg2004 said:

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Bridges are constructed differently than normal at-grade pavement (I know, obvious). Bridges are typically only 8" thick with two mats of steel. I believe the grinding operation removes 0.25-0.50". While that wouldn't expose the steel, it does reduce the cover, which is undesirable. I'm not sure if it would also affect the capacity (I doubt it).

The joints at the ends and intermediate at times would present the biggest issue. Their elevation is fixed, so if you remove 0.5" on either side, you would then have a pretty good bump in the road.

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I wouldn't trust the guy doing the grooves. One groove too deep and the tendon snaps. Would likely mess up a few commutes.

aTm2004 said:

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I love how I can barely make out the lines on I-10 when it's raining.

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I can barely see them when it's not raining. The ones on I10, anyway.

I love this board

New 290 construction crew

Was going to get some sausage, cheese & jalapeno kolaches at this little authentic hole-in-the-wall across town the other morning and noticed the grooves. Love them.

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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The groves in the road surface are acoustically engineered to absorb exhaust noise from redlined crotch rockets. Now all the folks in Memorial can sleep like babies in their Superior waterbeds.

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Don't get me wrong the peace and quiet when I climb into the waterbed at night is just delightful, but the real treat is experiencing that same level of peace and quiet when fully reclined and snoozing in our Teslas with auto pilot turned on

lancevance said:

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Not sure if anyone else feels this way, but seems to cause strange vibrations in the car. It isn't always aligned properly, so leads to a wavy driving experience.

Not sure if this is new tech.

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No, it's probably because your car sucks. HTH!

When are they going to be done? I'm tired of driving I-10 home at night dealing with mulitiple lanes shut down. Seems like a waste of time and money.

Ag03 CQE said:

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aTm2004 said:

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I love how I can barely make out the lines on I-10 when it's raining.

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I can barely see them when it's not raining. The ones on I10, anyway.

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There was an article in the Memorial Examiner about how they're going to make the lane markers more visible.

Chewy said:

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Seems like a waste of time and money.

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Quit your complaining. It's only $12.4MM.

Quote:

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Not sure if anyone else feels this way, but seems to cause strange vibrations in the car. It isn't always aligned properly, so leads to a wavy driving experience.

Not sure if this is new tech.

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I have felt the movement (feels like the rear end of the car wiggling around) when I drive my work car (FWD Impala) over it on I10, but when I drive my other vehicles, which are RWD and 4WD, I don't feel any of the movement. Interesting.

Its actually called " Next Generation Concrete Surface" or ngcs. You can google it and read all about the research that went into developing the technology. I think www.ngcs.org or something like that is a good place to start. Its the most quiet and longest lasting reduced noise pavement type. The grinding does make the ride smoother. All of 290 will be done this way.

Txdot has traditionally used a transverse tine when building concrete highways, however that is the noisiest pavement surface. We have been working on the DOT to change to a longitudinal tine in order to reduce noise, which was used on 99 north of 290. The NGCS is even quieter than that and is a good solution to not building sound walls. The toll road authority put an asphalt overlay on beltway 8 a few years back to reduce noise, however the noise levels gradually increase overtime which requires resurfacing again.

Tine'ing the Tine one road at a time

E said:

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New 290 construction crew

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"We ain't found *****"