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The International Grooving & Grinding Association Announcesthe Winner of its First Concrete Pavement Longevity Award

<strong>The International Grooving & Grinding Association Announces<br>the Winner of its First Concrete Pavement Longevity Award</strong>

The International Grooving & Grinding Association (IGGA) – a non-profit trade association founded in 1972 that is recognized as the industry’s leading technical resource in the development and marketing of optimized pavement surfaces and pavement preservation around the world – is pleased to announce the Pavement Longevity Award as a new addition to its annual association awards. The IGGA also announces the 2023 award winner: Trunk Highway 210 (TH 210) in Minnesota.

The IGGA added the new award in recognition of the fact that long-lived pavements play an important role in sustainability; using in-place structures, as opposed to replacing or reconstructing them, conserves materials and reduces emissions. The IGGA Pavement Longevity Award recognizes highway sections and owners each year for their exemplary efforts towards successfully building and maintaining roads for a service life that exceeds 50 years. The award showcases the importance of effective initial design and construction, as well as the importance of pavement preservation and maintenance, both of which contribute to a pavement section achieving its maximum life. Roadways and owners involved in the business of concrete pavement restoration/preservation at any level worldwide are eligible to receive the award, and each roadway nominated will be judged based on its age (which must be more than 50 years of service in the highway system) and its performance (defined as having the potential to maintain service for years to come with minimal concrete pavement repairs).

The 2023 award was presented at the Concrete Paving Association of Minnesota (CPAM) Annual Concrete Paving Workshop, held Mar. 9-10 in Waite Park, Minn. Future awards will be presented at the IGGA annual meeting, held each fall.

TH 210 in Minnesota Accomplishes Long Life with Minimal Maintenance

TH 210 was constructed in 1953, and at 69 years of age has an international roughness index (IRI) measurement of 70. IRI is the most commonly accepted standardized roughness measurement, with good or very good ride quality being indicated by values less than 95 inches/mile, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). TH 210’s excellent ride quality was achieved with minimal maintenance throughout the years, making it an economical as well as effective choice in paving material. In 1974, after 21 years of service, joints on the highway were resealed. In 1991, after 38 years of service, full- and partial-depth repairs, along with diamond grinding, were performed as part of an MnDOT project to install turn lanes at major county road intersections. In 2013, after 60 years of service, pavement preservation was performed, including full- and partial-depth repairs, dowel bar retrofit, and diamond grinding.

“Very few roadways nationally can lay claim to having provided 69-plus years of continuous service. Many would also assume that a long-life pavement such as this is nearing the end of life, but not so with this road. With continued concrete rehabilitation activities, this pavement shows great potential to hit 100-plus years of serving the travelling public,” said Dan Labo, Director of Engineering Services, Concrete Paving Association of Minnesota.

“Even without the benefit of modern engineering developments, the 1950s saw construction of durable roads like TH 210. Dozens of other concrete roads across the country are also still demonstrating longevity with service lives of 60 years or more. MnDOT should be proud to know that their leadership in concrete pavements has resulted in improved concrete pavement designs that stand to achieve even more impressive results,” said John Roberts, Executive Director, IGGA.