TACA Conveyor - Spring 2008 - (Page 26)

Developing Effective Concrete Specifications Through Partnering Lisa Lukefahr,P.E. USER PERSPECTI VE, EVEN WITH THE BEST INTENTIONS IN MIND, CAN LEAD DOW N A ROAD TO A N U NDESIR ABLE END. When the 2004 version of Item 421 Hydraulic Cement Concrete was being developed, TxDOT assembled a committee of knowledgeable and experienced concrete practitioners, consisting of TxDOT engineers, highway contractors, university researchers, and material suppliers from the concrete, aggregate and admixture industries. Many of those industry experts were selected because of their individual knowledge, as well, as for the reputation of the companies for which they worked. There were many face-to-face committee meetings and countless mass e-mailings to discuss draft version after draft version of the concrete speciﬁcations. Why wouldn’t TxDOT unilaterally write speciﬁcations for the products that we provide for the public? T HE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TR ANSPORTATION (TXDOT) TAKES GREAT PR IDE IN DEVELOPING SPECIFICATION REQUIREMENTS, BUT WE RECOGNIZE THAT DEVELOPING SPECIFICATIONS SOLELY FROM A N END- Experienced in Construction Since 1968 • High Performance Concrete Mix Designs • Portland Cement & Fly Ash Testing • Alkali Silica Reactivity Testing • Chloride Ion Permeability Testing of Concrete • Concrete Freeze-Thaw Testing • Concrete Chemical Admixtures Testing • Aggregate Testing • Concrete Strength Testing • In-Place Strength Testing of Concrete • Failure & Causation Analyses of Materials • Asphalt Concrete Mix Designs (Including Super-Pave) • British Pendulum Aggregate Friction Testing of Surfacing Aggregates Ofﬁces Statewide rkci.com 866.722.2547 26 TACA 321820_RABA.indd 1 Conveyor • Spring 2008 The answer lies within one of TxDOT’s vision statements, speciﬁcally the directive to provide comfortable, safe, durable, cost-effective, environmentally sensitive and aesthetically appealing transportation systems that work together. By gathering input from industry experts, we improve our ability to ﬁnd the best solutions, especially solutions that are the most cost-effective. These solutions are not static, and so our speciﬁcations must evolve and adapt if they are to remain pertinent. So the need to gather industry input is not a once-a-decade process; rather, it is an on-going effort that TxDOT is committed to maintaining. TACA is facilitating this by inviting TxDOT participation on your Speciﬁcation Committee, where solutions to our mutual problems are discussed. A good example is the newest special provision to TxDOT’s concrete speciﬁcation that will be in place by early 2008. This latest special provision contains several changes, one of which addresses concerns that researchers at the University of Texas have documented about TxDOT’s previous alkali-silica reactivity prevention efforts. TACA Speciﬁcation Committee members discussed these concerns and toured the outdoor exposure facility where the problems could be visually seen. Proposed changes to the speciﬁcation language were reviewed and improved by the Committee members to ensure 3/26/07 10:43:11 PM http://www.rkci.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of TACA Conveyor - Spring 2008

TACA Conveyor - Spring 2008 Contents Transforming Vision Into Action TACA Members Tee Off 2007 Environmental Seminar Get Ready for Los Cabos TACA Position Paper Solomon Colors Expansion J. D. Power Award CHRYSO and Promix J. Irwin Miller Winner TXI Concrete Group Developing Effective Concrete TACA Members Index of Advertisers

TACA Conveyor - Spring 2008

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