Third-Year Performance Study of Highway 4 Jointless Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (FRC) Roundabout

Project Details
STATUS

Completed

START DATE

07/03/19

END DATE

01/31/22

FOCUS AREAS

Infrastructure

RESEARCH CENTERS InTrans, CP Tech Center
SPONSORS

Minnesota Department of Transportation
National Road Research Alliance (NRRA) Transportation Pooled Fund

Researchers
Principal Investigator
Peter Taylor

Director, CP Tech Center

Co-Principal Investigator
Dan King

Research Engineer, CP Tech Center

Co-Principal Investigator
Seyedhamed Sadati

About the research

The use of roundabouts in rural areas of the US is growing rapidly. For roundabouts constructed with concrete pavement, joint layout can be especially challenging. To reduce the need for sophisticated joint layouts, consideration is being given to constructing roundabouts without joints and instead using structural fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) to bridge any cracks that might occur. In 2018, Minnesota’s first jointless FRC pavement roundabout was constructed at the intersection of Minnesota Trunk Highway 4 and County State Aid Highway 29.

The National Road Research Alliance (NRRA) sponsored a study to document the construction and performance of Minnesota’s first jointless FRC roundabout. One of the key objectives was to carry out a three-year performance monitoring regimen of the roundabout to better understand its in-situ performance when exposed to traffic loading and environmental conditions. This report documents the third-year performance of the roundabout as per the requirements of Task 3 of the work plan.

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