Illogical I-43 roadwork

[peterj920]

Work begins this week on resurfacing I-43 between Hwy 10 and the Manitowoc South county line.  The original concrete from the early 1980s was resurfaced in 2001 and the road isn't in bad shape. 

Meanwhile in northern Ozaukee County, the original concrete pavement from the early 1970s is in rough shape and could really use a resurfacing.  I don't understand why the section in Manitowoc County gets resurfaced that isn't in bad shape, while the section that is rough doesn't get worked on.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Are the two counties in separate WISDot districts or some other territorial crap like that where one project has funding and the other doesn't?

[peterj920]

They're in 2 different regions but that shouldn't matter.  I-43 in southern Ozaukee County and Northern Milwaukee county were easily resurfaced with emergency funding about a year ago.  That surface was asphalt.  I did check the 6 year plan and the section of I-43 in Northern Ozaukee County is supposed to be diamond ground again.  It was in the past.  The shoulders were recently resurfaced but the roadway needs work!  The concrete joints make that road really rough.

WISDOT must really like that concrete from the early 1970s for some reason if it's going to be diamond ground again.  It's odd that the section being resurfaced had original concrete pavement from the early 1980s and is being resurfaced for the 2nd time.  When the road received an asphalt overlay in 2001, I thought the concrete pavement was in pretty good shape at the time. 

The other odd thing is that despite the road being resurfaced for the 2nd time, most of the on/off ramps still have the original pavement.  It will be interesting to see if the ramps get resurfaced or not. 

[mgk920]

WISDOT must really like that concrete from the early 1970s for some reason if it's going to be diamond ground again.  It's odd that the section being resurfaced had original concrete pavement from the early 1980s and is being resurfaced for the 2nd time.  When the road received an asphalt overlay in 2001, I thought the concrete pavement was in pretty good shape at the time. 

The other odd thing is that despite the road being resurfaced for the 2nd time, most of the on/off ramps still have the original pavement.  It will be interesting to see if the ramps get resurfaced or not.

WisDOT didn't reinforce the joint lines in concrete during the early 1980s. By the late 1980s, the lesson was learned and dowel bars have been S.O.P. on new WisDOT concrete ever since.

Mike

[peterj920]

On 172 within the I-41 interchange, the joints weren't reinforced for some reason.  West of Babcock Rd, they were.  When it comes to concrete, I don't understand what WISDOT does.  There are some stretches of concrete that aren't rough, yet get resurfaced.  Then there are other stretches that get a diamond grind treatment and WISDOT tries to keep the original concrete as long as possible.  The Wis 172 to I-43 south ramp was left with the original concrete pavement, while everything else was resurfaced with asphalt.  It would be interesting to know how they determine which concrete surfaces get an asphalt overlay and which ones don't. 

[Roadguy]

Before the emergency project I started to take 41 to Milwaukee even though 43 is less miles because that stretch in Ozuakee County was so bad it was painful to drive.

Not sure why they have such an obsession of diamond grinding that stretch in Ozuakee County... They can keep diamond grinding and overlaying it but as long as the original is not reinforced with dowel bars the original concrete slabs will keep faulting and create bad bumps on the road for drivers.  They need to do a dowel bar retrofit and be done with it.

The reason why WisDOT touches these interstates like the project in Manitowoc County is because WIsDOT has a general policy that every 7 years interstates must receive a resurface or some type of repair.  There are exceptions to that but that is a focus to keep pavement quality up on heavily traveled roadways.

[peterj920]

I don't see repairs every 7 years on interstates in Wisconsin.  The Ozaukee County concrete stretch was last ground over 20 years ago.  Some of the bridges have gotten concrete overlays and the asphalt shoulders were replaced.  I-43 in Manitowoc County was last worked on in 2001, 15 years ago.  I-94 in the Eau Claire area was being resurfaced a lot, but that's because it would get rough fast.  WISDOT is working on concrete pavement replacement because of how little time the resurfacing lasts.

[dvferyance]

The most illogical thing about I-43 is that it's still only 2 lanes in New Berlin and on the north shore.