Ellis County Works to Strengthen Roadbed

Ellis County Commissioner Larry Jones was looking for more cost-effective methods to construct roads with greater strength and longer service life. A lifelong resident of Ellis County, Jones had seen the problem getting worse as more people moved in and, consequently, his roads were carrying traffic loads well beyond what they were designed to do. He also knew his constituents could not bear the tax burden required to fix them.
About this time, researchers at TXI had been engaged in a project to create a new type of cement with the added benefit of significantly increasing the strength of the roadbed. When Ellis County contacted TXI to ask about the cement as a stabilization material, the timing was perfect. TXI was ready to take its new product public and make a field test.
“If TXI is to produce this new product in Midlothian, then what better place to test it than right here in Ellis County,” Jones said.
“We have a vested interest in improving Ellis County roads, too” said Barrett Reese, a vice president with TXI. “Ellis County is not only our manufacturing home, but it’s also where hundreds of our employees live. We have a large presence in this community. We are proud to help provide a solution. Recycling-in-place is good for everybody. Instead of buying and bringing in new materials, it uses the materials already in the roadbed.”
Rural county roads across Texas and other states have been constructed by compacting gravel, spraying a coat of liquid emulsified asphalt, and covering the asphalt with a thin layer of pea gravel commonly called “chip seal.” These are economical roads but with limited weight-carrying capacity, limited traffic load, and limited life due in part to water infiltration.
Water infiltration into the roadbed is one of the worst enemies of the typical rural county road. This unfortunate occurrence is inherent in many county roads due to shallow or no ditches. In turn, inadequate ditches are due to narrow rights of way. Most rural county roads were established many years ago also on very narrow rights of way. As traffic increases, the roadway surfaces are widened to meet demand, but the width of the right of way remains constant and does not allow for construction of ditches of sufficient depth to properly drain.
“Without additional right of way, county road crew’s hands are tied,” Jones said. Consequently, sections or roads with poor drainage and shallow ditches deteriorate prematurely. The roadbed absorbs excessive moisture, potholes develop, and rutting of the traffic lanes becomes excessive to the point that reconstruction of the road is necessary.
Reconstruction is accomplished by adding new gravel or flex base to the failed areas, tilling the entire roadbed to incorporate the new material, re-compacting and then re-surfacing. The addition of the new material is by far the most expensive portion of the road building process.
TXI donated six tanker loads of their new product to stabilize test sections on both Kirkpatrick and cut-off roads in Precinct 2. They also provided at no charge lab technicians and expert field personnel throughout the test to assist in the entire stabilization and construction process.
Jones labeled it “construction by committee” as he, his crew, Ellis County engineer Joe White, and a number of TXI managers and vice presidents were on hand all day, each time a new test section was processed. This was new territory for the county as well as TXI.
“We encountered a lot of difficulties, but we feel we finally have the bugs worked out,” Jones said.
Roy Martin, TXI’s general manger of consumer products, agreed.
Martin, who thanked Jones and his experienced crew, said, “We were able to find ways to more effectively and efficiently mix the material in place. This was key to making it work the way it was intended.
“I think this is a great example of local industry and government working together to bring improvements to the community. We learned from each other.”
Various quantities of material were used in different types of soils. The objective is to economically create a roadbed that has significantly improved strength while maintaining its characteristics when subjected to moisture. Also, on each road control sections were included using identical mechanical processes and construction techniques with the exception that no cement was added.
These sections gave a true picture of the value of the product.
Ellis County engineer Joe White liked the system.
“I think Commissioner Jones got a much-improved road,” White said. “This should significantly reduce his maintenance costs for many years to come.
Jones stated that even through periods of rain, there is clear evidence that the stabilization worked in the short term.
Jones said, “If the experiment continues to work as well as our initial tests indicate, a lot of good things will happen for county road building. The new stabilizer can be used for well below the cost of adding gravel. We will have a stronger road that is water resistant and will allow more and heavier traffic, while lasting longer. In other words, we will do a better job of road building for less money.”
Information provided by Ellis County Commissioner Larry Jones and Ellis County Engineer Joe White