CIR on MA-109 in Milford, MA

For years, the town of Milford, MA, has used pavement preservation techniques to make its roads last longer and stretch taxpayer dollars. Historically, the city has relied on Crack Sealing roads every few years, Micro Surfacing roads with minor deterioration, and using Full Depth Reclamation on roads exhibiting much deeper distress. 
 

In August 2018, it put a new treatment to work and recycled 4 lane-miles (1 centerline mile with 4 lanes) of MA-109, the town’s main thoroughfare. This time, crews used Cold In-place Recycling (CIR).
 

For me it was an easy decision,” said Scott Crisafulli, the Highway Surveyor for the Town of Milford. “The road and community conditions were ideal [for CIR]. I had seen CIR perform well in other local towns and it was over 60% less expensive [than traditional methods] for our taxpayers. Plus it’s better for the environment to recycle.

The Challenge


With cracks as deep as 4”, the road was in poor condition. The town wanted to keep the 7” curb reveal and maintain existing drainage. In addition, original road construction included block-built manholes and pavement depth of 7” - 9” – much deeper than typical for the town. A standard mill and fill overlay would have addressed the road’s surface, but would not have prevented cracks from reappearing. Typically, municipalities would turn to Full Depth Reclamation but this approach would have been costly due to the complications and design of the road.  
 

Resident Impact


MA-109 is a high-traffic road, and CIR’s ability to minimize inconvenience to the community was an important consideration. The project took two weeks from start to finish, and included a 1.5” wearing course. The CIR “train” of equipment was a novelty to the community and the fact that it allowed the traffic to continue to flow was a welcome surprise. Resident response was very positive, appreciating the quick construction time, the quality of the road, and the ability to recycle existing road material to significantly reduce environmental impact. 
 

Results


Two years after application, the road is performing as expected with no cracks or wear appearing. Based on these results, Milford plans to further integrate CIR into their arsenal of pavement preservation practices - with 7 lane miles (1.75 centerline mile with 4 lanes) slated for this summer. Crisafulli believes CIR is an effective tool that rounds out his toolbox with an important in-place offering that saves time, resources, and downtime to the traveling public.