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PEA Receives 2 Awards From Michigan Concrete Association

December 12, 2016
4 min read

Michigan Concrete Association (MCA) selected the following projects for the Award of Excellence in the Special Innovative category:

  • Circle Track Reconstruction, General Motors Milford Proving Ground
  • 7.2% Test Hill Reconstruction, General Motors Milford Proviing Ground

Milford Proving Ground is a state-of-the-art vehicle testing facility. Project descriptions below:

 

Circle Track Reconstruction

The Circle Track at General Motors Milford Proving Ground is truly one of a kind. Forming a 4.5-mile perfect circle, the track is a concrete parabolic curve that simulates driving straight indefinitely at varying speeds. The track is made up of 5 driving lanes with the top lane being the steepest for test speeds in excess of 100 mph.

The track was originally constructed in the 1960’s and has held up well, due to a progressive design and sound construction. However, over the last 50 years the joints on the track are worn due to weathering, which signaled the need to rebuild. The redesign included:

  • The bottom four lanes were removed and replaced with 8” of new dolomite concrete.
  • Repairs were made to the top lane, and the interior shoulder was removed and replaced with hot mix asphalt.
  • The entrance was milled and paved, and drainage improvements were made including the addition of edge drain around the entire track.
  • Along the outer perimeter, a chip seal and a fog seal was completed to prevent water from getting under the pavement and causing future damage.

Sustainable design considerations were made including old material being crushed into different gradations for future re-use as base material for roads and slope stabilization.

Designed by PEA in 2015, the track was reconstructed in 2016.

Project Team

PEA, Inc. | Civil Engineer

  • Kevin Staley, PE, Senior Project Manager
  • Tristan Larson, PE, Project Engineer
  • Daniel Stys, PE, Senior Project Engineer
  • Jacob Holda, Staff Engineer
  • Ian Blair, CAD Designer

Angelo lafrate Construction Co. | Contractor

Livingston Engineering | Surveying

TEC | QA, QC

 

7.2% Test Hill Reconstruction

The Global 7.2% Test Hill reconstruction was performed in 2015 to relocate the Product Usage Measurements and Applications (PUMA) global requirements test sections. The project consisted of demolition of the existing asphalt lane and adjacent concrete curb, verifying existing base material and regrading, installation of new concrete curb, installation of concrete test segments, installation of asphalt approaches and separation segment, restoration of disturbed areas.

The project comprised of two-test sections with several key requirements:

  • Two new test sections were placed in lane 3 of the existing 3 lane 7.2% test road.
  • Test section 1 is a 90 meter single lane concrete road with a 10 meter launch pad at the beginning of the section.
  • Test Section 2 is a 132.9 meter single lane concrete road.
  • The two-test sections are separated by a 100-meter asphalt road segment.
  • Each tire path required a unique profile that changed every 0.01 meter horizontally with a required accuracy of 0.1 mm vertically.
  • CAD profiles were generated for each wheel path to be used in the laser cutting of the forms. PEA worked closely with the contractor to verify accuracy.
  • Each wheel path was formed, verified and poured separately.
  • Each test section was constructed with 5 separate pours. One (1) each for the 2-wheel paths, transition slab between wheel paths, transition slab to existing adjacent lane and transition slab to concrete curb.
  • After sufficient cure time, test sections were verified by GM personnel using a specially modified vehicle with instrumentation to measure the ride event.

PEA worked closely with end-users to develop a design that meets stringent vehicle testing requirements that includes international specifications. PEA worked with the contractor throughout construction to ensure conformance with the design specifications and address any construction issues.

Project Team

PEA, Inc. | Civil Engineer

  • Kevin Staley, PE, Senior Project Manager
  • Jon Curry, PE, Senior Project Engineer
  • Tristan Larson, PE, Project Engineer
  • Daniel Stys, PE, Senior Project Engineer
  • Ian Blair, CAD Designer

Angelo lafrate Construction Co. | Contractor

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