David Anderson, PE isn’t a yet veteran in Recycling & Reclamation, but he brings his many years of experience in engineering to bear to this “new-to-the-county” discipline. Ever since Lee County’s first experience with CIR just 4 years ago, Anderson has been regularly recommending CIR and FDR jobs for highway commissioners and their relevant projects. He’s become a go-to resource for neighboring county engineers, and has truly become a champion for the discipline in the state of Illinois.
After Lee County’s first CIR job was performed in a high profile road, Anderson says his interest was piqued– Anderson wanted to expand into more recycling and reclamation. He began researching and asking for the advice of others. By the time a large road use agreement came across his desk from a new wind farm in the area, Anderson was prepared to try something new.
The wind farm road use agreement said that the wind farm would fund repairs for nearly 25 miles of Lee County’s surrounding roads, which had begun exhibiting base issues after the heavy truck traffic and crane use due to construction. Anderson said the problem was tricky: “We couldn’t raise the profile of the roads, so HMA was out of the question– and reconstruction would’ve been too invasive and too costly ($700,000/mile).”
Anderson let a project to bid that consisted primarily of cement stabilized FDR, with sections of emulsified FDR. The project would use 3,163.5 tons of cement, 154,982 gallons of emulsion and would take just 15 days. Even better, the FDR would only cost $1,230,589. The FDR project would save more than $16,000,000 compared to reconstruction. Anderson hired a consulting engineer for quality assurance and on-site monitoring. He says between his own research, the contractor’s expertise, and the onsite consulting engineer, he was confident through the whole process.
The end result was nearly 25 miles of strong 8” of reclaimed roadway. Anderson made sure to explain to the commissioner that this base would last for many years if the surface course (1.5” of HMA) is maintained properly.
During the wind farm project, another highway commissioner approached Anderson with a similar problem: Mt. Union road needed repairs. The commissioner was concerned about stability, and knew that the treatment fix couldn’t increase or raise the profile of the road. Again, budgets were a concern. Per Anderson’s recommendation, Lee County hired Rock Solid to perform 12,233 Sy’s of cement FDR, with 127 total tons of material– The whole project was completed in 1 day, costing the county only $93,063.
“We’re their go-to for technical advice” Anderson says about the highway commissioners. “It’s our job to make the right recommendations. Recycling and reclamation have been a really solid choice for us.”
Anderson says the results are undeniable, and he hopes to apply more CIR and FDR in the coming years. “After being on the roads, not that it’s required, but for my own curiosity, I’ll core these roads, get a sample and do some testing. I expect that base is strong beyond belief,” he says. “Stronger than it would have been otherwise. We’re confident it’ll be solid for a while.”
We are featuring David Anderson, Lee County County Engineer for his quick-action in learning, understanding and implementing new recycling and reclamation disciplines for the county. He’s become the highway commissioners’ resource for spearheading projects and advice on recycling and reclamation, as well as an experienced go-to for many County Engineers in neighboring areas.
