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1. What is a full depth reclamation (FDR)?

An FDR consists of removing all of the pavement on a street, correcting any poor soils below the pavement, and replacing with new pavement. This process usually happens in 7 steps as shown below.

• Step 1: Remove the old pavement (reclaiming)
  • During this step, the entire depth of the pavement is ground up by a reclaiming machine. The ground up pavement is either graded and left on the street as new base material or is trucked back to the pavement plant to be recycled and used in future pavement. It generally takes a few hours to complete the reclaiming process (grinding up the pavement and grading the temporary driving surface) unless the street is very wide and/or a long segment of the street is being milled.
  • Generally, the street will remain open to traffic during the reclaiming process, but a flagging crew may be directing traffic around the construction operations. The street surface is safe to drive on when the grading of the reclaimed surface is complete. The finished reclaimed surface will resemble a gravel road but will be made of ground-up pavement instead of gravel.
• Step 2: Replace curbs and drainage inlets that need replacement
  • After the reclaiming process is complete, the city's Public Works Department crews will replace any curbs that have sunk over time and are collecting water and/or any drainage inlets that are damaged or disintegrating. Replacing a drainage inlet takes up to a day to complete, and any concrete curb replacement takes about a week to cure before new pavement can be put down next to it. The street will be open during this work, but parking may be limited to allow for work crews to access the replacement sites.
• Step 3: Replace any affected pedestrian curb ramps with ADA-compliant ramps
  • Due to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the City's ADA Transition Plan, all non-compliant pedestrian ramps that connect to a crosswalk that is affected by a Mill and Overlay project will be replaced with ramps that meet ADA requirements. Generally, pedestrian access to these ramps will be limited for a few days to remove the old ramp, regrade the ramp area, pour a new ramp, and let the concrete harden enough to walk on again. The streets will be open during this work, but flaggers or other traffic control may be present while the ramp construction is occurring.
• Step 4: Regrade the roadway base
  • A day or two before the first layer of pavement is put down, the roadway base will be regraded to the elevation needed to support the new pavement. The streets will be open during this work, but flaggers or other traffic control may be present while the grading work is occurring.
• Step 5: Pave the first layer of pavement
  • The first layer of pavement (about 1 ½" of pavement) will be put down on the graded base layer. The paving machine will be followed closely behind by a few rollers to compact the new pavement to provide a solid surface to drive on.
  • You won't be able to drive on the new pavement until the crews are done rolling the pavement, which can take a half-hour or so from the time the paver goes by. Flaggers will direct traffic around the paving operation until the rollers are finished working on the pavement.
• Step 6: Adjust manhole covers
  • All manhole covers will be adjusted to match the final pavement surface. We will also replace the adjustment rings on all manhole structures. You will probably notice that the manhole covers will be sticking out of the ground at this time. That is on purpose because the manhole covers need to match the final pavement surface, which is about 1 ½" above the first layer of pavement. The streets are generally open to traffic during the adjusting operations, but flaggers or other traffic control may be needed during the adjustment construction activities.
• Step 7: Pave the second layer of pavement
  • The final step of an FDR project is to actually pave the new street surface! Before the new pavement is put down, a layer of glue (called "tack") is applied to the street surface to stick the new pavement to the old pavement. It is ok to drive on the tacked street before paving, but please drive slowly to avoid any splatter of the tack on your car. It is really hard to remove tack from the outside of your car once it gets on there!
  • The paving machine follows a few minutes behind the tack truck and lays down a fresh batch of pavement. Rollers follow closely behind to compact the new pavement to provide a solid surface to drive on.
  • You won't be able to drive on the new pavement until the crews are done rolling the pavement, which can take a half-hour or so from the time the paver goes by. Flaggers will direct traffic around the paving operation until the rollers are finished working on the pavement.

2. Can I get in and out of my driveway while they are reclaiming or paving?

Generally, you will be able to get in and out of your driveway at all times except for the following times:

• Between when the reclaiming machine goes by your driveway and the grader smooths out the reclaimed surface (can be up to a couple hours of delay)
• If there is curb being replaced in front of your driveway, you may not be able to access your driveway for up to a week. This is a very rare occurrence, however, and we will let you know if you are affected by this work.
• During the first and second paving operations, you will not have access to your driveway from the time the paver goes by your driveway until the rollers are finished compacting the new pavement. This process usually takes about a half-hour or so.

3. Why does the city do FDR projects?

FDR projects are one component of the city's comprehensive pavement management program. Pavement surfaces tend to wear out much faster than the other components of a street (such as curbs, sidewalks, and utilities) due to the impacts of heavy vehicles. FDR projects are generally reserved for when a pavement surface degrades to the point where a less costly maintenance project (such as a mill and overlay or a chip seal) will not be effective in preserving the pavement.

4. Why not do these projects more often?

Unfortunately, due to the amount of paving work associated with FDR projects (about 3 times the amount of pavement material as a mill and overlay) FDR projects are much more costly than other types of maintenance projects. Due to the costs of FDR projects, they are generally reserved only for pavement surfaces that are too deteriorated for a Mill and Overlay or a chip seal to be effective.

5. What types of streets are good candidates for FDR projects?

Generally, FDR projects are considered when “alligator” cracking starts showing up, major potholes are consistently forming, and / or the edges of the pavement surface are flaking off. These are signs that the entire depth of the pavement surface is reaching its limit.

6. How is parking affected by FDR projects?

Parking will be limited at times during an FDR project so that the contractor can complete the work effectively. "No Parking" signs will be posted at least 48 hours in advance of parking restrictions going into effect. When the parking restrictions are in effect, vehicles still parked in the construction area may be subjected to ticketing and / or towing. We will try to contact the vehicle owner(s) if we find any vehicles still parked on the street during parking restrictions.

Parking restrictions may be posted for the following work:

• Reclaiming operations (usually in effect for 1 to 2 days)
• Curb or drainage inlet replacement work (usually in effect for 1 to 2 days)
• Manhole cover adjustments (parking restrictions only needed when there is not enough street width for cars to go through with a parked car on the street)
• Paving work (usually in effect for 1 to 2 days for each layer of pavement)

7. How are FDR projects paid for, and am I assessed for them?

FDR projects in the City of Red Wing are usually paid for using dedicated street maintenance funding from city property taxes. For certain higher-volume streets, State Aid funding from the State of Minnesota is used to supplement the regular maintenance funding.

The City of Red Wing currently does not assess for FDR or other pavement surface maintenance projects.

8. Where and when is the city planning FDR projects?

The city generally has an FDR project of varying size and scope every other year (or more frequently depending on the need). Typically, city staff meets in the fall of each year to review pavement management data and budget information and take "field trips" to look at each candidate street. The city usually only plans these projects a year or two in advance, but sometimes with bigger FDR projects the city will plan 3 years or more in the future in order to secure the needed funding to complete the projects.

9. How are seal coat projects paid for and am I assessed for them?

Seal Coat projects in the City of Red Wing are usually paid for using dedicated street maintenance funding from city property taxes. For certain higher-volume streets, State Aid funding from the State of Minnesota is used to supplement the regular maintenance funding.

The City of Red Wing currently does not assess for Seal Coat or other pavement surface maintenance projects.

10. Where and when is the city planning seal coat projects?

Seal coating is relatively new to the City of Red Wing although it has been utilized in other communities for many years. 2018 is the first year in at least 20 years that the city has used Seal Coating on our streets. Because of how new Seal Coating is to the city, we are currently evaluating the effectiveness and construction process for seal coats to determine how widely used seal coats will be in the city. At this time, we anticipate having an annual seal coat project each year for the foreseeable future depending on the results of the 2018 project.

Because Seal Coats are more effective as preventative maintenance, seal coat projects are generally scheduled prior to observable issues on the pavement surface. If the 2018 Seal Coat project is successful, the city will be developing a comprehensive Seal Coat program for future years. At this time, however, the city does not have any specific projects in development beyond 2018.