en.Wedoany.com Reported - The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is using a new type of lightweight foamed concrete on the U.S. 70 upgrade project, located in the city of Jamestown, which will connect to the future I-42 interstate highway through five new interchanges.

NCDOT noted that due to the project's proximity to rivers, a railroad, and an airport, soil conditions are poor, making traditional fill materials unsuitable. NCDOT Area Engineer Cadmus Cupp said: "The amount of settlement in this area is too large to overcome; in some spots, settlement after loading was approaching 20 inches."

NCDOT Resident Engineer Wendy Johnson stated: "If we used the standard fill material the department regularly uses, it would have taken 280 days just for settlement. The lightweight foamed concrete we are using here has reduced that settlement time to about 90 days." Lightweight foamed concrete is made by mixing cement, water, and a foaming agent. NCDOT has used this material before, but this is the largest application it has ever undertaken. The material is mixed on-site, reducing the project's truck traffic by approximately 20,000 trips compared to traditional methods, which alleviates corridor congestion.

Two interchanges are currently under construction, and the project is expected to be completed in 2028.

Several state departments of transportation across the U.S. are utilizing non-traditional materials in infrastructure projects. The New York State Department of Transportation completed a $25 million flood mitigation project in Westchester County, using foamed concrete (a lightweight material made from recycled glass) to raise the roadway. This material shortened the construction schedule by one year. Foamed concrete was also used by the Arizona Department of Transportation for culvert reinforcement on Interstate 17, and by the Wyoming Department of Transportation for roadway embankment reconstruction at Teton Pass.

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