Paving in The Fan District of Richmond, Virginia presents a unique set of engineering challenges. With century-old brick foundations, extremely tight alleyways, and strict municipal noise ordinances, a standard paving operation is guaranteed to fail.
Recently, J. Worden & Sons Paving was contracted to execute a massive 50,000 square foot structural milling and overlay operation for a commercial property in the heart of The Fan.
The Engineering Challenge
The existing asphalt had suffered from severe alligator cracking and subgrade failure due to years of improper water drainage and heavy delivery truck traffic. Patching was not an option. The lot required a 2-inch deep profile mill to remove the failing surface course without disturbing the historic cobblestone sub-base hidden beneath.
Logistical Constraints:
- Zero-Tolerance Clearances: Our heavy Wirtgen milling machines had to navigate clearances with less than 6 inches of tolerance against historic brick walls.
- Overnight Execution: To prevent disruption to local businesses, the entire operation—milling, sweeping, tack coating, and paving—had to be completed between 9:00 PM and 6:00 AM.
- Vibratory Impact: We had to utilize static rolling and low-amplitude vibratory compaction to achieve maximum asphalt density without causing structural vibrations that could damage adjacent 19th-century foundations.
Execution and Materials
We deployed a fleet of three tri-axle dump trucks, a Wirtgen W 120 Fi compact milling machine, and a multi-ton HAMM tandem roller.
We executed the mill perfectly, sweeping the surface to a completely clean canvas. We then applied a heavy coat of CSS-1H tack emulsion to ensure a monolithic bond between the base and the new surface course.
For the surface, we elected to use VDOT SM-9.5A Hot Mix Asphalt, engineered specifically for high-durability parking surfaces with excellent water shedding properties.
The Result
By 5:30 AM, our heavy iron was off the lot, and the property owner was left with a perfectly graded, structurally sound, and beautifully black commercial parking facility.
J. Worden & Sons Paving does not just lay asphalt. We engineer surfaces.