Concrete Screed Highway Repair

Tom had the chance to stop and visit with Steve Yuhl of Triton Marine Construction out of Aiea Hawaii on a recent trip to Oahu. Steve and his company, Triton Marine Construction, have modified the TTI Screedright Pro to help them repair bridge decks on interstates.

When concrete breaks out of the decks on interstates the result is a large crack and pothole in the road. Usually rain and moisture exacerbate the problem as well as a constant flow of traffic over the holes and cracks.

Triton Marine uses a mechanical water jet that sits on a pair of tracks to remove damaged concrete off the road deck. Triton Marine programs the osculation and forward movement speed of their water jet. They may remove up to four inches from the surface of a deck that is twelve inches thick. They leave the existing re bar. They will then set up temporary rails or forms for the TTI Screedright Pro to ride on. The rails set the elevation to keep the repair level with the existing roadway. An extremely quick curring concrete is then applied. There is a volumetric truck on site so the concrete can be mixed on site. The concrete is set after only one hour and holds an incredible 3000 psi roadway that the traffic can travel on. This quick curring concrete allows for Triton Marine to work very quickly so that they can get on site, repair the concrete and then open up for traffic in a very short amount of time. Steve was looking for a screed that could strike off a slab in a short amount of time with minimal manpower.

Triton Marine modified the screed in a couple of ways. First, their screed accepts a 2" X 4" magnesium bar instead of the average 2x4. They also fashioned a longer handle bar on the end so they can set the screed on the far side of a 10 foot wide deck and pull across the deck without having to step in the fast drying concrete.

Triton Marine Construction has highway deck repair down to an art form. The next time you visit the great island of Oahu, you can thank your smooth ride to Steve Yuhl and his crew at Triton Marine Construction.