INVESTIGATION OF ROADWAY GROOVING JONES FALLS EXPRESSWAY (I-83)

This is the final report for the federally sponsored two-year type B study AW-74-136-46 and the testing program required for the safety grooving project on the Baltimore City portion of Jones Falls Expressway (BC-243-25-815). The safety grooves were sawed in the fall of 1970. Although the average skid numbers (SN/40) were significantly higher for a period of more than one year following the grooving for the grooved sites, they soon fell to pre-grooving levels. Almost half of the depth of the grooves in longitudinally grooved cement concrete was gone in a period of a little more than two years. Transverse grooved cement concrete sites have lost 84% of their groove depth in approximately three and one-half years. These groove depth losses were recorded in wheel path areas of the lanes. The hazard of skidding from these worn areas into areas with more grooving remaining was not explored. It is felt that safety grooving will not improve skid resistance enough to justify the installation expenditures, especially when used on heavily travelled highways.

• Corporate Authors:

  Maryland Department of Transportation

  2323 West Joppa Road
  Brooklandville, MD  United States  21022

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Beck, L D
• Publication Date: 1974-6

Media Info

• Pagination: 80 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Concrete; Concrete pavements; Expressways; Highway safety; Maintenance; Pavement grooving; Roughness; Safety engineering; Skid resistance; Skidding; Urban areas
• Uncontrolled Terms: Experimental data
• Geographic Terms: Maryland
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Pavements; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00137357
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA/MD/R-76/17 Final Rpt., FCP 41H3204
• Contract Numbers: HPR 136
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Sep 16 1977 12:00AM