A three-year contract for installing a concrete mow strip in the median of Interstate 30 in Bowie and Titus counties has been finished in a year's time, using a Power Curber 5700-B.
The Texas Department of Transportation awarded the contract for 45 miles of mow strip to J W Payne Construction Co. of New Boston, Texas. Work began in September of 2005.
"A lot of the early finish is due to the machine," says Troy Neeley, one of the construction superintendents on the job. Sherman Parks is the other superintendent. "We do it in one year, and that's two years of barricade money the state pays you. This turned out real well for our company."
The project on Interstate 30 involved 27 miles of mow strip in Bowie County and 18 miles in Titus County. J W Payne, a general contractor, has owned a Power Curber since 1998, using it for curb and gutter and sidewalk, until the contract for the mow strip.
Steel posts are inserted in the strip and steel cable is strung in the median. Recently, USA Today reported that cable barrier is proving phenomenally effective at saving lives by preventing cars from crossing the median during accidents.
In the slipform application, the holes for the posts are bored first at marked locations on the interstate. Then, the mow strip is slipformed, with concrete filling the holes. New Boston Concrete was the supplier. The posts are then inserted into the wet concrete and the wire cable is installed for the Safe Roads, LLC U.S. high-tension cable system. GSI Highway Products in Hutchins is the distributor for Safe Roads cable barriers.
The concrete foundation is flush with the ground and prevents grass from growing around the posts. Grass-cutting crews can run their mowing machines over the edge of the concrete, reducing maintenance costs.
Troy says the Power Curber has always worked great. "You can get a lot of footage in a month," he says. He's also pleased with his Power Curber service, provided by Sam Howard and Scott Green. "You can't beat Sam," he says. "If I have any problem, I can talk to Sam and he'll clue me right in to the problem and get fixed up, usually on the telephone."
