How to Slip Form Barrier Walls
If you are responsible for a large, new housing development, then you may also need to plan the design and introduction of access roads. These roads will need to carry the appropriate amount of traffic with ease and in safety, and you need to take into account neighbours along the route. To make sure that road design is both practical and acceptable to the local authority, you will need barrier walls, and slip forming is the way to go. What is involved in this process?
Sound and Barrier Walls
Whenever a brand-new road passes an existing housing development and is expected to be quite heavily trafficked, you may be required to build concrete barrier walls. These are made to a strict specification and designed to be acoustic so that traffic noise is repelled. Yet these walls are not, typically, designed to be barriers or to deflect a heavy vehicle in the event of an accident. In this case, you may be required to build a separation barrier, and this needs to be placed very carefully as well.
Careful Design
Engineers are able to predict how a heavy vehicle, travelling at speed, will react once it hits an obstacle. The barrier wall should, therefore, be designed to absorb such force and push the vehicle back into the roadway, so that the sound walls and neighbouring properties are safe.
The barrier will need to be slip formed by a competent contractor so that it remains in place under heavy load. They may need to include extra reinforcement, or make sure that the barrier is of a certain width at its base to comply with state or federal regulations.
Detailed Work
When they introduce this type of structure, paving crews will need to work with consistency and rely on a constant supply of concrete so that the application is uniform. Workers will also need to cut and secure any expansion joints as work continues, while others ensure that the grade is consistent between one side of the barrier and the other, as the form runs.
Moving Ahead
To be effective, you will need to work closely with regulators, engineers and concrete contractors to ensure that this job is done right. After all, safety is paramount, but you will also need to adhere to both a timetable and a budget, and cannot afford any missteps. Seek out a concrete contractor with experience in slip forming to help you progress.