A New Road with a Micromilled Concrete Pavement and a Bridge Over the Esla River in Leon Spain

The Castilla & Leon Regional Government has built a new road between the towns of Castrofuerte de Campos and Toral de los Guzmanes, located in León Province, in the Northwest part of Spain. It includes a 324m long and 10m wide bridge allowing local traffic to avoid a long detour around the Esla river. The total length of the road is 3,787m. The pavement is composed of 20 cm of concrete on 15 cm of crushed granular material. A minimum of 28 days flexural strength of 4.0 MPa was required for concrete when tested at 28 days. Transverse joints were placed at a sequence of distances of 3.4 - 3.6 - 3.8 m, as well as a longitudinal joint between traffic lanes. All of them were sawn and then sealed. Aiming to reduce noise levels, the texture was obtained by micromilling the surface (this was the first Spanish experience). In addition, evenness problems caused by stops of the paver were also corrected. Last but not least, speed of construction was increased with respect to that achieved when an exposed aggregate texture was selected at the beginning of the work, since winter conditions prevailing at the jobsite hindered the removal of unset surface mortar and therefore the cutting of joints. As a result, a silent, high skid-resistant texture was achieved. All things considered, micromilling increases both comfort and safety of drivers.