North Bay Twenty Years Later - A Case Study of Proper Design and Construction of Interlocking Concrete Pavement

In 1983, North Bay, Ontario completed construction of over 14,000 square meters (150,000 sq. ft.) of interlocking concrete pavement on a one-kilometre section of downtown Main Street. The project, affectionately known as ëThe Big Digí was completed in seven months of construction at a cost of $3,300,000 (1983$). Based upon a twenty-year design life and an expected traffic volume of 8000 vehicles per day with 5% delivery trucks and buses, the pavement has now reached the intended design life. In addition to these traffic volumes, the pavement is subjected to very severe weather conditions, ranging from - 40 C in the winter to 35 C in the summer. After 20 years, the pavement continues to perform exceptionally well and there are very minimal signs of distress. Maintenance of the pavement has been virtually non-existent. It is quite possible that the interlocking concrete pavers will perform quite adequately for at least another 20 years. Since the Downtown was renovated, the city has continued to use pavers in public places such as sidewalks, boulevards, and waterfront promenades. Interlocking concrete pavements have not only contributed to a better structural pavement performance, but have been instrumental to the Downtown revitalization of North Bay. This paper will discuss the original pavement design, pavement evaluation and condition surveys performed in 1991 and 1999, maintenance, and a life cycle cost analysis performed in 2000. The paper will also key on the important lessons learned.