Newly Paved, Crumbling Bratt Road To Be Fixed Under Warranty

April 3, 2014

Less than four months after it was paved, portions of Bratt Road are crumbling away.

The December project included dirt road paving and drainage improvements on Bratt Road from Pine Barren Road east about 1.25 miles to the existing paved roadway. The county road department  provided pipe installation and grading, while a contractor was responsible for the paving.

An Escambia County official said the cold mix asphalt was likely used on a day that was too cold, causing it to be spread too thin in some spots.

The contractor, Roads Inc., will repair the roadway under warranty when the remainder of Bratt Road is paved in the coming weeks from Pine Barren Road to West Highway 4 at the Travis Nelson Park, according to District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry.

Pictured: Parts of the recently paved Bratt Road are beginning to crumble away. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

20 Responses to “Newly Paved, Crumbling Bratt Road To Be Fixed Under Warranty”

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  3. Margielu on April 4th, 2014 4:53 pm

    To ohwell…..no final thickness of 6″ is achieved in any less than two 3″ lifts. No need to nitpick, please. Agreed on cold mix….far too substandard to hold up to intended purpose. If…IF…that’s 1.5″ in the photo, I’d be shocked.

    To our county: why do you feel our needs are met with substandard specs? How about someone who knows what they’re doing with regards to the project being done? Maybe a repuable LOCAL asphalt company such as ohwell’s???

  4. bill on April 4th, 2014 3:30 pm

    Light duty paving typically consists of 6″ compacted sand/clay base with a 1-1/2″ compacted asphalt wearing surface. Roads and parking lots designed for heavy truck traffic will usually have more base and asphalt. FDOT roads will have inspectors but these light duty residential type roads usually don’t. It’s obvious that we do not have an inch and a half of asphalt here, since the sand/clay base is breaking though the surface of the asphalt. When I’ve contracted paving for large commercial parking lots, I would require that core samples are taken to insure proper thickness but in this case, it is not usually required. If I were the county engineer, I would watch Roads, Inc. closely, based on their track record.

  5. Taxpayer on April 4th, 2014 8:54 am

    Sho-nuff.–Most informed comment i’ve seen. As to the “Cold mix”, it doesnt exist. I’m sure it was a typo, “warm mix” is available in florida, nobody in a hundred miles uses it yet. OhWell- well said. But I am truly sorry I engaged in this debate. I amazed at how informed people think they are about everything these days, just because you have google and time on your hands. At least a few of you guys know whats really going on.

  6. 429SCJ on April 4th, 2014 6:35 am

    Amen G.

    Contracts should be written with specifications that will preclude that which we are seeing in the photograph. Field Inspections should be conducted before receiving reports are signed and payment made.

  7. bartender on April 4th, 2014 5:20 am

    well if the county would spread the work with other contractors this wouldn’t happen.roads inc.has to much on there plate.county gives them all the work and there in such a hurry to go on to the next job.the engineers are just signing off on this jobs without even looking at it.its time for a change.the comminioner should be looking at these jobs to.but they to busy doing other stuff.they need to clean house and start fresh with people that knows the county. not one time do they ask the county workers how things should be done,they know more than anyone that that money is wasted.look at the fuel that’s wasted everyday.its not fair that some county workers drive a mile from there house,when the rest of them has to drive many miles buying there own gas.theres a lot of ways that they could save money just ask the employees.they could save the county millions od dollars but no one ask.

  8. SHO-NUFF on April 4th, 2014 1:58 am

    I am sure that more than one Engineer decided on the asphalt thickness needed to support the road traffic. Is it a lesser traveled road that lacks heavy log trucks and farm tractors on a regular basis?
    A “Re-Do” is very expensive for the contractor and I seriously doubt they intentionally paved a substandard road.

    The road surface usually fails from poor prep work of the road foundation.
    Another problem in the area is ground water, or springs that can be under the road bed.
    All of us that have spent much time driving on dirt roads can recall places that always stayed “Wet”, regardless of having months without rain. On a Federal or State level, these problems are mitigated with sub terrain drainage and an impervious barrier below the asphalt.

    The money is simply not there to address these problems on a County budget. Its a farm to market road, not Interstate 10.
    Be thankful it is indeed asphalt instead of the “Crush and Run” tar base the County attempted to pave the first dirt roads with that I lived on for years.
    A pot hole is better than a constant mud hole any day.

  9. g on April 3rd, 2014 10:55 pm

    The program managers are not to blame in this job, its called a ” county engineer”. Been there too long, plus Roads inc.is to blame. They need to rip it all up and start over but they will patch it, I will bet u money.

  10. ohwell on April 3rd, 2014 10:41 pm

    1 and a half inch of properly made asphalt is very sufficient for the traffic level of that road. I have constructed roads with an inch and a half 16 years ago that still look and ride great. 6″ lifts are not allowed anywhere I have ever seen as asphalt compaction cannot be achieved on lifts that thick and therefore would soon rut severely under light traffic. Cold mix is cheaper to produce than hot mix therefore should have provided a cost savings to the county. We must remember Escambia county does not build roads to state specs anymore. Cold mix is not allowed on FDOT projects as its durability is lower than that of hot mix. The asphalt is thin therefore its life cycle is even shorter. Pavement should be removed in both directions until design thickness is found. Then paved again at proper thickness and temperature. I am not guessing at this as I have been the asphalt business a long time.

  11. MargieLu on April 3rd, 2014 7:50 pm

    In fact, a 6″ lift is pretty standard, where sensibility rules. And while it’s under warranty, I’d suggest an inspector be out there taking samples, and ensuring the poor road has a minimal crown.

  12. Jeff on April 3rd, 2014 7:47 pm

    Sorry, I do have a clue, and that does not even begin to resemble 1.5″ of asphalt.

    And Roads, Inc. has been dragging its feet on the Jack’s Branch Road project as well.

    Our driveway has been disrupted for over 5 months now–and some folks at the beginning of the road at Muscogee have been dealing with half-baked silt fencing, debris scattered and left laying about for even longer–plus, we get a sudden abundance of mini liquor bottles along our fenceline, etc.

    It is my opinion that Roads, Inc. has never delivered the final product they promised to Escambia County taxpayers in a project bid. Why do they keep getting the job?

  13. MargieLu on April 3rd, 2014 7:45 pm

    Having worked for a large paving contractor in Southern California, I heartily agree with “Pop.” Anything under 3″ is substandard, insufficient, won’t hold up to anything other than bicycle traffic and pedestrians, and couldn’t even pass as a sidewalk, much less a roadway. They just flushed our taxpayer $$$ down the proverbial toilet.

  14. DAGB on April 3rd, 2014 7:45 pm

    TAXPAYER – Please post a ref. where you come up with those specs. Your so called 1 – 1 1/2 is exactly the end result of what’s above. The County has “Program Managers” that I would have tthought would of asked for core samples. I would assume that’s a part of the job. But then again they most likely influenced the powers that be to go with absolute lowest bid contractor and never followed up on it. End result money could be diverted to the Pensacola area again and the North End residents come up short. Go!

  15. David Huie Green on April 3rd, 2014 7:00 pm

    REGARDING:
    “Three inches would double the cost to the county taxpayer,”

    So the total cost of road construction is the cost of asphalt?

    AND
    ” I wish people were more informed before they start making statements about things they apparently have no clue about.”

    Inform us further. Why cold mix rather than hot mix?
    I assume there’s a good reason, just ignorant as to what it is.

    David for good information sources

  16. Taxpayer on April 3rd, 2014 2:48 pm

    All roads in escambia county have the same specs and design standards. The specs call for an inch and a half. Three inches would double the cost to the county taxpayer, not to mention this road get about as much use as a small subdivision in pensacola. I wish people were more informed before they start making statements about things they apparently have no clue about.

  17. eyeswideopen on April 3rd, 2014 9:44 am

    What! Did they think we still use horse and buggy out this way.

  18. tg on April 3rd, 2014 9:04 am

    Hopefully they can see how thin this overlay is and it wont last long.

  19. David Huie Green on April 3rd, 2014 6:38 am

    It was nice while it lasted. It just didn’t last?

    Please make sure the inspectors are faithfully doing their jobs of making sure the contractors are faithfully doing THEIR jobs.

    [One can just imagine:
    "Hey Billy Bob, that last job didn't take but a third the material a road that long and wide usually takes."
    "No biggie, Bobby Bill, the inspector passed it."]

    David for jobs done right

  20. Pop on April 3rd, 2014 5:38 am

    It will never hold up that thin!! Needs to b atleast 3″ thick.