Concrete vs. Asphalt: Woodbury’s Valley Creek Road Construction Project

Woodbury Patch was asked: Why did the county use asphalt on one part of the Valley Creek Road construction project and concrete on the other?

The reason, said project manager Jacob Gave, is age.

The project stretched from Bielenberg Drive to Woodbury Drive, and Interlachen Parkway was the cutoff for the two road types—asphalt east of Interlachen and concrete to the west.

The concrete portion of the roadway hadn’t been rebuilt since the mid-1990s, Gave said, and the portion of roadway east of Interlachen was in better shape.

“There was a little bit more deterioration between Interlachen and Bielenberg,” he said.

While concrete is typically more difficult to install, maintenance is easier, Gave said. “The tradeoff is you don’t have to come back to it as often.”

Traffic counts along the concrete section of Valley Creek Road are higher than those from Interlachen Parkway to Woodbury Drive, Gave said.

There are some minor items to complete with the project, which was met with plenty of consternation from Woodbury residents who expressed frustration with the major arterial road during construction.

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Gave said it was “unfortunate” that there were more traffic impacts than anticipated.

Regarding deadlines, contractors did not meet the one set for the concrete portion of the work and the county did recoup some costs for the approximately $3.3 million project, he said.

Check out previous coverage.

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