At UNIQUE Paving Materials, we specialize in creating pavement preservation materials for a diverse array of applications. This includes products for repairing railroad crossings.
Learn more about our various railroad crossing repair materials, as well as how they can be utilized in your railway maintenance today.
About Our Products for Repairing Railroad Crossings
Depending on your individual application needs, there are several UNIQUE products for railroad crossing repair and upkeep. Some of these materials include the following:
- UPM® Cold Mix – This repair material is best for permanently filling potholes in your asphalt. Simply shovel the mixture into your pothole 25% higher than the road to allow for complete compaction.
- UNIQUE® Highway DOT– This concrete repair product is ideal for fixing deep patches in concrete roads, parking lots, driveways, and even railroad crossings. It is recommended that the UNIQUE® Highway DOT is used for patches that are 2” to 12” deep.
- INTEGRA-SEAL® Rejuvenating Asphalt Sealer– Keep your railroad crossing protected from aging and potential damage with our INTEGRA-SEAL® Rejuvenating Asphalt Sealer. Our eco-friendly, non-coal-tar-based sealer is adaptable and durable for any industry application.
- KOLD-FLO® Pourable Crack Filler– For cracks in your crossing’s foundation, we recommend our KOLD-FLO® Pourable Crack Filler. This product is ideal for asphalt cracks in roads enduring long-term use, as well as freeze/thaw cycles from harsh winter weather.
These are just some of UNIQUE’s products that can be used when completing a railroad crossing repair. For more information on our broad range of concrete repair and asphalt repair products, check out our extensive line of high-performance materials, or contact us directly.
Why You Should Invest in Railroad Crossing Repair Materials
Since their establishment in the United States in the early 1800s, railroads have remained a vital transportation mode for goods and services nationwide, most notably for bulk goods and commodities. That is why railroad crossing repairs should be regularly performed to ensure the efficiency of one of our most reliable forms of ground transportation.
To learn more about how our products for repairing railroad crossings can be applied in industry-specific applications, check out our case study conducted in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Norfolk Southern Railroad – Ft. Wayne, Indiana Line
The Fort Wayne rail line of Norfolk Southern consists of 200 track miles across northern Indiana. Of the 200 track miles there are over fifty crossings that span the line. All of the crossings over the county roads as well as the private crossings are required to be maintained by the railroad. The private crossings traverse thousands of acres of farmland and Norfolk Southern is responsible for providing access over these tracks for farm equipment to access during tilling, planting, and harvesting seasons.
On average, the rail crossings across this line are replaced every three years. This line is one of the busiest in the state of Indiana and replacement cannot always be planned for warmer weather when traditional HMA (hot mix asphalt) can be available to repair the crossing. The alternative is High-Performance UPM® Permanent Pavement Repair Materials, such as the UPM® Cold Mix. UPM® Cold Mix allows for a complete repair during challenging circumstances with limited resources.
This rail crossing is located at SR14 and County Road 600 North, (CR600N), in the Fort Wayne metro district. This particular crossing is subject to both light passenger and heavy commercial traffic.
UPM® Cold Mix is produced with seasonal temperature consideration. Seasonal grades include “winter,” “spring-fall,” and “summer” grades. Viscosities are controlled in order to optimize use at any temperature. UPM® Cold Mix can also be delivered to the project site days and even weeks prior to installation. This provides flexibility with the ever-changing construction schedules and “off-rail” time necessary to perform the work inside the track and the approaches.
Traditional use of HMA requires material delivery and a narrow placement window that is often missed due to unforeseen circumstances such as preparation delays, train schedules, and plant mix inefficiencies.
Work can begin, stop, and begin again as necessary to accommodate the train schedules and vehicular traffic (if maintaining partial lane), and can be installed anytime, regardless of weather conditions.
Multiple lifts are required to achieve the full depth of the repair. The final lift shall be installed high (typically 20% of the depth of the repair) to compensate for some settling through vehicular compaction. This application had the final lift held 3/4” above the finished surface (rail).
The use of UPM® Cold Mix provides for ductility (flexibility) as a result of our very slow cure. The flexible qualities of UPM® Cold Mix allow for movement with the inside rubber rail membrane thus preventing cracking, breaking, and premature deterioration that occurs with HMA once it’s compacted and cools to ambient temperatures. Yet, the stability and load-bearing capabilities of this product for repairing railroad crossings are not compromised.
Immediately upon the installation of UPM® Cold Mix, the railroad crossing was opened for vehicular traffic. During the installation, the only compaction required was performed by the plate compactor.
Making two to three passes with each lift of UPM® Cold Mix is all that’s required to obtain compaction and stability for this rail crossing.
Need Products for Repairing Railroad Crossings? Contact Us Today!
For questions regarding our versatile line of railroad crossing repair materials, please contact our team at UNIQUE Paving Materials today. We will be glad to help!
