White Topping in the Bakken -- A "Reverse Oreo"

Link to Oil Patch Dispatch.

WILLISTON, N.D. – A new technique being used in some North Dakota road repair projects aims to smooth out rough spots more quickly and with longer lasting results.  

The North Dakota Department of Transportation is placing a concrete overlay on top of existing asphalt to better handle heavy truck traffic in the Oil Patch and elsewhere.  

The technique, sometimes referred to as white topping, should eliminate the ruts that have been occurring on some northwest North Dakota highways, particularly at intersections, said Robert Seghetti, vice president for ACME Concrete Paving.  

ACME, of Spokane, Wash., is using this technique in a road rehabilitation projects on U.S. Highway 2 north of Williston. ACME also is doing work near New Town. “It should be a long-term solution to the rutting problem they have in North Dakota,” Seghetti said.  

In addition to improving load-carrying capacity and safety, the technique also is cheaper and can be completed more quickly than other resurfacing methods, said Clayton Schumaker, assistant materials and research engineering for the North Dakota Department of Transportation.

Interesting. Another experiment in the Bakken laboratory. Incredible. And I love that "Williston" byline.

I guess with white gravel - black asphalt - white topping, we have the equivalent of a "reverse Oreo" in the oil patch.