Building North Texas: Construction Materials Testing for Public Works Infrastructure
Growth across North Texas is driving continued investment in the infrastructure communities rely on every day. Roadways are expanding, water systems are increasing capacity, and wastewater improvements are replacing or upgrading aging infrastructure.
Behind these projects, construction materials testing (CMT) plays an important role in helping public owners, engineers and contractors verify that construction materials and installation meet project requirements.
From roadway expansions to large-diameter waterlines and wastewater systems, Geotex Engineering provides CMT services for public works projects throughout North Texas and Southern Oklahoma.
Why is Construction Materials Testing Important for Public Works Projects?
Public infrastructure is built for long-term service, making quality control during construction critical.
Construction materials testing provides documented verification of materials and construction activities throughout the project. Depending on the scope, this can include testing soils and earthwork, concrete, asphalt and other materials for compliance with project plans and specifications. Testing also gives project teams timely information that can help identify potential issues during construction—when they can often be addressed more efficiently.
For municipalities and other public entities, accurate testing and documentation also provide an important record of the work performed throughout construction.
How Does Materials Testing Support Roadway Construction?
As communities grow, roadway improvements are necessary to increase capacity, improve connectivity and accommodate new development.
Roadway construction, such as the Legacy Drive expansion in Prosper, Texas, can involve multiple phases of testing, including evaluation of subgrade and embankment soils, density testing, concrete testing and asphalt testing. Each provides information project teams can use to verify that materials and construction meet specified requirements before work progresses to the next phase.
The result is a documented quality-control process from the ground up.
What Testing Is Needed for Water Infrastructure Construction?
Water infrastructure projects present a different set of construction challenges, particularly when they involve large-diameter pipelines.
Geotex recently provided construction materials testing for a 36-inch waterline project in Sherman, Texas. Projects of this scale can require testing and observation associated with trench preparation, embedment, backfill, compaction, concrete and pavement replacement.
As with waterline construction, testing for wastewater infrastructure can include soils, backfill and compaction as well as concrete and pavement-related testing depending on the project scope. Geotex provided CMT services for the Soap Creek WWTP Expansion in Dallas, Texas. The existing lift station and force main were replaced by a gravity interceptor.
Much of the completed infrastructure for these projects is underground. Testing during construction helps verify that the materials surrounding and supporting these systems are installed in accordance with project requirements before they are covered.
Common Construction Materials Testing Services Include:
- Soil and aggregate sampling
- Moisture-density relationships (Proctors)
- Field density and compaction testing
- Concrete sampling and testing
- Asphalt sampling and testing
Geotex works alongside municipalities, water districts, engineers and contractors to provide responsive construction materials testing and documentation throughout the construction process.
With three accredited laboratories and field teams serving North Texas and Southern Oklahoma, we help public works teams get the information they need to keep projects moving and build infrastructure with confidence.
