By Jason Stuart
Ranger-Review Staff Writer
The Montana Department of Transportation has no concerns about the cracks which have appeared in the newly rebuilt intersection of West Towne Street and Highway 16.
Since the intersection was completed, several cracks have appeared in the new concrete at the intersection. Local drivers have taken notice of the cracks, commenting about them on local social media pages.
However, MDT District 4 Administrator Shane Mintz said he has no worries about the cracks or the overall quality and integrity of the new concrete at the intersection.
“There’s nothing there that we’re concerned with,” Mintz said. “You know, concrete cracks, that’s a fact. That was a pretty big pour, and there’s nothing here really out of the ordinary.”
Mintz said the project contractors actually took steps to control cracking during the project. He said standard practice is to make saw-cuts along the joints in the concrete “to try to control where it cracks,” but that on a slab of concrete that large, some cracking is common.
“Even with that, sometimes you get cracks that form on the joint,” Mintz said. “And that’s part of the contract, that when that happens, they saw-cut the cracks and seal them. It’s pretty common practice.”
Mintz said the appearance of the cracks to motorists is deceiving. He said the actual cracks themselves are really no more than one-sixteenth of an inch wide. The cracks appear much larger at the surface — up to three-quarters of an inch wide — because they are saw-cut into and then filled with sealant, Mintz said.
Mintz added that the intersection project is “pretty well finished” and noted that with the new traffic signal and the removal of the traffic island which was once there, the intersection should flow much more smoothly than it did before.
“At the end of the day, the intersection just functions a lot more efficiently than it did before and people won’t have to wait as long to turn,” Mintz said.
Reach Jason Stuart at rrreporter@rangerreview.com.