CY5X000 capabilities

A short video on the Skidabrader in action.

NCDOT Skidabrader Reclamite Project 2012

FORT MITCHELL, Ky. (WKRC) - After months of crashes in the same spot on I-75, a fix is coming this weekend. Local 12 has been warning you about a safety issue as the interstate goes under Dixie Highway in Ft. Mitchell. The solution is coming from a one-of-a-kind machine called the Skidabrader. It's going to roughen up the stretch of highway in the area. "It's essentially like shotgun shells that are repeatedly going off at the surface," Josh Jones with Skidabrader said. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 6 Spokesperson Nancy Wood says the roadway is too smooth in the area. Wood says 130,000 vehicles go through the stretch every day. "Over time...they call it roadway polishing and it's just smoothed out the surface there and this treatment will rough it back up to give cars the traction they need," Wood said. The stretch has been a nightmare whenever it gets wet. It's so bad, Kenton County and Ft. Mitchell both declared it an emergency. "Cars have hydroplaned and hit the median wall. So, we had to expedite this project " Wood said. The Skidabrader works by firing tiny ball bearings into the concrete. Those bearings break off little pieces from the surface. "And create angles on the pavement surface so the tire gets very good traction," Jones said. Jones says you should notice a difference when it's finished. "More control of their vehicle and the vehicle is going to be less likely to skid," Jones said. Once the rehab work is finished this weekend, the left lane, which has been closed, will reopen.

FT. MITCHELL, Ky. (WKRC) - A project to fix a dangerous section of I-75 southbound in Northern Kentucky has been completed ahead of schedule. Local 12 has been warning you about a safety issue as the interstate goes under Dixie Highway in Ft. Mitchell. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet announced a fix last week that would use a special piece of equipment, the Skidabrader, to roughen up the road. KYTC spokeswoman, Nancy Wood, said the road has been polished and smoothed out over time by the number of cars traveling on it each day. “It’s just smoothed out the surface there and this treatment will rough it back up to give the traction that cars need so that should not have any more of the hydroplaning issues that have been happening,” Wood said. Crews worked over the weekend in all four lanes along a 1.2 mile stretch of the interstate. The hope is that it will give drivers more traction to prevent hydroplaning and skidding. All four lanes, including the left lane which has been closed, are now open. A more extensive improvement project for both north and southbound lanes is scheduled for later this month. It will repair the median and sinking pavement.

This NASA workshop was held at Wallops Flight Facility in May 1995. Much of the tire runway friction research was conducted at Langley Research Center's Landing Loads Facility. This video shows paved area at Wallops being modified by Skidabrader. For more on Langley's Landing Loads Facility, see http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/historic/1257.