Problem & Objective:

In 2012 Hurricane Sandy slammed the Atlantic coast causing significant damage—wind and water surges breached barrier islands and coastal protection causing extreme flooding. Many businesses, homes, and pavements were destroyed—including land and much of a 2.5-acre asphalt parking lot of a luxury car dealer in Brooklyn, NY. Following the event, new regulations for flood-prone areas disallowed completely asphalted surfaces, and for new pavement designs required that all sheet flow be captured and retained on site. Consequently, the dealership’s pavement would need to be rebuilt with a significant stormwater retention system included.

Design Solution:

To satisfy the stormwater requirement, the Presto GEOPAVE gravel pavers were chosen to provide a long-term porous surface for half of the parking area. The gravel pavers keep highly-permeable open graded base course (OGBC) contained under loading—and facilitate fast stormwater infiltration. This on-site porous pavement solution was approved by the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), negated the need for expensive stormwater collection systems—and allowed everyday traffic.

Construction Overview:

A deep base of 18 inches of aggregate, placed over a non-woven geotextile, was installed for adequate stormwater storage in the drive lanes and parking areas. The base material was leveled and compacted. The GEOPAVE paver units were installed over the base and secured end to end and side to side with strong clips, forming a contiguous pavement. The fully-integrated paver system provides high flexural strength, and resistance to vehicle traffic stresses and torsional loading. The GEOPAVE paver system was infilled with open-graded aggregate 0.375 in to 0.5 in with minimal fine content and leveled. The paver systems’ molded-in mesh bottom keeps aggregate contained and limits migration of stone through the bottom.

Results:

The GEOPAVE porous pavement was installed to align with the existing asphalt pavement at the interface of the two pavements. Drive lanes and over 150 parking spaces (over 51,000 sf) of GEOPAVE gravel pavers were installed.