Ensuring safe, reliable sidewalks throughout winter is a top priority for medical facilities. To address this challenge, facilities continually adopt new winter maintenance practices that are both cost-effective and environmentally responsible. Common deicing agents—such as magnesium chloride, sodium chloride, and calcium chloride—can be particularly aggressive on concrete surfaces, often necessitating sidewalk replacement every three to five years.
For this project, our objective was to deliver a sidewalk solution that offered enhanced durability and resistance to deicing chemicals, thereby extending service life. Additionally, maintaining a consistent color and surface appearance with existing sidewalks was essential. We developed a concrete mix incorporating microsilica and fly ash to significantly reduce chloride ingress, achieving a salt-resistant performance similar to that of PT parking deck mixes. Recognizing that such mixes are not typically finished to sidewalk standards, we tailored the admixture blend to ensure optimal workability and finishing quality, resulting in a long-lasting, visually consistent, and resilient sidewalk installation.
