What is Dry Diamond Grinding? A Guide to Pavement Grinding and Concrete Restoration
Damaged pavements are a safety risk
Diamond pavement grinding can repair damage caused by water ingress, heavy traffic and freeze-thaw cycles to the concrete, which can create immediate safety risks for pedestrians and motorists. When left unaddressed, poorly maintained roads and sidewalks develop deep cracks, potholes, and rutting that lead to costly vehicle damage and dangerous environments for vulnerable users, including those using wheelchairs or strollers.
The benefits of smoother roads
As budgets get tighter and material costs continue to rise, pavement preservation provides the ideal solution. Diamond grinding was the premier Concrete Pavement Restoration (CPR) technique to restore pavement smoothness, improve ride quality, remove surface irregularities, and extend the service life of infrastructure by decades without the high carbon footprint of new overlays. In fact, a study by Rutgers found that extending the life of pavement through preventive maintenance can reduce greenhouse gases by up to 2 percent; transportation agencies can cut spending by 10 percent to 30 percent; and drivers can save about 2 percent to 5 percent in fuel consumption, tire wear, vehicle repair and maintenance costs because of smoother surfaces.
What is diamond pavement grinding?
Diamond pavement grinding is a maintenance technique that uses diamond-tipped blades to remove a thin layer of pavement surface. This process corrects imperfections while creating a textured finish that enhances both safety and performance.
Diamond grinding has long been the industry standard for correcting International Roughness Index (IRI) scores, a measurement of road smoothness. If the IRI is too high, you may be penalized by the Department of Transportation.
Advanced precision grinding technology
Traditional diamond grinding can sometimes cause fractures due to larger blades striking the concrete, creating vibrations that impact the concrete, especially if the concrete is older and has existing micro-cracks. Diamond grinding also creates a host of logistical issues with water management, slurry waste and can take significantly longer than WJ’s precision grinding.
WJ’s Flatliner technology offers a cleaner, dry-grinding alternative by removing a precise 3-6mm of surface material, eliminating bumps, high spots and faulting without the risk of pavement fracturing. It’s a cleaner, faster and more cost-effective alternative that delivers smooth, uniform surfaces with minimal disruption to road users.
Traditional diamond grinding requires thousands of gallons of water, creating a ‘slurry’ that must be vacuumed, transported, and treated as waste. WJ’s Flatliner technology operates as a 100% dry process. By eliminating water from the equation, we remove the risk of slurry runoff entering local waterways and slash the carbon footprint associated with heavy water-tanker logistics.
Improving tire-pavement noise and skid resistance
WJ’s precision grinding is defined by its ability to deliver a consistent, engineered macrotexture. Our advanced heads carve uniform longitudinal grooves that disrupt the tire-pavement noise, providing a ‘silent ride’ and creating a quieter environment for surrounding communities. More importantly, this texture provides a high-friction profile that facilitates proper water drainage, which drastically reduces hydroplaning risks and enhances overall roadway safety.
Time is money
Our Flatliner equipment has a smaller footprint and requires fewer support vehicles than traditional wet-grinding setups, so we can mobilize and demobilize quickly. This was recently demonstrated on the I-70/I-470 interchange in Missouri, where a 45-day project window was condensed into just 10 days of active work. The Flatliner allows WJ to self-perform milling without subcontractors, which means greater control of delivery, fewer delays, reduced project costs and consistent quality from a single contractor.