Beer garden
Roads & Bridges
March 2008
By John Bartoszek, P.E.
The city of hops drives home need to be environmentally conscious
PDF Version
More chug, less puff
Asphalt Today 2006
February 2008
By Mike Acott
Asphalt industry works hard toward environmentally friendly environment
Nerves of Asphalt
Asphalt Today 2006
February 2008
By Nicholas Hornyak, Ph.D., and James Crovetti
Perpetual pavement receives brain to help researchers monitor health
Think like a knife
Asphalt Today 2006
February 2008
By Eric Morse
Industry should follow example of contractor in Nebraska
Slim and Trim
Asphalt Today 2006
February 2008
By Kent Hanson, P.E.
Reducing the fat in production can help cut energy costs
Serious pull
Asphalt Today 2006
February 2008
By John Irvine
Contractors need to be business savvy with hauling operations
Jersey becomes uniform
Asphalt Today 2006
February 2008
By Rodney Garrett
State makes a commitment to smoothness on all road projects
Rock climbing
Asphalt Today 2006
February 2008
By Sidney F. Mays
Demand for aggregate will continue to skyrocket
International flight
Roads & Bridges
September 2007
By Ray Brown
SMA is starting to take off as an airfield pavement in Europe; U.S. may soon follow suit
High sealing
Roads & Bridges
September 2007
By Brian Perriam
New Zealand pushes for an upgrade in road maintenance
Mix Reaction
Roads & Bridges
February 2007
By Dave Newcomb, P.E., Ph.D. Contributing Author
HMA industry responds to attacks based on cost and supply
Feed Drive
Roads & Bridges
February 2007
By Bill O’Leary, Contributing Author
Innovative asphalt distribution network finding momentum
Starting at the bottom
Roads & Bridges
February 2006
Rodney Garrett
Pennsylvania contractor decides to reconstruct down to the subgrade
Strong Makeup
Roads & Bridges
October 2005
Richard Holmes, president of Holmes & Murphy
“The mix cools quickly and is difficult for the crews to hand work. We also found that we achieved better joint densities if we didn’t let the joint cool.”
Starting to Warm
Roads & Bridges
August 2005
Brian D. Prowell, P.E., and Graham C. Hurley Contributing Authors
Though there is still a lot to learn about warm mix, the technologies appear promising.
Dry Parking
Storm Water Solutions
July 2005
By Kent Hansen, P.E.
The stone recharge bed is the heart of the porous pavement. It provides temporary storage of storm water falling directly on the pavement as well as from other impermeable surfaces.
Get a grip
Roads & Bridges
June 2005
Allen Zeyher Managing Editor
Asphalt pavement designers usually have to choose between strength and durability. Racetracks lean toward strength, but that usually costs them in durability.
Energy comes naturally
Roads & Bridges
May 2005
By Stephen Damp
With oil prices over $55 a barrel this year leading to asphalt cement prices hovering around $200/ton and diesel regularly selling for $2/gal or more, the cost benefits gained by recycling deteriorated pavements has grown substantially.
The old with the New
Roads & Bridges
May 2005
Jo Sias Daniel
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of RAP on the volumetric properties and stiffness of HMA.
Positive Energy
Roads & Bridges
April 2004
Bill Wilson, Editor
The National Asphalt Pavement Association honor is considered to be the most prestigious in the asphalt pavement industry. The winner is determined through a two-year process.
A Hot Wintry Mix
Roads & Bridges
February 2004
Jack Donovan
Contributing Author
Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, as the management consultant for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority on Boston's Central Artery/Tunnel project, prepared a cold-weather paving procedure that required the paving subcontractor and the asphalt supplier to meet minimum asphalt temperatures at various points between batching and placement.
Just Following Policy!
Roads & Bridges
October 2003
Foamed asphalt lets Ulster County, N.Y., keep its roads open to local and tourist traffic while they undergo complete recycling and stabilization as base material prior to overlay.
Sharpen Those Incisors
Roads & Bridges
October 2003
Allen Zeyher, Associate Editor
Although most of the new products in this section are bigger and more powerful than their predecessors, there are still machines available for every application. This month, Roads & Bridges has gathered a sample of recent introductions of recycling/reclaiming machines and cold planers used for grinding up and recycling pavement.
Cooled and ready to serve?
Roads & Bridges
September 2003
Margaret Blain Cervarich, Contributing Author
The leaders of the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) learned of cutting-edge technologies in Europe for bringing down temperatures and, during the summer of 2002, conducted a European study tour to research and evaluate three of these processes.
"The impact of warm-mix technologies on the industry may be as significant as the introduction of stone-matrix asphalt and engineering controls," Peter Wilson, NAPA's 2003 chairman, commented.
Test Temp
Roads & Bridges
August 2003
TransTech Systems Inc.
There was a need for manufacturers to find a more permanent solution to the tender zone problem. A couple of R&D-minded manufacturers jumped into the lead with equipment and instrumentation designed to get the job done faster.
Rolling a perfect score
Roads & Bridges
August 2003
Steve Muench, Contributing Author
A group of researchers at the University of Washington are working on a first-generation 3-D hot-mix asphalt (HMA) compaction trainer called the Xpactor. The Xpactor works like a video game and allows users to operate a virtual HMA roller in a three-dimensional computer environment. The Xpactor can assist learning with any number of compaction issues including proper rolling patterns, longitudinal joint rolling and time available for compaction.
Do they all agree?
Roads & Bridges
July 2003
Tom Harman, Contributing Author
As a part of the Superpave mix design system, gyratory compactors are important in defining the mix characteristics to be achieved in production. There are currently eight approved models of gyratory compactors. It is important that these devices provide consistent results from one to another, because results from contractors' mix designs are used to provide construction control and are subject to agency verification. A lack of consistency can result in substantial and needless penalties and a mutual distrust between contractors, testing firms and agencies.
Quality Education
Roads & Bridges
April 2003
Bill Wilson
In January, K. Barnett & Sons and the New Mexico State Highway Department were named to an elite honor roll. The National Asphalt Pavement Association recognized work done on a five-mile stretch of I-25 with the 2002 Sheldon G. Hayes Award. K. Barnett & Sons went beyond the required rhetoric, using constructive innovation in a state that has really kept future road development in check.
Cracking the compactor code
Roads & Bridges
April 2003
Steve Wilson, Contributing Author
Selecting the right roller for a particular operation does not need to be confusing, nor does it need to involve a certified mathematician to calculate countless performance values. It simply requires understanding some of the basic specifications found on most manufacturers' product sheets, such as frequency, amplitude and centrifugal force, and having a general idea of how these all relate to one another. Additionally, there is another rarely published specification known as "output horsepower."
Eyeing the surface
Roads & Bridges
April 2003
Segregation may be defined as lack of homogeneity of constituents in hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavements such that accelerated pavement distresses occur. The most common form of HMA segregation has been identified as gradation segregation. Gradation segregation is the non-uniform distribution of coarse and fine aggregate materials in the finished HMA pavements. The work described here was specifically focused on the use of laser technology to develop procedures or screening tools to determine segregated areas.
Industry marches on
Roads & Bridges
January 2003
Allen Zeyher
What follows are brief descriptions of a few of the asphalt-production product announcements we have received recently. It is not meant to be a comprehensive survey of products currently on the market.
Scoring at Home
Roads & Bridges
January 2003
E. Ray Brown, Ph.D.
The first two-year cycle of tests at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) Test Track, Auburn, Ala., was completed recently. The results of this first series of tests were presented at the National Transportation Symposium at NCAT held on Nov. 13-14, 2002. Here are some of the findings.
Strongly recommended
Roads & Bridges
January 2003
Bill Wilson, Editor
When the Ohio Department of Transportation worked out designs for the expansion of a 2.3-mile stretch of I-77, it originally wanted a 131/4-in. asphalt pavement over an asphalt free-draining base and 6-in. aggregate base. Northstar Asphalt, however, believed more resilience was needed to cover a seven-year warranty, and convinced officials to go with the state's first section of perpetual pavement.
Feeding into smoothness
Roads & Bridges
January 2003
The way the feeder system is set up and operated has a major impact on a wide range of mat quality issues. Regardless of the mix type, the paving width or the paving depth, the feeder system must deliver material from the hopper to the auger chamber and across the screed in an uninterrupted, uniform manner. Consistency and doing the fundamental things right are the keys to good feeder system operation.
Rolling on the stones
Roads & Bridges
January 2003
Dave Newcomb, Contributing Author
matrix asphalt (SMA) is a strong surface for high-volume, heavy-duty roadways. Why the big interest? It's simple: * Improved performance, noise reduction, and
improved safety.
Stationary Test Trucks Results
Roads & Bridges
October 2002
Stefan A. Romanoschi, Ph.D., P.E.
The Civil Infrastructure Systems Laboratory at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan. houses the first full-scale accelerated pavement test program in Kansas. The program was initiated in 1995 by a group of engineers from the Kansas Department of Transportation and faculty from the civil engineering department at KSU. The research is now supported through a pool funded by Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Cooperation with the pavement construction industry and other state highway agencies also is possible in the future.
The Common Cold?
Roads & Bridges
October 2002
Mickey Cereoli
Roughly 30 years ago, Bomag pioneered some of the first cold in-place asphalt recyclers in the roadbuilding industry. This was not only a new piece of equipment, it was the introduction of a new concept. Today, several manufacturers have introduced cold in-place asphalt recycling equipment. Though credibility has been established through education and successful applications in many states and counties, understanding the process and its benefits remains the key challenge to its acceptance as a viable road reconstruction option.
Back to Being Super
Roads & Bridges
October 2002
The first sustained efforts to recover and reuse old asphalt paving materials were conducted in the mid 1970s. With financial support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and technical assistance from trade associations such as the National Asphalt Pavement Association and the Asphalt Institute, more than 40 states placed demonstration reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP projects by 1982. RAP is now routinely used in nearly all 50 states.
Bloodline Paving
Roads & Bridges
September 2002
You just may be able to travel the country and not find a better asphalt or concrete road project executed by Haskell Lemon over the last five years. In 1998, the National Asphalt Pavement Association gave the company its trumpet treatment by honoring them with the 1997 Sheldon G. Hayes Award for work done on Oklahoma's I-40. The American Concrete Pavement Association recognized Haskell Lemon with top honors for a paving job on the Broadway Extension (U.S. 77) and Britton Road.
Sales are hot--so is asphalt
Roads & Bridges
August 2002
Margaret Cervarich
The Victor facility of Rochester Asphalt Materials recently earned the Diamond Achievement Commendation for Excellence in Hot Mix Asphalt Plant/Site Operations from the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA). In 1996 a developer came to the company with the idea of putting in a shopping mall that would house stores like Target and Home Depot. Rather than go through the permitting process at a new location, Rochester Asphalt Materials worked out an arrangement with the mall that allowed them to move the plant to one side of the property. Because they remained at their old location, the existing permits covered them.
Segregation Buster
Roads & Bridges
August 2002
Bill Rieken
At every stage in handling aggregate and asphalt, there is a chance for material segregation to occur. With numerous opportunities for segregation to occur even before the asphalt reaches the jobsite, it does not seem quite fair that the paving crew is now challenged to lay a high-quality, smooth mat void of segregation. Fair or not, however, it is a fact of life.
Iowa’s playing field
Roads & Bridges
April 2002
Bill Wilson
During its 47th annual convention in San Francisco, the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) honored Norris’ flawless execution on a 61/2-mile stretch of Route P46 with the 2001 Sheldon G. Hayes Award. It marked the second time the gold medal of the asphalt paving industry went to an Iowa contractor.
Full cooperation
Roads & Bridges
April 2002
Margaret Cervarich
The Big I Reconstruction Project in Albuquerque, N.M., involves more than 2 million cu yd of dirt, 610,000 tons of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) and 165,000 cu yd of concrete. And all of it is being used to rebuild two interstate highways (I-25 and I-40) that happen to cross each other in the middle of a busy metropolitan area.
Beach-front drainage
Roads & Bridges
January 2002
CDS technology screens road debris, preserves harbor?s emerald-green water
Timing delays like relays
Roads & Bridges
January 2002
State DOTs study new ways to speed construction in consideration of cost to commuters
Apple Spraying
Roads & Bridges
January 2002
Recent polls have indicated that the New York metropolitan area now ranks 16th in potholes/related-car-repair-costs out of the 50 largest metropolitan areas. According to Patrick Parisi, director of fleet operations for MTA Bridges & Tunnels, the quick and effective characteristics of spray injection pothole patching have proven valuable.
A Thick Dry Stake
Roads & Bridges
January 2002
Daniel Brown
States investing more money into asphalt's perpetual pavement
Homemade asphalt
Roads & Bridges
January 2002
Contractors are starting to see the benefit of producing their own mix
Don't hold your breath
Roads & Bridges
January 2002
Allen Zeyher
Maybe no early recovery, but fumes pose no major hazard
NAPA UPDATE
Roads & Bridges
January 2002
Mike Acott
Not just a Northern alliance
NAPA NEWS
Roads & Bridges
January 2002
Convention receives five stars
Hard Doesn't Mean Stale
Roads & Bridges
October 2001
Bill Wilson
New cold in-place recycling claims to strengthen asphalt pavement
Flying for business
Roads & Bridges
September 2001
Margaret Blain Cervarich
In an effort to minimize traffic disruptions, Des Moines speeds through repaving project
Roll with it
Roads & Bridges
August 2001
Bob Miller
Contractors need a close relationship with compaction equipment
Pick up the tempo
Roads & Bridges
August 2001
Allen Zeyher
Higher vibration frequency is crucial in asphalt compaction
Foam on Bottom
Roads & Bridges
May 2001
Blair Barnhardt
States like Georgia find inexpensive base for asphalt rehab
PDF Version
Fighting A Beating
Roads & Bridges
January 2001
Dan Brown
Congested hot-mix asphalt intersection in Maryland shows little signs of wear-and-tear
PDF Version
Hot Rod Asphalt
Roads & Bridges
January 2001
Rodney Garrett
Contractor makes the right moves during paving process at Kansas City Speedway
PDF Version
ASPHALT ANSWERS
Roads & Bridges
December 2000
Prithvi S. (Ken) Kandhal, P.E.
Restricted Zone in Superpave Specification
PDF Version
Announcing It To The World
Roads & Bridges
September 2000
Dan Brown
New test track and research center ready to produce vital information
A Growing Need
Roads & Bridges
September 2000
Dale Decker, P.E.
As Superpave technology takes off, industry knowledge continues to progress
Making Sure They Match
Roads & Bridges
September 2000
Chuck Deahl
Superpave mixes must meet certain compaction specs, which could be a challenge
ASPHALT ANSWERS
Roads & Bridges
May 2000
Prithvi S. (Ken) Kandhal, P.E.
Improving the quality of pavement performance
Philosophical Asphalt
Roads & Bridges
May 2000
Larry Flynn
The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, was never a part of a hot-mix asphalt (HMA) paving crew and never worked at a hot-mix plant, but his teachings are applicable to the field, at least in the case of Shalimar, Fla.-based Couch Construction LP. The philosopher’s thoughts on excellence in association with other ideas on courage, humility and nobility served as guiding principles by which the employees of the company have lived in recent years.
Going in Cold
Roads & Bridges
March 2000
Todd Thomas, P.E., John Huffman, P.E., and Arlis Kadrmas
Partial depth cold in-place recycling (CIR) has been performed throughout North America for many years. The process is used to eliminate surface irregularities, especially cracking.
Rolling with the punches
Roads & Bridges
March 2000
Bill Wilson
All other things being equal in the asphalt compaction process, an increase in the ground speed of a vibratory roller can translate directly into an increase in profit or decrease in expense, depending on which side of the equation you are on. But there’s one catch–anyone understanding the theory of vibratory compaction knows that the above statement can only be true with a corresponding increase in vibration frequency.
ASPHALT ANSWERS
Roads & Bridges
January 2000
Prithvi S. (Ken) Kandhal, P.E.
Detecting and quantifying segregation
ASPHALT ANSWERS
Roads & Bridges
October 1999
Prithvi S. (Ken) Kandhal, P.E.
Measuring bulk specific gravity
A Hot, In-place in the Sun
Roads & Bridges
October 1999
by Larry Flynn
Hillsborough County, Fla., takes a torch to its road maintenance costs by making hot-in-place recycling of asphalt pavements a key element in its program.
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