The personnel at the Tilcon Construction Services Division of Tilcon New York Inc. are quite excited about the quality paving the company is turning out recently. Tilcon has been known for years to perform top-notch operations, but it just raised its own bar for further improving its results out on the road.
Consider the $24 million I-80 repaving project that will be completed by year’s end. Upon completion, the company will have laid 68,000 tons of Superpave as an intermediate course and 70,000 tons of Superpave as the surface course. As a result of the superior road rideability it accomplished, the company expects to lay claim to a $300,000 bonus.
The bonus award comes from the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), which is taking improving rideability on both its repaving projects and new road construction very seriously. To further higher standards on its roads, starting this year all paving projects will feature Superpave exclusively. Using Superpave presents no challenge for Tilcon. For years, the company has been producing its own Superpave from the ground up, thus having in-house production quality control on the aggregates used and the mixing of the hot-mix asphalt (HMA).
Tilcon has enjoyed a very good reputation as a construction materials and services provider. Barry Huston, director of operations for the New Jersey construction services operations, is very upbeat on the potential bonuses he is convinced the company can earn on future NJDOT projects, just as it is doing on the I-80 job.
“We have new top-performing equipment coupled with some outstanding paving teams, and I have every reason to believe we will earn more of the NJDOT smooth-ride bonuses,” he said.
Depending on how many paving project contracts are active in any given year, there are between seven and nine functioning paving crews, each with its own set of paving equipment. The crews are thoroughly trained by Tilcon, with annual training updates conducted at the company’s Mount Hope, N.J., quarry. This is a hands-on formal training program, including manufacturers’ qualified training representatives specializing in the operation and maintenance of the equipment (e.g., compactors, pavers, etc). Safety courses also are given. At the training sessions, asphalt paving is laid on the floor of the quarry with a paver so the finer points in paving (especially new-model equipment) are demonstrated. Compaction of the paving also is carried out for similar reasons.
Contenders must be a knockout
There has to be good business reasons central to Tilcon’s ever-changing brand names of equipment. New equipment purchased by the company must clearly demonstrate it is superior to existing fleet equipment by improving the quality of the paving results or by being more cost-effective. “We are interested in purchasing the equipment that best serves our company, so there is no brand-name favoritism shown here when it’s time to purchase new equipment. That can mean a change in brands from time to time, but so be it,” said Mike Schuhlein, equipment manager.
Tilcon has a purchasing team in place when it comes to deciding on what make and model of paving equipment will be purchased. Schuhlein is a member of the team. Other team members include Huston, Rod Waite, general superintendent, and Charlie Hamberger, paving superintendent.
Schuhlein has an equipment research procedure he uses each time a purchase is to be made. He said he starts with an open mind, and even if certain makes of equipment have worked well for the company in the past he might very well recommend another make to the team. “I research the available equipment on the market by using the Internet. I can get a lot of preliminary information there, including specifications. Two important attributes I look for in equipment is the safety designed into the piece and the quality of its build. Another important factor is the quality of services offered by the manufacturer and its distributor. If I do not have firsthand experience with the prospective suppliers, I find out how good their services have been with other contractors. By the time an equipment salesman visits me, I have a good idea as to what he is selling and what I am wanting,” said Schuhlein.
Schuhlein said that he likes to create a close business relationship with the equipment supplier so the two companies can partner. He wants a supplier who is in tune with Tilcon’s equipment needs and to Schuhlein’s goals that he sets for their use. “I want the best performance in everything, including the equipment’s productivity, the quality output, its reliability and just-in-time service from the equipment supplier.”
As an equipment purchase team member, Huston always keeps the profitability issue in focus when it comes to new equipment. “If we are to earn the bonus money offered by the NJDOT for quality paving results, we need to have the best-performing equipment used on the job. We also need the fastest service available by the supplier if a paver goes down. We have some of the best crews to operate the equipment and mechanics for general maintenance, but we depend on our equipment suppliers giving us fast service when we need it. Paving interruptions can be costly.”
The new paving equipment was bought before this year’s I-80 project got under way. All three pavers (only one was used on the I-80 project) are Roadtec RP-195s. This model paver is a 10-ft-wide rubber-track asphalt paver that is designed to operate on any type of subgrade and under all paving applications and conditions. With its counter-rotation and track-flotation features, it can maneuver and pave even in tight areas without compromising its traction ability or its push-force capacity.
While the paver’s push capability is an important attribute for moving the end-dump delivery trucks that are feeding it the HMA, it was not needed on the I-80 project because a new Roadtec SB-2500D Shuttle Buggy material transfer vehicle (MTV) was in the paving train. As of 2005, the NJDOT requires all paving projects must use an MTV.
Bringing up the rear of the train on the I-80 project are three new BOMAG rollers. They include two BW284 and one BW278 compactor. Like the Roadtec pavers, the BOMAG equipment represents a change in brand. The BW284 compactor features tandem 84-in.-wide steel rollers, while the BW278 compactor has tandem steel rollers that are 78 in. wide. Both models are vibratory types with continuously variable settings available from zero to a 4,000-vpm frequency.
Tilcon’s 15 miles of fame
This is the second 15-mile repaving project to be completed near the western end of the state (Morris County). The first 15-mile project was the eastbound section and was completed in September by another contractor. The second 15-mile project is Tilcon’s, which is westbound. Since its original construction, much of I-80 in New Jersey has had lanes added to it because of increasingly heavy traffic. A good deal of the increased traffic is 18-wheeler semi-trailer trucks that are headed to or away from New York City and many points to and from New England. It is one of the main east-west routes in the U.S. The heavy passenger car traffic is attributed to commuters from northeastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey who work in New York City.
To help alleviate heavy traffic congestion, there are three to five lanes in each direction. Unlike a typical two-lane per direction highway, Tilcon is paving 15 miles that is similar in scope to a typical 30-mile segment of an interstate highway.
The NJDOT specified—with few exceptions—that only one or two lanes could be closed and worked on at any time with all the paving carried out between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. The exits within the paving section also were closed between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
The reason two lanes had to be shut down is the Shuttle Buggy and the HMA delivery trucks were positioned offset to the paver. Fortunately, the Shuttle Buggy’s transfer conveyor can be swung bidirectionally into an offset position by up to 55° for feeding the HMA to the paver. By having the Shuttle Buggy and trucks off the lane being paved, their tires are not in contact with the freshly sprayed tack coat, which would have transferred to the tires. This was a federal DOT mandate for this project.
The intermediate course laid was Superpave 19 mm and its thickness was compacted to a 2.5-in. specification. The surface course laid was Superpave 12.5 mm with a compacted thickness of 2 in.
The paving train was led by a subcontractor’s cold planer, which made one pass to mill the surface 1/2 in. deep. The milling was followed by a thorough sweeping, and then the tack coat was applied.
Leading the paver is the Shuttle Buggy in the offset position. The Shuttle Buggy received all the truck-delivered HMA and in turn fed the Roadtec 195 paver, as needed, to ensure uninterrupted paving. Since the paver advances continually during the complete paving shift, there is no threat that the rideability is compromised. The average paving laid was 1,740 tons per shift with a few exceptional nights where up to 2,200 tons was achieved.
The BOMAG BW284 roller was used as the breakdown roller followed by another BW284 as the intermediate roller, and the BW278 was the finish roller.
The bottom line for this project could have been a financial disaster, according to Huston. Up to $4 million in potential fines could have been issued if Tilcon had created a poor-riding road. Through smart work, the company earned a bonus instead.
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