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Traffic Management
News
March 03, 2015
In effort to instill more efficiency, dependability and predictability into the bus service portion of its overall transit system, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has announced its intention to begin work on a project that will effectively double the present 3-mph average bus speed in a pre-...
Highway Construction
Article
March 02, 2015
The new “Twins” offer three 12-ft driving lanes, a 4-ft inside shoulder and a 10-ft outside shoulder, as well as portal extensions beyond the rock face.
Colorado. Hearing the name of this great state brings to mind images of snow-capped peaks, clear mountain water used to brew Coors beer and the soft melody of John Denver’s timeless song, “Rocky Mountain High.”
One of the primary benefits of living in Colorado is the availability of so many...
Road Construction
Article
March 02, 2015
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, , I-90 is the main east-west transportation corridor in the state of Washington, connecting the large population and business centers of the western half of the state with the agricultural industries and recreational areas that comprise the eastern portion.
The uninterrupted movement of people,...
Pavement Maintenance
Article
March 02, 2015
,The construction of MoDOT’s proven life-saving rumble stripes involves grinding them into the pavement, exposing what is very often a porous aggregate to the elements.
,MoDOT implemented an innovative approach, called scratch and seal, to provide minor corrections to an asphalt pavement surface and seal it with two different processes under the same construction project.
A rumble stripe with a properly applied fog seal at the time of construction will protect the exposed aggregates from the elements.
The largest asset for the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is its pavement. MoDOT maintains more than 77,000 lane-miles of roads, making it the seventh-largest highway system in the U.S.
An agency’s ability to maintain pavement conditions is impacted by multiple factors, not least of...
Asphalt
Article
March 02, 2015
,I-376 Section L04 is a major north/south artery in the greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
,Warm-mix asphalt was used to produce all 70,191 tons of mix required for the job.
Upon completion, the IRI on this stretch of I-376 was reduced from 170 in./mile to 39 in./mile.
Twelve million: According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, that’s how many tires are ground up and recycled into crumb rubber for use in asphalt pavements each year.
Yet, despite this impressive figure, the practicality of paving with crumb rubber remains an untried novelty in many...
Aggregates
Article
March 02, 2015
,Norris Asphalt widened the roadway out 3 ft to each side to build new paved shoulders.
Scheduling material delivery proved to be one of the biggest challenges on the U.S. 34 project, requiring the use of Shuttle Buggies to get new asphalt in.
Norris Asphalt Paving Co. faced an uphill climb to qualify as a finalist for the 2015 Sheldon G. Hayes Award, but in the end the company was able to make its way to the top.
The Ottuma, Iowa-based company was nominated for the asphalt paving industry’s highest honor thanks to its exemplary work...
Bridges
Article
March 02, 2015
,Both eastbound and westbound relief bridges to the White River were completely replaced from the footings on up.
413,000 tons of asphalt were used to bring the 10.3-mile section of I-40 up a full foot.
Ask the common man to describe a cavern and you’d likely be regaled with the stuff of discovery tucked into a picturesque mountainous landscape.
But ask a construction contractor astride Prairie County, Ark.’s I-40 in early 2014 for the same, and you would get a very different story.
“Many of...
Asphalt
Article
March 02, 2015
Total lift thickness for the roundabout was 6.5 in. The 19-mm mix was used for the first lift (2.5 in. thick) and second (2.25 in. thick), but Northeast Asphalt had to use a Wisconsin DOT higher ESAL mix for the 1.75-in. surface course.
Last year’s modern day Ice Age buried routes across the U.S. with its frozen malice.
Many public works officials had to pick through the remains of pavement during the spring and summer months of 2014.
Up in Wisconsin, the glacier-like effect left an 8.1-mile portion of State Trunk Highway (...
Funding
News
March 02, 2015
Growing congressional consensus on federal highway and transit funding does not guarantee that a new long-term bill will be introduced in time for the May 31 deadline.
To cope with the uncertainty many state departments of transportation (DOTs) are coming up with a Plan B that includes postponing...
Associations
News
February 27, 2015
Congress cannot seem to agree on many issues lately, but there is a growing sense of alignment when it comes to bipartisan support for a highway and transit bill.
According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) both sides of Congress may be inching...
Safety
Case Studies
February 27, 2015
,A TxDOT herbicide truck sprays a guardrail where weeds are encroaching.
Wildflowers bloom in abundance along Texas roadsides every spring.
Many may not realize what an attraction the spring wildflower bloom is in Texas—or even that the state has such an impressive wildflower crop. But each spring, throngs of those in the know flock all over the state to get a glimpse of fields swathed in bright colors like flame orange, yellow, blue...
Law
News
February 27, 2015
If a freshman Republican representative gets his way, it will soon become more of a penalty to carry an opened 40 oz. beer on a public bus in the state of Utah than to carry a concealed, unpermitted weapon.
Presently, carrying a concealed weapon on a train or bus within the state without a...
News
February 26, 2015
McCann Industries, Inc. is proud to announce that Jim McCann has been named chief executive officer of the company as of Jan. 1, 2015. Dennis Kruepke is the former chief executive officer and will assume the role of chairman of the board. The ownership of the company has also changed through a...
News
February 26, 2015
Last November the Texas DOT received a boost from the voters when they approved a measure that called for the shifting of excess oil and gas production tax revenue over to the transportation fund. Now the state Senate is generating another pick-me-up.
The Texas Senate Transportation Committee...
News
February 25, 2015
Iowa’s state legislature might have been sharply divided over a proposed gas-tax increase, but on Feb. 24 the bill knifed its way through the House and Senate.
It’s now up to Gov. Terry Branstad to sign it into law. The measure will increase the state gas tax 10 cents a gallon, and will help...
Traffic Management
News
February 25, 2015
Miovision, a Canadian tech startup provides automated traffic data that seeks to decongest jam-packed roadways in major metro areas. After raising $30 million in financing, the startup is looking to expand beyond just car-counting and into a go-to traffic management system for commonly-named “smart...
Editorial/Commentary
News
February 25, 2015
Anticipating new development and increased traffic, one Texas city came up with a bold solution: a reconstructed roadway that preserves long-term sustainability while maximizing development potential.
The city of Rowlett, northeast of Dallas, is experiencing significant growth fueled by two...
Products
February 24, 2015
The new Gilson SS-14 8 in./12 in. Sieve Shaker handles both 8 in. and 12 in. diameter ASTM test sieves for maximum versatility. Extended stack heights accommodate up to 21 8-in. half-height, or 13 12-in. half-height sieves. Gilson’s unique EZ-Clamp system means loading and removing sieve stacks is...
Asphalt
Videos
February 24, 2015
Understand why crack-sealing moving cracks is imperative to extending sealant service life and pavement life, as well as saving money.