Getting Smoothness and Density Just Right

Better Roads Staff - Nov 12, 2012

By Daniel C. Brown, Contributing Editor An Iowa-based contractor has won 80 percent of the available bonus payments on a successful 18-mile, two-lane asphalt paving project near Grinnell, Iowa. Manatts ran this paver at about 28 feet per minute, which helped ...

Road Science

Better Roads Staff - Aug 05, 2012

Now That's Cool Low-energy asphalt mixes reduce viscosity – without the heat In the last two decades, improvements in the physiochemistry of asphalt mixes have sparked a revolution in their production and placement. Today’s warm and cold asphalt mixes – which to minimize ...

Applications & Innovations

Better Roads Staff - Jul 03, 2012

Using RAS Recycled asphalt shingles are an acquired taste When going from the roof to the road in recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) mixes, “it’s all in the details,” says John Christensen, technical marketing manager for MeadWestvaco (MWV). It’s not impossible to get density ...

Road Science

Better Roads Staff - Jun 09, 2012

Spreading the Wealth Asphalt emulsions mix oil with water As pavement preservation techniques tighten their beachheads in state, county and municipal road agencies, new attention is focused on surface treatments, thin asphalt surfacings and the asphalt emulsions that make them possible. Asphalt emulsions ...

Kirk Landers — Editor Emeritus

Better Roads Staff - Dec 04, 2011

Innovating Out of the Recession Just before cold weather set in, Illinois-based Gallagher Asphalt demonstrated a new hot-in-place recycling (HIR) technology for the City of Chicago. Unlike traditional HIR processes, which heat and rejuvenate surface asphalt in place, the new Gallagher process ...

Road Science

Better Roads Staff - Sep 07, 2011

Science Friction Thin Open-Graded Surfacings Drive Market By Tom Kuennen, Contributing Editor Now, more than ever, thin open-graded friction courses (OGFCs) are driving the market for drainable, high-friction, noise-attenuating asphalt mixes. This new generation of OGFCs is being bolstered by the advent of high-performance ...

RoadScience

Brooke Wisdom - Apr 01, 2011

Research that could change the Way We Work Some top picks from Transportation Research Board’s papers presented at its 90th annual meeting in D.C. By Tom Kuennen, Contributing Editor It is always a meeting filled with new ideas and stunning research breakthroughs in ...

Highway Contractor

Brooke Wisdom - Mar 01, 2011

Thin is In Across the country, paving material suppliers andcontractors alike mining new opportunities with thin hot mix asphalt overlay technologies. By Mike Anderson For belt-tightened agencies, thin hot mix asphalt overlay may be among a plethora of strategies to preserve pavement . ...

Road Science Tutorial: Many paths to low-energy asphalt mixes

Better Roads Staff - Jun 01, 2010

In-plant foamed asphalt processes grow in popularity as producers, contractors and agencies embrace warm mix asphalt By Tom Kuennen, Contributing Editor Warm mix asphalt (WMA) is created by mixing a solid chemical compound additive with hot mix asphalt in the plant. Except ...

INDOT new paving specs allow more RAP

Tina Grady Barbaccia - Apr 22, 2010

In honor of Earth Day, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) announces new paving specifications that allow for additional use of recycled materials. By increasing the amount of reclaimed asphalt pavement and recycled roofing shingles within asphalt mixes, INDOT anticipates ...