Road Science

Better Roads Staff - Jan 01, 2013

Preserving the Unpaved Road ‘Gravel,’ stone-surfaced and dirt road preservation helped by new techniques, guidelines, RAP By Tom Kuennen, Contributing Editor A clogged corrugated drainpipe under this Texas road results in water flowing across it, eroding the surface and creating a ford ...

Road Science

Better Roads Staff - Dec 01, 2012

Pre-Measure Your Carbon Footprint Calculators help predict the environmental impact of roadbuilding projects By Tom Kuennen, Contributing Editor New tools keep appearing to help the highway, road and bridge community determine the environmental impact of the infrastructure they design and build. Cold-in-place recycling ...

Better Roads 2012 Top Rollouts

Better Roads Staff - Dec 01, 2012

Difference-Makers Better Roads editors choose the year’s top products. This year we’ve spent some great times clambering over and operating equipment. Tires were usually too big to kick but we fiddled with any dials and levers we could fiddle with. We went ...

Road Science

Better Roads Staff - Oct 09, 2012

What Went Wrong, and Why Forensic Studies Give Clues to Pavement Failure By Tom Kuennen, Contributing Editor Whether the pavement is black or white, flexible or rigid, asphalt or concrete, pavement forensic testing is the key to preventing future pavement failures in either ...

Highway Contractor

Better Roads Staff - Sep 07, 2012

Old Dog, New Tricks Even with a strong foundation and a long history, you need to be willing and able to adapt to stay competitive today. By John Latta It’s not 2007 anymore. Changes in the economy, the way work is decided on, planned ...

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 ...

Asphalt Recycling Section

Better Roads Staff - Jul 03, 2012

Cold in L.A. CIR plus microsurfacing get the job done Cold-in-place recycling (CIR) followed by microsurfacing was not only a cost-effective treatment for Los Angeles County when it encountered unstable pavement conditions in one of its roads, but CIR was the perfect ...

Highway Contractor

Better Roads Staff - Apr 06, 2012

How Chicago DOT Deals with the New Budget Realities The Mission: Manage more than 6,000 miles of roads and alleys with less money and be greener about it. The solution: Innovate and change. The Great Recession has wreaked havoc in road management programs ...

Cracking Cold

Better Roads Staff - Feb 17, 2012

Solving the Riddle of RAP and Thermal Cracking By Tom Kuennen, Contributing Editor Use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) in hot-, warm- and cold-mix asphalt is growing dramatically, as tests validate its use in ever-increasing quantities. But there are fears that higher quantities ...

Road Science

Better Roads Staff - Nov 13, 2011

?%# What percentage of RAP is best? It depends. T here are powerful inducements today to reuse reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) in a variety of applications. And the big question about RAP has shifted from whether it belongs in mixes at all, ...

RoadScience

Brooke Wisdom - Feb 01, 2011

Hot, Cold and Green (and the 3Es) In-place pavement recycling meets a variety of needs. By Tom Kuennen, Contributing Editor Green construction now is the No. 1 theme in roadbuilding, and hot-in-place pavement recycling (HIR) and cold-in-place pavement recycling (CIR) have taken on the ...

Highway Contractor

Brooke Wisdom - Dec 01, 2010

Half and Half One year later, a mat with 50-percent RAP looks really good. by P. Michael Harnsberger, Western Research Institute All photos courtesy of Western Research Institute. A stretch of asphalt in Canada, laid down in September 2009, is beginning to reveal its secrets. Initial ...

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