Asphalt Pro - September 2020

The QC/QA Issue

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CONTENTS

asphaltPRO September 2020

departments

14

Editor’s Letter 6 – Keep Good Tech from Falling Through the Cracks

SAFETY SPOTLIGHT 8 – Candid Safety to Save Lives Cal Beyer and John Hickey discuss the Asphalt Pavement Association of Oregon’s mental health and suicide prevention efforts From APAO

MIX IT UP 12 – Elvaloy Enables South Dakota Trial From Dow

PRODUCER PROFILE 14 – Hubbard Construction Company Celebrates 100th Anniversary

By Sandy Lender

WOMEN of ASPHALT PROFILE 20 – A Woman of Quality: Meet All States Materials Group’s Mary Wescott

By Sandy Lender

INTERNATIONAL SNAPSHOT

28 - Gerken Ferries Asphalt, Quality to North Bass Island

By Sarah Redohl

26 – International RAP

By Hassan Tabatabaee and Susan Listberger

49 – Preservation Pro Supplement

PRODUCT GALLERY

51 – Army Skills Apply to Asphalt Maintenance

By Sarah Redohl

34 – Heat of Summer Production

NEW TECH 40 – CrewMinders Makes Safety as Simple as a Text Message

By Sarah Redohl

OFF THE MAT 42 – Tips to Navigate Re-hiring Workforce After COVID-19

By Bob Lester

ONLINE UPDATE

28

Feature articles

63

54 – Upgrade Micro Surface and Slurry Sealing Operations, Part 2

By Sarah Redohl 56 – Stretch Agency Budgets Veterans suggest road network life support From PPRA 60 – NRRA Flexible Team Field Tests Recycling Agents

By AsphaltPro Staff

The QC/QA Issue

asphaltPRO PRODUCTION – PROFESSIONALS – PRODUCTS

Gerken Preserves Quality Hauling Over Open Water PreservationPro Inside

• 100 Years of Florida Growth • Rehire Legally After COVID • Meet Mary Wescott, WofA

47 – AsphaltPro Online

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS 64 – BOMAG’s Robomag BW154 Autonomous Tandem Roller

63 – The Asphalt Doctor is In Virtual Measurement isn’t Just for Temperature Anymore

By Meg Robinson

SEPTEMBER 2020 WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM

on the cover The team at Gerken put a WMA additive to work for a long haul over water to keep its airport mix at top quality.

See related article on page 28. Photo courtesy of Gerken

editor’s Letter Keep Good Tech from Falling Through the Cracks

As of April 2020, the Consortium for Asphalt Pavement Research and Implementation (CAPRI), a pooled fund to be hosted by Auburn University, is soliciting both agency and individual members. In a nutshell, this is a new, United States forum to engage all stakeholders—such as academia, agencies, consultants, industry and suppliers—to advance asphalt pavement technologies through the development of national research needs and implementation strategies for asphalt pavements. Consortium members will meet twice a year at different member locations and will vote on which technologies or research to pursue and will also vote on what laboratory or agency resources to assign to execute the work.

A webinar presented July 16 expressed that some of the models used to put CAPRI into development were based on the National Concrete Consortium (NC2), hosted by Iowa State.

In other words, the competition already pools funds from within its industry to facilitate research and development of its technologies; we can follow suit and advance asphalt technologies with CAPRI. During the months of June and July, organizers introduced the concept to potential stakeholders with the goals of funding the consortium (Solicitation Number 1533 at TPF) and of assembling its executive committee in September.

The mission of CAPRI appears to be two-fold at this time. Organizers wish to 1. Identify research & implementation needs & priorities; and 2. Work with the AASHTO Committee on Materials and Pavements (COMP) to facilitate changes in specifications and procedures coming up.

This consortium wishes to assist AASHTO in altering specs and procedures. That’s a heady goal. Even with research and technology driving the changes suggested to a governing entity, that’s a lot of power for one body to have. Luckily, the organizers are soliciting membership from all stakeholders, not just the rich and powerful ExxonMobils of the world.

Public sector (agency) participation is $10,000 per year base funding. Private sector participation is $6,000 annual dues per individual participant. This brings participation down to a level that smaller entities and DOTs with smaller budgets can afford, but it still gave me pause.

NCAT’s Randy West—who presented the webinar succinctly and without pressuring any of the attendees—suggested that the consortium would allow “smaller” entities to participate in research and proposals that the larger TRB- and NCHRP-funded studies were leaving behind.

He explained that NCHRP field performance inspections for previous research often study pavements or technologies for two years. “We’re missing out by not going back in 10 years,” he said. By monitoring early life, NCHRP offers early results, and that has merit; by monitoring later life, CAPRI can offer additional results. “We can learn so much more by going back,” West said.

CAPRI will look into “small” studies and investigate gaps in research; pick up the ball where NCHRP and TRB have passed over something that could or should have been explored further. They wish to foster implementation of practical research findings from any source.

Overall, I’m intrigued with the concept of CAPRI. I think we’re on the right track to get smaller, quick-and-easy research items out in the open, completed and ready for mass representation when they would have otherwise fallen through the cracks. This is a good goal. The price tag to vote on a project for development did catch me off guard at first.

In any industry, it makes sense that stakeholders should put their money where their mouth is. Maybe entrepreneurs who engineer solutions to solve specific problems in specific climates of the nation can lobby CAPRI members to take up their banner and press to test good ideas that would otherwise fall through the cracks. Or maybe $6,000 per year is not a difficult sum for an entrepreneur to come up with to participate. I’d like to hear your thoughts on the matter, and I’d like to see our industry rally behind CAPRI for advancing asphalt technologies.

Stay Safe,

Sandy Lender

6 // September 2020

September 2020 • Vol. 13 No. 11

asphaltPRO

602 W. Morrison, Box 6a • Fayette, MO 65248

(573) 823-6297 • www.theasphaltpro.com GROUP PUBLISHER Chris Harrison chris@ theasphaltpro.com PUBLISHER Sally Shoemaker sally@theasphaltpro.com (573) 823-6297 EDITOR Sandy Lender sandy@theasphaltpro.com (239) 272-8613 ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sarah Redohl sarah@theasphaltpro.com (573) 355-9775 MEDIA SALES Cara Owings cara@theasphaltpro.com (660) 537-0778 ART DIRECTOR Kristin Branscom BUSINESS MANAGER Susan Campbell (660) 728-5007

AsphaltPro is published 11 times per year.

Writers expressing views in AsphaltPro Magazine or on the AsphaltPro website are professionals with sound, professional advice. Views expressed herein are not necessarily the same as the views of AsphaltPro, thus producers/contractors are still encouraged to use best practices when implementing new advice.

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Safety Spotlight

Candid Safety to Save Lives

Cal Beyer and John Hickey discuss the Asphalt Pavement Association of Oregon’s mental health and suicide prevention efforts Cal Beyer is the vice president of workforce risk & mental wellbeing for CSDZ, a construction risk management firm.

Previously, Beyer served as director of risk management for Lakeside Industries Inc., with locations in Washington and Oregon. Beyer is a recognized leader on mental health and suicide prevention issues and works to increase construction industry awareness, advocacy and action on mental health and suicide prevention.

John Hickey is the executive director of the Asphalt Pavement Association of Oregon (APAO). During Hickey’s APAO tenure, the association has expanded its core principles to include roadway workzone safety, which led to working with Beyer and others. Recently, Beyer and Hickey discussed APAO’s evolution, starting with Hickey explaining the state association’s structure.

“APAO is dedicated to improving Oregon’s asphalt pavement industry. We provide training for the Oregon asphalt pavement technician certification program, work with agency partners to develop fair and consistent asphalt specifications, and generally try to improve asphalt pavement quality in Oregon. Our workzone safety efforts often focus on working with the Oregon Department of Transportation and other owners on how and when to perform road and highway paving to provide a safe working environment.

“APAO has three full-time employees and over 120 member companies who participate in trainings and APAO events. Member companies vary from single-location family-owned businesses to multistate corporations. The number of employees varies in any member company from a handful to thousands, with similar variation in company cultures.

“The traits that are consistent throughout the Oregon asphalt pavement industry are a commitment to continuous quality improvement and safety. Member companies understand that everyone benefits when an industry that builds and maintains transportation infrastructure prioritizes quality, customer satisfaction, and safety over the interests of any single member in a specific situation.”

C

CAL BEYER: I remember when APAO first started thinking about mental health and suicide prevention. Would you talk about your perspective on how APAO got started on the topics?

JOHN HICKEY: APAO’s mental health and wellness efforts started soon after we elevated the importance of worker safety to a core principle. APAO historically focused on asphalt pavement mixtures, training, and providing technical resources to engineers and contractors. About six years ago we noticed that increased traffic on our roads required performing more paving at night. Although traffic volume is less at night, people drive faster and there are more instances of impaired driving. Distracted driving was also increasing and causing accidents at an alarming rate. The Oregon paving in-

8 // September 2020

Cal Beyer

John Hickey

dustry grew frustrated at increasing worker injuries and deaths. As a result, APAO leadership expanded our focus to including roadway workzone safety.

Many other construction organizations have done a great job in elevating the importance of safety and facilitating culture change.

Instead of replicating their efforts, we looked for gaps and areas where our expertise could make a difference. In taking a step back and trying to assess important aspects of roadway workzone safety, we were connected with you, which was when you were in charge of safety for Lakeside Industries. You introduced us to the Portland Chapter of the Construction Financial Management Association’s annual suicide prevention summits, which bring together local and national mental health leaders and construction company employees to raise awareness and strategize steps to address suicide. The summits connected us with local leaders such as Judy Cushing and Dwight Holton of Lines for Life, and Chris Bouneff of the Oregon chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Health. Through the suicide prevention summits and the local leaders we discovered statistics and real life stories surrounding mental health and suicide that shocked us.

Our experience highlights a major roadblock in addressing mental health issues. Mental illness can be invisible because warning signs are not always outwardly evident and the stigma and toughguy construction industry culture cause people to keep issues secret until it is too late. It is also easier to focus on other things that affect safety—like adding more signs or message boards to workzones.

But, the statistics don’t lie, and we realized the issue’s seriousness.

We did not develop a defined strategy or a detailed plan. Our goal was to start the conversation among and within member companies. We wrote articles in our newsletter and invited speakers to our events. Before, our events focused almost exclusively on the technical aspects of asphalt pavement. After, no event was too technical to discuss mental health and suicide prevention. In fact, the most interesting and impactful discussions arose from traditionally technical events.

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Safety Spotlight The new topics and speakers at our events exposed the Oregon paving industry to a new way of thinking. We distributed sample toolbox talks and resource flyers to members and posted information on our website. There is more than one example where a “tough” superintendent who previously showed no weakness opened up about struggles to crew members and encouraged others to be open.

CAL BEYER: How do you measure performance?

JOHN HICKEY: Our mental health and suicide prevention efforts are not measured by or dependent on any specific statistic.

Leaders in member companies have given us overwhelmingly positive feedback—but, more importantly, the conversations among the people attending our events and trainings have not waned and we consistently hear anecdotal stories about improvements in industry culture.

As with many efforts that focus on an entire industry, it’s hard to measure success in the short term. Our vision is long term. We hope our continuing commitment will create a perpetual culture of acceptance, treatment and prevention.

CAL BEYER: Do you have any lessons learned and advice for companies or other organizations?

10 // September 2020

JOHN HICKEY: We learned that although the issues are challenging and pervasive, the industry is ready to address them. Every member company—from the workers on the grade to the owners—has embraced our efforts. That is in an industry where universal support for anything is rare. Our next steps include strategizing how to consistently provide fresh ideas to continue the conversations and ensure that all workers know of and are comfortable using available resources. We have come a long way, but the battle is nowhere near over.

Other organizations should just act—there is no need for a plan, a perfect strategy, or company-branded resources. Resources exist, and if you are reading this, you already have them at your fingertips. Start with the safety professionals in your organization or within your membership. They will know where to find local resources.

Reach out to the closest chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the leaders of any suicide prevention hotlines and ask how you can help them tell their story to your company or group.

Raising the issues must be a priority. Productive conversations will happen once the issues are raised and organizations show that they are truly supportive of workers with mental illness or who are living with family members with mental illness. Those conversations will open eyes and cause people to think about mental health differently, which is progress.

– FROM APAO

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mix it up

A section of Highway 42 in Cook County, South Dakota, was milled and filled with a 2-inch overlay including the Elvaloy RET modified binder.

Photo courtesy of Jebro

Elvaloy Enables South Dakota Trial A number of technologies are being used that allow hot-mix asphalt (HMA) producers to lower temperatures. Benefits of these technologies include reduced paving costs, extension of the paving season, improvements to asphalt compaction, and improved environmental, health, and safety from reduced emissions, fumes, and odors. The additive ELVALOY™ Reactive Elastomeric Terpolymer (RET) from Dow, headquartered in Midland, Michigan, is one such technology.

“Elvaloy RET is used to create polymer modified asphalt (PMA) as well as recycled plastic modified asphalt (RPMA),” a spokesperson explained. When used on a 2018 field trial of Elvaloy RET with the South Dakota Department of Transportation, the additive succeeded in keeping mix production and delivery temperatures of a polymer-modified mixture from rising into typical PMA zones. Take a look at this case study provided by Dow. The contractor milled 2 inches depth along Highway 42 in McCook County. Commercial Asphalt then paved a 2-inch overlay with Elvaloy-modified asphalt.

A

12 // September 2020

ELVALOY™ Reactive Elastomeric Terpolymer (RET) is used to create polymer modified asphalt (PMA) as well as recycled plastic modified asphalt (RPMA).

Jebro Incorporated blended approximately 250-275 tons of PG64-28 binder modified with Elvaloy RET. The Jebro team that prepared the commercial blend has significant experience with the additive at other locations (technical, operations and QC).

“Jebro was happy with the ease in processing Elvaloy RET in the asphalt mix,” said Kevin Carlson, general manager research & development and quality control at Jebro. “We did not have to make any special changes to our process to use Elvaloy, and it is performing as expected.”

The PG64-28 met AASHTO M 320 specifications as well as the minimum elastic recov-

ery requirements as outlined in section 890 of the 2015 Standard Specifications for Roads and Bridges. Commercial Asphalt used the modified binder to pave approximately 2,300 tons of base mix and then paved approximately 2,300 tons of surface mix.

The liquid asphalt was stored at 310 degrees F with mix production temperatures ranging between 290 and 310 degrees. A spokesperson for Dow said the temperature was maintained to the paving site.

Dow has continued monitoring and working with its partners on this South Dakota project, noting that the use of Elvaloy RET offered benefits for both South Dakota and its contractors. As an alternative to SBS-type modifiers, it is designed to meet the current binder and mix specifications, as well as fatigue cracking and stripping. The pavement with Elvaloy RET-modified binder has performed well over time, showing similar results to that of SBS. It was processed as warm mix asphalt and therefore provided benefits such as reduced costs, improvements to asphalt compaction, and so on.

– FROM DOW

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Producer profile

“Over the last 100 years, Hubbard has established itself as a household name in Florida construction. We are known and recognized by the public, if only for the sheer amount of road work we complete every year. Our business partners within the industry know Hubbard as a consistent, reliable, high-quality contractor from top to bottom.”— Senior Vice President Tom Craft

Hubbard Construction Company Celebrates 100th Anniversary Hubbard Construction Company, headquartered in Winter Park, Florida, celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2020. The company was founded by Francis Evans Hubbard in 1920, and over the next century expanded to become one of Florida’s premier heavy civil construction contractors and asphalt suppliers. Today, Hubbard is made up of approximately 900 employees, with office locations in Tampa, Jacksonville, Lakeland and Winter Park.

“100 years is a remarkable achievement and a major milestone in our company’s history,” Senior Vice President Tom Craft said. “We are excited to celebrate this moment, as an opportunity to reflect back on our accomplishments and the close relationships we have formed within our communities. Hubbard’s legacy is entwined with Florida’s historic growth over the last century.”

H

14 // September 2020

Craft shared that Hubbard has benefitted from the strength of the Florida market and the historic growth that has occurred throughout the state over the last century. “If you look at the major milestones of Florida’s development—from the creation of NASA’s Cape Canaveral Facility in the 1950s, to the arrival and expansion of Disney in the 1970s, to any number of public infrastructure projects that facilitated growth throughout the state—Hubbard has been there for them all.

In a very real sense, our company’s history is the history of the state of Florida, both of which are remarkable.”

Of course, Craft stated, success requires more than simply being in the right place at the right time. “You have to operate according to a set of values. At Hubbard, we place a tremendous value on our employees and community. We are extremely proud of our numerous career-long

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Hubbard employees, many of whom have served our company for more than 40 years. We also invest heavily in community service to support the areas in which we do business. This is important, not only as a means of giving back to communities that support us, but also as a way of deepening our relationships with the public and our business partners. That helps ensure the quality of our work, because we are investing in our home and the future of our communities.”

Throughout its 100 years in business, Hubbard has played an essential role in Florida’s growth and development. A founding member of the Asphalt Contractors Association of Florida (ACAF), the company constructed the runway facilities at Orlando International Airport, and developed Cape Canaveral’s shuttle launch pads under contract

by NASA in the 1950s.

During the following decade, Hubbard helped to expand Florida’s roadway infrastructure with major contracts including I-10 in Lake City, the Florida Turnpike, and much of downtown Orlando. Hubbard was involved in Florida’s boom period during the 1970s, developing sites for the University of Central Florida and becoming a trusted contractor for Walt Disney World on projects including the Disney Monorail and Bay Lake Lagoon. As these and other developers brought increased traffic to Orlando and the surrounding areas of Florida, Hub-

bard met the need for more infrastructure with projects including the I-4 Expansion and construction of the East/West Expressway.

Those projects are part of Hubbard’s history, but the company’s commitment to quality continues today. Phil Addison, vice president of asphalt operations, shared that just this year, teams from the company won ACAF’s prestigious A.P. Bolton Award in District 8 for their paving on the SR-528 Beachline widening project.

“The project, which started in September 2015, involved numerous parts and challenges: multiple MOT phases, including 22 ramps in a 4-mile section of SR-528 through some of the busiest interchanges in Orlando (I-4, International Drive, University Drive, JYP and the Turnpike),” Addison explained. “It required a large coordination effort from everyone involved, from day one of the project in September 2015. The SR-528 project is exemplary of the kind of challenging project that Hubbard excels in completing—engineering safe and efficient solutions to deliver a superior paving product. I could not be prouder of our teams on that project.”

Plant 2 of Orlando Paving Company (OPC) supplied the asphalt for the award-winning project. “Brant Larson, the plant foreman on the project, did an incredible job ensuring that our material needs were

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 15

Producer profile

Hubbard continues to emphasize employee health & safety, including safety talks before work begins.

The SR-528 project started in September 2015 and included 22 ramps in a 4-mile section of the state route through some of the busiest interchanges in Orlando. Hubbard Construction won ACAF’s prestigious A.P. Bolton Award in District 8 for their paving on the widening project.

16 // September 2020

Hubbard helped to expand Florida’s roadway infrastructure with major contracts including I-10 in Lake City, the Florida Turnpike and much of downtown Orlando. The company also took on high-profile projects in Cape Canaveral and fancy work like the stadium parking lot where the Toronto Blue Jays hold spring training in Dunedin.

CONTROLS met,” Addison shared. “Brian LeClair was the project superintendent on SR-528 and did an outstanding job leading the team.”

Pride in the team members and pride in their work drives Hubbard workers to make each project the best it can be. Senior QC Manager Carl Moorefield is one of Hubbard’s veteran team members, celebrating 42 years with the company in 2020. He spoke of his most memorable experience with the team as the weekend that they repaved the CONTROLS runways and taxiways at the Orlando Executive Airport, removing and replacing close to 3,000 tons.

“It was an entire company effort,” Moorefield shared. “The CEO of the airport flew out on Friday night on the old pavement and returned amazed on Sunday night / Monday morning to all new pavement—this project was a great undertaking but was accomplished in one weekend as planned. It was a total team effort, everyone workingCONTROLS together!

“I enjoy developing new asphalt mix designs,” Moorefield continued. “Through the experience that we have gained from doing so many MDs, using many different aggregate sources, we have been able to develop mix designs that are economic and competitive. By establishing cost effective designs, it helps bring down the expense of production and increases the potential profit margin at all nine Hubbard asphalt plants in Florida. I work behind the scenes, but I knowCONTROLS my efforts contribute directly to our company’s profitability. I feel a real sense of satisfaction knowing what I do contributes directly to Hubbard’s success.

I take pride in my work and strive to be the best at what I do.”

Different projects throughout the state require material and crew participation from different arms of the Hubbard family. Over the years, Hubbard has expanded its business through acquisitions to keep CONTROLS up with growth and demand. Those acquisitions have included Orlando Paving Company, Atlantic Coast Asphalt, Tampa Pavement Constructors, and most recently, a portion of Lane Construction now operating as Lakeland Paving. Hubbard also diversified its business lines to include landfill and material recycling services, which operate under the Mid-Florida Materials business name. This fall, a new plant will begin production in Orlando.

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Producer profile “We purchased three Florida plants in the acquisition of Lane Construction’s P&P business line: Lakeland, Loughman and Port Tampa Bay,” Addison explained. “All three plants were running as Hubbard Construction plants in 2019. Adding the three plants helps Hubbard cover the I-4 corridor from Orlando to Tampa, gaining us more market share in the areas where we already operated. The plants were already permitted, so all that was required was to transfer them to Hubbard. The biggest positive has been the addition of hard-working, talented people to our team and the increase in market share. With the acquisition, our annual production has grown from 1.5 million tons to more than 2 million tons annually. It’s [significantly] increased our asphalt revenue.”

WHAT’S NEW AT HUBBARD

John Sharp, the group equipment director for Eurovia USA, spoke of the new plant: “We needed to be able to provide additional flexibility with higher production rates to support our internal crews and FOB customers.” The newest plant will be set up to serve East Central Florida. “The new plant features a relocatable 600 TPH Dillman Unified counterflow drum with a 50 percent recycle rate. It also features an eight-compartment cold feed system with a dual bin recycle system.

We’re including a 150MBTU gas burner, six 300-ton storage silos, and two truck scales.”

Craft stated: “Our legacy is one of industry leadership—from our top-notch safety program, to our innovated asphalt mix designs, to our environmentally sustainable practices. Hubbard has been on the leading edge of every major development in our industry.”

That sentiment was obvious in the state of the art environmental and safety aspects Sharp detailed in the new plant’s design. He listed safety features such as walkways throughout the plant to allow for safer inspection and maintenance; interlocks for major plant components that can shut down sections of the plant if there is ever an issue in the production process; and an internal traffic control plan designed to limit interdictions of trucks, equipment and people working at the plant site.

Sharp listed the following positive considerations designed to limit overall environmental impact with the goal of producing a ton of asphalt at 70 KWH/ton, which Sharp stated is an 18 to 23 percent reduction in overall energy consumption compared to former operations: • 100 percent electrical heated tank farm, eliminating the need for natural gas heater; • Material covers for the RAP and fine materials reducing the overall moisture percent by 30 to 40 percent compared to former plant operations; • Variable frequency drives installed on baghouse, dryer, drag slat reduce overall energy usage by 2 percent compared to former plant operations; and • “Driving” program, Eurovia, allows “live” remote monitoring, reporting of plant operations and energy consumption.

“Hubbard’s business model has remained remarkably consistent over the last 100 years,” Craft said. “If you look at the kinds of projects our company completed during our first 50 years, they’re very similar to the projects we take on today—a mix of public and private roadway construction and paving projects, site development work, and asphalt manufacturing. Our business has grown through strategic acquisitions within our area of expertise, which have allowed us to increase volume and expand our market region, without losing focus of what we do

18 // September 2020

Installation of the new Dillman plant in Orlando is to be completed in 2020 with a start-up planned around October. best. To this day, we remain a local Florida-based company, committed to improving the state we call home.”

Hubbard continues to serve Florida as a respected civil construction and asphalt paving contractor. Its founding commitment to providing superior quality and customer service remains central to the Hubbard name and identity. Hubbard is celebrating its 100th anniversary with employee, customer and community events throughout 2020. Learn more about the company’s legacy and bright future by visiting the website, www.hubbard.com.

– BY SANDY LENDER

Women of asphalt

a Woman of Quality: Meet All States Materials Group’s Mary Wescott T

Taking a non-traditional path in a non-traditional career, Mary Wescott has achieved success as a woman of asphalt. Here, she shares how we can encourage other women to make the asphalt industry a more common choice for those seeking a fulfilling career. She joined the asphalt industry in 1997 with Pike Industries Inc., New Hampshire, where she ultimately served as a quality control manager, and now serves as the quality manager in Maine for All States Materials Group, which is headquartered in Sunderland, Massachusetts. Wescott spoke of the similarities she’s seen at the two companies for the advancement of women.

“All States is family owned, whereas Pike, as part of CRH, is publicly held,” Wescott explained first. “We are a relatively small community of people, regardless of employer. Both have been accepting of women. As a person grows in an organization, the question is more one of whether she can be accepted in a leadership role. Smaller, more diverse groups are, in my experience, more accepting of the idea of a wider variety of people in leadership roles. All States definitely champions diversity.”

Wescott attained her Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of New Hampshire while working. “Taking full advantage of a generous tuition reimbursement program (and a very supportive husband), I studied as a non-traditional student, primarily at night, for 10 years in order to complete my undergrad. While it was very challenging, there were two terrific takeaways: 1) Everything I learned was immediately applicable in my work. It gave me a better understanding of HMA plants, control systems, paving equipment and materials, as well as an instant application to help make my studies less abstract and more concrete; 2) It gave me outrageous confidence at work, as well as helping with all manner of troubleshooting.”

20 // September 2020

Wescott also attained a Northeast Transportation Technician certification during that time. “The NETTCP certs, the degree program and the practical experience ran parallel for me. It was challenging, but a very rich intellectual exercise. When I finally sat for my PE exam—Mechanical Engineering, Thermal and Fluid Systems—I felt an amazing sense of accomplishment.

“It’s easy to be dismissed by folks who may tend to believe that a typical woman has less ‘built in’ knowledge of all things mechanical than a typical man. Gaining my degree while working gave me credibility in the field, as well as in the conference room.

And it didn’t hurt that it was 100 percent reimbursed—no student loans.”

She accomplished all these goals without a specific mentor guiding her, so she works to encourage others when possible now.

“I had no mentor. That was the hardest part of coming up for me. As a result, I try to always support new folks, whether they report to me or not, in sticking with our industry and growing into their own leadership role.”

At this time, that means she can give a helping hand to more women than in the past. When she joined the asphalt industry in 1997, there were fewer female professional engineers in the companies and agencies with whom her company does business. “I will say that I see many more women who are PEs now than, say, 10 years ago. I’d put that number at a 300 percent increase.”

Female workers, whether in the QC/QA ranks or not, can encourage young women entering the industry with self-assurance.

“Self-assurance is such an important characteristic to project in any industry,” Wescott said. “Construction engineering is no exception. Over the years, I have seen a definite upward trend in the confidence exhibited by young women technicians and engineers.

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“While there is no substitute for change over time, we can help young women in engineering by appreciating strengths without having them predicated upon traditionally perceived weaknesses. Being recognized as INSPECTION CONTROLS the ‘first woman’ achieving any kind of scruSERVICES tinized goal can be a proud moment. However, being recognized as the ‘first engineer’ or ‘first person’ achieving a goal can engender an even prouder feeling, because it implies that you belong. When you get to the point where you no longer count or pay attention to the number of other women (if there are any) at a symposium or on a job site, then you start to realize that others are accepting of your presence without specifically noting your gender.

“Mentoring and encouragement can help women coming into the industry know that

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Women of asphalt

Mary Wescott gets a density reading in the field. they belong to a creative group of people.

They contribute to solving everchanging technical challenges. Their ideas and enthusiasm are essential to project design, execution and successful completion.”

In the quality control/quality assurance (QC/QA) sphere specifically, Wescott offers sage advice that speaks to any member of the industry, no matter his or her gender or age.

“To be honest, QA work is often questioned,” she cautioned. “We sometimes own the unfortunate task of telling people what they don’t want to hear. I’ve had some folks awfully upset with me before, but not because I’m a woman. The fact is, you can be disliked or distrusted for being short, tall, blue-eyed, of an atypical color or religion for your part of the country, etc. It is hard to win the trust of others, and in New England that calls for eating lunch alone for a long time before you are invited to have a sandwich with the crew on a jobsite.

It just feels good when it finally happens, and once it does, your crew will stick with you regardless of differences. As far as professionalism, you should never, ever enjoy delivering bad news; don’t forget to share good news; and never ever lie. Do your job.

You’ll be respected.”

22 // September 2020

Wescott shared three simple rules: 1. Always show respect to the people around you and always require respect from them, as well. When people see this in you, they will gain an understanding of your value.

2. Hold yourself to a higher standard than your employer or anyone else ever will. You can be excellent at what you do without hubris, and you can celebrate success without becoming complacent.

3. Learn to be alone. It is the simple truth that you won’t necessarily be one of the group, especially at first. If you accept this strong possibility, it might not be as much of a surprise when it happens.

Even if a female leader experiences a few lunches alone, teamwork and collaboration remain vital to successful project completion. “It’s important to discern between the perception of collaboration vs. weakness,” Wescott reminded us. “I do believe that, in some cases, these two qualities can be confused.”

Adding team members to a project does not have to be perceived as an inability to complete a project on your own. The paving industry isn’t conducive to working alone all the time. In QC/QA, some tests require working alone, and then the team puts in a collaborative effort where all members of the crew can shine. Wescott shared one project in particular that was challenging, yet successfully executed through a great effort of “planning, communication, teamwork.”

“So many challenging projects! I can choose one that was a pilot project for the NHDOT on a limited access highway about 10 years ago. It utilized several different mixes with several different polymer modified asphalts, different gradations, and different install techniques. First, we did our homework! We visited with other agencies and contractors who had related ongoing trials. We spent a great deal of time with our agency partner hashing out project details prior to starting the project. We assembled the best in-house team we could from project management to production crews and quality control. We shared knowledge, research, and experience; then set up pre-construction, pre-pave, and pre-shift meetings to enhance communication. Several times during the project we met to discuss chal-

lenges and successes, again drawing from many sources for problem solving. All stakeholders kept good records, which we rolled into a post project meeting and report.”

– BY SANDY LENDER

PERCEPTIONS AsphaltPro: It’s a fact that asphalt work can be hot and dirty at times.

How do you respond to people who say it’s a dirty job?

Mary Wescott: There are lots of dirty jobs—parenting, nursing, gardening. I do this work because it suits me, gives me the satisfaction of contributing to the country’s infrastructure, and it can’t very well be outsourced. I could go on and on. I love what I do.

AsphaltPro: What do you think is an incorrect perception that we, as an industry, can re-educate young people about to encourage more women to consider a career in the asphalt business?

Mary Wescott: What we do is fun and very satisfying. The folks you work with everyday are hard-working and don’t really have time to pick on anyone who shows up willing to hold her own. This is not an industry where you have to show up ready to fight for your place. Rather, it’s an extremely fair-minded industry where you show up ready to earn your place. If you bring a willingness to listen and be part of a team, you’ll do well, and go home tired but satisfied at the end of the day.

AsphaltPro: What is the most rewarding aspect for you of being in the asphalt business?

Mary Wescott: Working with good people, contributing to the nation’s infrastructure, and being respected for my work.

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International snapshot

International RAP Sustainability is a way of life in the province of Friesland in northern Netherlands, including in its infrastructure. An important showpiece project for this region was the doubling of the provincial road N381 between Donkerbroek and Oosterwolde.

The work was awarded to construction company Heijmans, on the basis of its sustainable approach and circular high recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) ZOAB (porous asphalt) mixtures, made possible by incorporating a rejuvenator.

The N381 paving project is the latest example in circular road construction. In line with the sustainability objectives of the province, circular implementation is the guiding principle.

“It’s very stimulating, given our own sustainable ambitions at Heijmans,” said Gerbert van Bochove, innovation manager at Heijmans Infra. “We are happy when our clients recognize that we have the people, the knowledge and the technology to realize their plans together.”

The old surfaces of the road construction of this part of the N381 are recycled and processed in a circular two-layer porous pavement. Maximum circularity requires the reuse of the old layers.

This new approach guarantees the maximum achievable circularity for this project. In the field of circular porous pavements, Heijmans is building the showpiece in Friesland: a two-layer ZOAB with 60 percent recycled asphalt in the bottom layer and a top layer with 40 percent upcycled RAP. “Recycling old porous asphalt is not as easy as it seems,” Van Bochove said. “The bitumen of porous pavement milling material is more oxidized and aged than that of SMA milling material, which has lost its necessary flexibility properties in the asphalt.”

As a result, it may lack the qualifications for the production of asphalt that meets the required technical specifications of a project. In that case, it becomes crucial to use an asphalt rejuvenator. Heijmans used a bio-based Anova rejuvenator from Cargill Bioindustrial to bring the chemical composition of aged bitumen back into balance.

“Heijmans has developed a special technique to produce a high RAP mix with the necessary properties using rejuvenation,” said Jan Struik, business development manager at Cargill Bioindustrial. “Heijmans conducted a great deal of research into the effect and functionality of rejuvenation products and their suppliers. Anova turned out to be very suitable for this purpose and thus making circular road construction possible. Besides the technical functionality, reliability of the supplier, cost per ton of asphalt and the sustainability profile played an important role in the consideration.”

On the N381 was an old two-layer porous pavement. These layers are now being reused in the circular mixes developed by Heijmans and validated by Rijkswaterstaat, which is the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management, for the new top layer.

“We have now gained a lot of experience with Anova, especially in bringing the bitumen to the desired specification,” van Bochove said.

S

Web Extra: Check out additional images for this story at TheAsphaltPro.com.

26 // September 2020

The Heijmans paving crew placed high-RAP mix with Anova rejuvenator on the N381. Photos courtesy of Cargill Bioindustrial “We have already produced multiple high RAP mixtures in large volumes. The composition varies from 30 percent to more than 60 percent of old asphalt that has been brought to specification. We are increasingly working with circular asphalt with high percentages of reuse. By 2023, Heijmans wants to be able to process 100 percent circular asphalt on all projects.”

MEET HEIJMANS

Heijmans is a listed company that combines activities related to property development, construction and technical services, and infrastructure. A constant focus on quality improvements, innovation and integrated solutions enables them to generate added value for their clients.

The Infra division focuses mainly on the construction, improvement, and maintenance of road infrastructure and public spaces in the Netherlands, including related installations and on-site objects. This could include roads, viaducts, tunnels, locks, water treatment plants, and work related to cables, pipelines and energy supply, but also technical work to make roads and public spaces safer, such as lighting, camera and referral systems are carried out by Heijmans Infra.

– BY HASSAN TABATABAEE AND SUSAN LISTBERGER

Hassan Tabatabaee is the global technical manager for Cargill Bioindustrial and Susan Listberger is the global product line manager for Cargill Bioindustrial. For more information, contact them through the Cargill website.

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Gerken Ferries Asphalt, Quality to North Bass Island

BY SARAH REDOHL

W

Gerken hired two ferries to transport its 16 haul trucks for each day’s paving. Every truck on the job had to have working tarps and proper insulation because of the long haul.

When Gerken Companies, Napoleon, Ohio, was hired to pave a remote island airport runway, Area Manager Kyle Borstelman felt a mix of nervousness and excitement.

“We were interested in the job because we knew it would be a great job to put on our resume if we could accomplish it,” Borstelman said. Along with the prime contractor on the job, Tenmile Creek Excavating, Metamora, Ohio, Gerken set about thinking through the logistics of the challenging project.

North Bass Island (NBI) is a 688-acre island belonging to Ohio, located in Lake Erie halfway between Ohio’s Port Clinton and Kingsport, Ontario, in Canada. Nearly 600 acres of the island remains undeveloped and is preserved as North Bass Island State Park.

The island has been historically used as a vineyard; Ohio still leases 38 acres of vineyards to Firelands Winery in Sandusky, Ohio.

28 // September 2020

The island does, however, have its own airport. North Bass Island Airport is part of the Put-in-Bay Port Authority and has a 1,800-foot airstrip. While tricky to navigate due to its proximity to Canadian airspace, the airport is a necessity for the residents of the island.

According to a 2018 article by The Columbus Dispatch, the island has a population of eight.

NBI has no ferry service and is surrounded by ice four months of the year. The airport provides transit to the mainland, mail service, and even shuttles students to nearby high schools.

The runway was initially paved in 1995 and after nearly 25 years of use, was in need of repaving. The improvements were funded by a $2.3 million grant from the Federal Aviation Authority.

ISLAND LOGISTICS

Transportation of the mix to the job site presented a number of challenges, including a long drive and ferry ride to the job site and weight limitations on the island’s dock and roads.

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The North Bass Island Airport job required just under 3,600 tons of asphalt, which was produced at Gerken’s plant in Parkertown, Ohio.

“The dock hasn’t been used for many years. All of the island’s goods are flown in, which is why they were concerned about getting the airport refurbished,” Borstelman said. When they first bid the project, they realized the dock wouldn’t support haul trucks and equipment trucks. The edges of the dock were beginning to wash away, the shoring was starting to deteriorate and much of the decking on the dock was broken. “Even with a lighter vehicle on that dock, you’d have to be careful. There was no way it would support our trucks weighing 80,000 pounds.”

Gerken considered doing a barge landing on the beach instead of using the dock. However, it was determined to be too risky with water level fluctuation and rough currents. They also briefly considered a portable plant, but quickly realized they would encounter the same challenges bringing the plant, materials and other equipment to the island. In the end, ferrying equipment and asphalt to the island was only possible following nearly $500,000 worth of dock improvements, performed by Geo Gradel Co., Toledo, Ohio, in 2019.

Another logistical challenge was that Gerken could not use the island’s existing roads due to weight restrictions. So, Tenmile Creek

30 // September 2020

Gerken initially produced the mix at 310 degrees Fahrenheit to see how much temperature loss the mix would experience, as well as how it would react to the ferry ride. However, they discovered after the first few loads that they were only losing about 15 degrees from the plant to the paver, despite the long haul.

Gerken added Evotherm, a warm-mix asphalt (WMA) additive, to the mix at 0.4 percent. The job had a percent-within-limits (PWL) specification with a bonus for how closely inside the density boundaries Gerken’s actual measurements were. “Warm-mix was the only way we could accomplish this job,” said Jim Shoemaker, quality control manager at Gerken. created its own temporary road by mowing a one-mile route through old vineyard fields to the runway. Even this became a challenge. Due to heavy rainfall, Tenmile Creek had to compact and add stone to wet areas to prevent damage to the land and limit the risk of a truck getting stuck.

“The whole time we were transporting equipment and mix to and from the jobsite, Tenmile had a roller operator out there rolling out the wheel ruts we were creating as we were creating them,” Borstelman said.

Once those obstacles were behind them, the Gerken team still had to figure out how to transport mix to the job without sacrificing quality.

FERRY THE MIX On a sunny, 50-degree morning in October 2019, Gerken fired up its Astec plant in Parkertown, Ohio. They had to do the job later in the year because the company contracted to ferry the equipment and mix over during the job, Miller Ferry, Put-In-Bay, Ohio, was too busy with normal operations carrying passengers and goods around the area throughout the summer months.

The first two ferries and the last two ferries of each day carried the crew, the paver, the rollers, the foreman’s truck, distributor truck, and water truck. “We wanted our equipment off the island at the end of each day, in case something came up,” Borstelman said. “We didn’t want our equipment stuck out there in the event of bad weather.”

To get the mix to the island required a one-hour drive from the Parkertown plant to the port and another hour on the ferry.

Gerken hired two ferries to transport its 16 haul trucks for each day’s paving. Every truck on the job had to have working tarps and proper insulation because of the long haul.

Additionally, Gerken tried to use as many live-bottom trucks as possible on the job. “We find that they’re very well-insulated and hold temperature better than straight boxes,” Borstelman said.

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 31

TOP: To account for the timing of the ferries, the crew’s paving speed was just under 10 feet per minute for most of the project. When they were able to acquire four ferries, instead of two, they were able to increase their paving speed to 15 feet per minute. MIDDLE: Mail still had to be delivered to the island during construction on the runway.

While the crew was paving, planes continued to arrive on the grass next to the runway.

Web Extra: Visit this article on theasphaltpro.com to watch a video about the project.

32 // September 2020

Each ferry carried four trucks for a total of 80 tons of asphalt per trip, making eight trips to deliver mix per day. The drivers of each group of four trucks made sure to stick together on the road so they could load onto the ferry together.

“We didn’t want the ferry sitting there waiting for our trucks on the island and being late to pick up the loaded trucks at the dock on the mainland,” Borstelman said. “The crew on the island was able to get into a sequence of four trucks per hour so they could make it back to the dock in time for the next ferry of haul trucks to come in.”

“We passed four full trucks at the halfway point on the lake when we were headed back to the mainland with four empty trucks,” said Adam Shaefer, Evotherm technical specialist. “When we hit dry land, the next four loaded trucks were arriving from the plant ready to board the ferry. It was like clockwork.”

Gerken’s dispatching team uses Verizon Connect to track its trucking fleet, so they rarely needed to call in to check on trucks to adjust ferry dock timing.

The runway, which was 60 feet wide, would be paved in four 15foot passes with Gerken’s Roadtec RP 190E paver. With the timing of the ferries, this resulted in a paving speed of just under 10 feet per minute. However, on the last day of paving, everyone had to kick it into high gear.

“Lake weather in October isn’t the best,” Borstelman said. After three days of paving according to schedule, the weather forecast called for less-than-optimal paving conditions. Temperatures were expected to drop and the wind was expected to get worse. “We had roughly 30 hours before the weather was going to go south on us.

We had to make a big decision. If we didn’t finish the runway within the day, completion of the project would have been postponed until sometime in 2020.”

Gerken contacted the team at Miller Ferry to ask if they would be able to ferry their trucks overnight. They hired additional haul trucks and brought in the company’s other crews so they could complete the project in multiple back-to-back shifts. In the end, they wrapped up the project after 22 hours of roundthe-clock paving.

They were also able to speed up production during the overnight shift, since Miller Ferry was able to free up two additional ferries for the project. With four ferries, the crew was able to pave nearly 100 tons per hour at a speed of 15 feet per minute. “Even at an elevated speed, compared to when they only had access to two ferries, the crew still needed to pave slowly to alleviate any unnecessary cold joints,” Borstelman said.

The crew paved two 2-inch lifts with a P403 PG64-22 mix, a common design for runways carrying aircraft weighing less than 12,500 pounds. In total, the job required just under 3,600 tons of asphalt, plus an additional 40 tons the Gerken crew ended up paving on the dock as they got on the ferry the last day. “We literally paved right up to the ferry,” Borstelman said.

INGENUITY WITH INGEVITY

The job also had a percent-within-limits (PWL) specification with a bonus for how closely inside the density boundaries Gerken’s actual measurements were. “Warm-mix was the only way we could accomplish this job,” said Jim Shoemaker, quality control manager at Gerken.

They added Evotherm, a warm-mix asphalt (WMA) additive from Ingevity Corporation, North Charleston, South Carolina, to

The runway, which was 60 feet wide, would be paved in four 15foot passes with Gerken’s Roadtec RP 190E paver. the mix at 0.4 percent. Shoemaker said Gerken has been using Evotherm for about a year.

“We chose Evotherm as a sort of insurance policy for the long haul, trying to ensure the mix remained workable over the hours-long trip the trucks would make from the plant to lay-down,” Shoemaker said. “With the ability to compact the mix with Evotherm at lower temperatures, it seemed like the best option.”

They initially produced the mix at 310 degrees Fahrenheit to see how much temperature loss the mix would experience, as well as how it would react to the ferry ride. However, they discovered after the first few loads that they were only losing about 15 degrees from the plant to the paver, despite the long haul.

“We were seeing such high temps at the job site that the rollers had to wait to get on it,” Borstelman said, adding that the first loads behind the paver were around 290 degrees Fahrenheit.

After adjusting the production temperature to around 300 degrees Fahrenheit, the rollers, both Sakai 774ND oscillatory double drum rollers, were able to get on the mat right away.

“Our concerns were through the roof when we were ready to take off,” Borstelman said. “At one point, we were just hoping the material would come out of the back of the truck. After the first few loads arrived, our foreman and the crew behind the screed were fascinated by the quality of the product we were getting.”

Gerken used a standard rolling pattern, though Shoemaker said they allowed the mix to set up a bit before they began rolling “as these mixes always seem to be a bit tender.” In the end, densities averaged between 93.5 to 94.5 percent and met the PWL specification.

“We were thrilled we were able to succeed on this job,” Borstelman said. “Not only did it show that we could do it, but I think everyone is happy with the final product. There were a lot of moving parts that had to go just right for the job to be successful, but everyone on the project worked really well together.”

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 33

Product Gallery

Heat of Summer Production No one in their right mind would suggest the 2020 construction season has been business-as-usual, but asphalt mix producers have certain protocol that haven’t changed. Quality aggregate washed, screened and sized for tight specs must blend with high-caliber liquid asphalt cement, whether modified or not, to provide paving crews their best chance at success in the field. To help with production from the bottom to the top, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have been finding safe and sanitized methods of manufacture, and they’re ready to assist. The next few pages list some new announcements, products and services OEMs wanted to share with you.

Let’s start with a close-up look at the speed of production Riverbend Construction Services, Jefferson City, Tennessee, has enjoyed lately with its new mobile jaw and cone crushers—flanking a new mobile screen. This case study appears courtesy of Kleemann, a division of Wirtgen Group, Antioch, Tennessee.

“Our current business model is to do contract crushing,” said Duff Boyd, president of Riverbend. We focus on mining of construction aggregates and material recycling.”

At an established quarry in South Carolina, Riverbend was taking granite production to a new level that was unattainable by the quarry owner working with its own forces and equipment. There, a new MOBICAT MC 110 Zi EVO primary jaw crusher, a MOBISCREEN MS 15 Z screen, and a MOBICONE MCO 9i EVO secondary cone crusher—all from Kleemann—were working together to smooth production and lower costs.

“Here we are making crusher run granite road base and a No. 4 material, which is 2 inches by 1 ½ inch with no fines,” Boyd said.

The crusher run size is 100 percent passing 1 ½ inch all the way down to 200 mesh size. Riverbend does the drilling and blasting of the gray granite, and loads and hauls the raw stone to the processing site on the top of the pit.

The equipment is set up in a closed circuit.

Material is primary-crushed at the MC 110 Zi EVO, and both crushed material and all fines go to the mobile screen. The MS 15 Z mobile screen has two decks, the top with 2-inch

N

34 // September 2020

In Riverbend’s closed circuit, Kleemann crushers and screens turn out a high-quality product. panels, and 1 ½-inch panels on the bottom deck. The top deck “overs” go to the MCO 9i EVO to be sized down (as the jaw is set to 65 mm, a 4- to 5-inch size rock goes to the cone).

The cone crushes that material and sends it back to the screen for resizing. The bottom deck “overs” are a 2 x 1 ½-inch rock, and the bottom deck screen-throughs is a 1 ½-inch size, which is stacked as a product. Anything dropping through is crusher run, which is stockpiled and loaded onto trucks.

With the new equipment, Riverbend was averaging 305 to 335 tons per hour (TPH), depending on the feed.

“If the feed is a good, well-blasted material, with this closed-circuit arrangement, I can easily put up to 340 tph through,” Boyd said. “By well-blasted, I mean a rock that’s not chunky, that’s shot well throughout with some fines in it and a variety of sizes that go into the primary. The moving jaw on the jaw crusher is much longer than the fixed jaw.”

He appreciated that the longer crusher jaw protects the pitman on the jaw crusher and doesn’t give bigger rocks anywhere to catch and hang on. “Kleemann’s taller crusher jaw all but eliminates stoppage due to big rocks.

If you are doing 330 tph, and you have to stop for a half hour to dig the rock out, you’ve lost 165 tons of productivity.”

Instead of a grizzly, Boyd’s new MC 110 Zi EVO primary jaw crusher uses an independent prescreen that speeds productivity. “The prescreen pulls all the fines out, and that’s where the tons per hour really pick up,” Boyd said. “But if it’s a coarse material, it all has to go through the jaw and my tons per hour will go down. The prescreen is the ticket. It cuts down on the wear on the crusher

jaws and the wear plates. It prevents wear and tear, and increases throughput.

“Currently, we don’t drop any fines through the prescreen that kick out the side; instead, they drop right underneath and bypass the jaw, and we blend and mix them at the MS 15 Z scalping screen,” Boyd said.

“When we crush through the MCO 9i EVO, those fines return and we blend the pit fines with the crusher fines to make a more consistent crusher run product, with stable gradation. If we kicked them out at the jaw, and made crusher run at the screen, we’d have two separate products.” The feeder itself sets the feed rate for the tons per hour coming into the plant.

For more information, contact Matt Graves at matt.graves@wirtgen-group.com or visit www. wirtgen-group.com/america.

AMMANN

Amdurit®, the proprietary wear-protection system from Ammann Group, Langenthal, Switzerland, is designed to provide up to three times the service life of wear-resistant steel and protect valuable parts and components. It should make maintenance easy, too.

Instead of replacing a component, simply swap out the Amdurit covering.

The wear-protection system results in savings on multiple fronts, according to the manufacturer. Components last longer, which translates to fewer replacements and therefore lower costs. In addition, plant owners also avoid the labor costs associated with replacement of the components.

When replacements are quick and easy, overall plant uptime is improved.

BROCK

Ben Brock, former president and CEO of Astec Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: ASTE), Chattanooga, has acquired substantially all of the assets of JBK Enterprises Inc. Brock is the president and CEO of the company,

which was officially renamed BROCK following the acquisition. FourBridges Capital Advisors acted as exclusive financial advisor to Brock, structuring and negotiating the deal on his behalf. Baker Donelson provided legal counsel to Brock.

Amdurit® wear-protection system from Ammann Group There are many potential areas of use, including drum inserts; transition and discharge locations; feeders (both RAP and traditional); and silos. The preferred areas of use with regard to components for reclaimed asphalt (RAP) feed include: • RAP elevator feed and discharge; • Drum pipe infeed, cone and scales in the drum pipe; • Intermediate container and chute in the mixer; and • RAP feed, worm screw and screw trough.

A range of fastening methods, such as welding, clamping and bolting, make it easy to replace the original part with Amdurit wear protection.

When looking for ways to lower operating expenses, don’t forget about the value that results from properly protecting a plant.

For more information, contact simone.franz@ ammann.com or visit www.ammann.com.

BRIDGESTONE

Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, announced June 25 it has completed the purchase of iTrack Solutions Business from Transense Technologies PLC, based in the United Kingdom. iTrack is a provider of tire management solutions for the off-theroad (OTR) vehicle market. The business offers a comprehensive tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) specially designed for mining tires. In addition to tire temperature and pressure monitoring, the iTrack tire management platform provides customizable geofencing, speed alerts and more to help mining customers optimize their operations for increased productivity and profitability. The strategic acquisition strengthens Bridgestone’s complete solutions portfolio for mining customers around the world.

For more information, visit the Bridgestone website.

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 35

Product Gallery Owned by Lori Stafford, JBK was founded in 1990 as an equipment manufacturer and after-market parts supplier for hot-mix asphalt (HMA) plant owners. JBK’s office and manufacturing facility are located in Georgetown, Tennessee.

“My father, Jack B. Kibler, started JBK with a vision to provide quality equipment and parts to an industry he loved, and he was successful in his effort,” Stafford said. “With the sale of JBK to Ben, I know the company will continue to grow in the right way.”

“JBK was building a little bit of everything from buckets and drags to baghouses,” Brock told AsphaltPro. “We’ll continue to offer all those things, plus site construction services.”

He explained that, for the short-term, the company will continue to focus on the components that were JBK’s strength, but he and his team are in this for the long-term.

“It’s an industry I really love and love being a part of. Timing-wise, when you think about the pandemic, you can view it as a huge bump in the road, but it’s just that: a bump in the road. This is a long-term investment showing our confidence in the market.

We’re thinking 10 to 15 years out.”

BROCK will continue to supply equipment and parts to the HMA industry and plans to add new products and services in the future. The company is well positioned for growth through its commitment to quality products, excellent service, and long-standing customer relationships cultivated by the leadership team, which includes: Travis Sneed as vice president, sales & operations; Robin Leffew as vice president, CFO; Anthony Caldwell as director of manufacturing & construction; Greg Stafford as manager of inside operations; and Jeff Beavers as manager of drafting.

For more information, visit https://www. brock.industries/.

BUTLER-JUSTICE

Blue Smoke Control, a division of Butler-Justice Inc., Anaheim, California, offers two systems that, between them, are designed to eliminate emissions issues at the plant. According to Mike Butler, president of Butler-Justice, “The addition of RAP, rubberized asphalt and polymer blends into asphalt mix designs has led to higher emis-

36 // September 2020

sions due to higher mix temperatures.” His company now provides environmental control devices that can be installed at the asphalt plant to remove up to 99.9 percent of blue smoke, as well as the odors associated with asphalt production. Here’s how: The Blue Smoke Control system captures blue smoke from emission points in the asphalt production process. Because blue smoke is essentially vaporized oil at high temperatures, Blue Smoke Control’s ducting system bleeds ambient (outside) air at key points. Seven stages of filters help to coalesce the tiny oil vapor droplets and aerosols into larger droplets that can be filtered out by the blue smoke collector. The oil droplets drain from the filters via gravity to a collecting sump.

In some cases, the system can pull as much as five gallons of oil per day from conveyor transfer points, silo-filling spots, and truck load-out areas. Not only is the final high-efficiency filter 95 percent efficient at capturing particles as small as 0.3 microns (creating a filter that is equivalent to HEPA quality), the complete system is 99.9 percent efficient overall, according to the manufacturer.

In addition, the company offers its X-VOCS system, which features proprietary carbon absorption technology designed to filter and remove up to 99 percent of odors and VOCs, such as Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), from the hot asphalt storage tanks. The X-VOCS incorporates a five-stage filtration system. In the first three stages, a series of filters remove more than 95 percent of targeted particulates down to 0.3 microns. In the final two stages, carbon filtration beds remove remaining odors and volatiles.

When the X-VOCS technology is coupled with the Blue Smoke Control system, emissions from HMA plants can be reduced to nearly zero, providing owners with the means to achieve the highest level of environmental stewardship. Implementation of this technology has been proven to virtually end calls from nearby neighbors regarding odor and visual emissions. Both the Blue Smoke Control and X-VOCS systems can be incorporated into new plant designs, and they are also easily retrofitted into existing plant operations, with minimal modifications to the plant.

For more information on the X-VOCS system, visit the Blue Smoke Controls website.

CLEARSPAN

ClearSpan Fabric Structures, South Windsor, Connecticut, unveiled its new commercial building rental offering this summer. Previously, the company’s structures were only available for purchase, but now customers can use ClearSpan’s fabric structures on a temporary basis.

“ClearSpan is expanding into rental building options due to high demand for short-term storage and enclosure solutions,” said Geoff Ching, director of sales for ClearSpan. “Our high-volume manufacturing capacity, along with an extensive network of installers, gives ClearSpan the flexibility to offer rental solutions, while continuing to expand permanent metal- and fabric-clad structures.”

The structures will be rented on a monthly basis. The commercial building for rent will be available in 30-foot, 45-foot and 60-foot widths, and they can be built as long as 500 feet. The versatility and ability to customize makes these structures useful across dozens of industries and applications.

“ClearSpan rental buildings offer the strength and industry-leading durability, combined with the flexibility to serve short-term needs,” stated Ching. “Extreme weather can occur in any season, and ClearSpan customers can have the peace of mind that their buildings will withstand even the harshest elements.”

Each building features ClearSpan’s ultra-strong, I-beam frame and are covered with ClearSpan’s energy-efficient fabric cover. The covers allow natural light to filter through, creating a well-lit environment. With these covers, operations don’t need artificial lighting during the day, so they can save significantly on a monthly basis. The covers are also climate sensitive, so they promote a more comfortable environment no matter the climate or weather.

For more information, contact (866) 643-1010.

H&B

Haver & Boecker Niagara, St. Catharines, Ontario, launched in July its Pulse Vibration Analysis service, which uses its Pulse vibration analysis technology to evaluate vibrating screen performance and provide recommendations to increase uptime and efficiency. The service is designed to help customers achieve production targets, minimize unscheduled downtime and demonstrate sustainable im-

provements through online asset management in partnership with Haver & Boecker Niagara’s vibrating screen service expertise.

The company’s Pulse vibration analysis software examines the health of a vibrating screen to ensure optimum screening performance and equipment reliability. Pulse detects irregularities that could translate into diminished performance, decreased efficiency, increased operating costs and imminent breakdown. This gives producers advanced notice so that their operation can plan preventative maintenance programs to avoid premature wear, downtime and additional expense.

The service program includes a complete vibrating screen inspection by a Haver & Boecker Niagara certified service technician.

Following the inspection, customers receive a Pulse diagnostic report, which provides an analysis of their vibrating screen and detailed recommendations to prevent downtime.

For more information, contact Kristen Randall at (905) 688-2644.

with line-of-sight connectivity up to 300 feet via cable-free remote connection. The CPU offers capacity for more than 2 million weight records, while data can also be exported via USB or Ethernet. Electronics and a thermal printer are integrated into

GPS Asset Management Solution Sentinel is the

construction industry’s premier, real-time fleet management, E-ticketing, and asset

INTERCOMP

Minneapolis – Intercomp, a manufacturer of portable vehicle weighing and measurement products, introduces the TS30™ CPU, which is an advanced touchscreen indicator for self-contained operation of portable scales.

The touchscreen display and intuitive graphic user interface of the standalone wireless indicator and control unit allows truck scale operators to create tickets and weighing records remotely. The innovation provides the ability to run monitoring programs for applications like weight compliance, inventory tracking and safety screening.

Intercomp’s TS30 CPU provides the ability to collect, display, and save individual wheel, axle, gross, Tare, and NET weights by communicating with scale pads via RFX® Wireless Weighing, on a single screen in real time. Customizable data fields, such as user session information for scale operation on a particular day, and/or location and vehicle-specific information can also be associated with saved records and included on tickets from the integrated printer. Additional customization options, specifically tailored for unique data needs, can also be added via USB. RFX wireless technology in the TS30 allows communication with up to 12 scales

a weather-resistant case and are powered by a rechargeable battery that keeps the CPU running continuously for more than 12 hours.

For more information, contact Intercomp at (800) 328-3336.

tracking solution.

Seamless Integration with Libra Solution Suite Eliminate the hassle of interfacing with 3rd parties.

Have job data & E-tickets available at your fingertips.

Mobile App or Vehicle Mounted Options Track assets using a physical GPS tracking device or use your own device with the Sentinel Mobile Application for Android and iOS. Unparalleled Accuracy Sentinel provides faster position updates than other solutions. The result is better visibility of the

fleet, improved asset utilization, and greater profits.

librasystems.com ● +1 215.256.1700

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 37

Product Gallery TAKEUCHI

Pictured is a 120 MBTU model being built at Reliable Asphalt Products in Shelbyville, Kentucky.

RELIABLE ASPHALT

Reliable Asphalt Products, Shelbyville, Kentucky, is proud to introduce a new era in burners. Vulcan Burners can be run on multiple fuels, simultaneously if required—any vaporized fuel, two liquid fuels, or any combination thereof. Other features include a total air burner with a single motor and a coaxial blower, which provides a near-linear fan curve allowing for more accurate control over air delivery to the burner and less excess air required.

There are optional blower mount configurations, and these burners are also easily converted from long to short nose, according to the manufacturer.

The surface-mounted combustion box is double walled and stainless steel, with an air venting system to help cool the unit.

Vulcan Burners are designed to be low maintenance—the direct-driven fan has no belts or pulleys. When maintenance is needed, the Vulcan Burner opens completely to allow for easy access.

Vulcan burners come equipped with an over-temperature safety switch for automatic shut down in case of overheating.

A second safety switch protects the unit in case the burner and fan/motor sections were to separate while in operation.

The 75-horsepower motor is designed to move the same amount of air as other burners with larger motors, offering energy efficiency and cost savings. The fan intake is sound-insulated for quieter operation. The automated flame shaper can be adjusted while the burner is in operation.

For more information, visit www.Reliable Asphalt.com.

38 // September 2020

Takeuchi, Atlanta, Georgia, introduced EquipmentShare, Columbia, Missouri, as a new dealer for the compact equipment manufacturer. EquipmentShare will be selling the full range of Takeuchi track loaders, excavators and wheel loaders. In addition to stocking parts, this location will also be an authorized Takeuchi equipment repair center to support new and existing customers.

Established in 2014, EquipmentShare provides multiple lines of equipment manufacturers for a wide variety of customers, from large commercial construction to local contractors.

“We’re very familiar with the Takeuchi brand,” said Jabbok Schlacks, president at EquipmentShare. “Takeuchi products continue to gain momentum in the market, and customers have come to love their products for their durability and operator comfort.

We are excited to feature them at our Columbia location.”

For more information, visit the Takeuchi dealer page on their website.

TRUX

TRUX, headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, has launched its contactless ticketing solution for the dump truck industry. This new set of tools is designed to allow contractors, dump truck drivers, and material producers to safely and digitally record and track their data from construction projects without worrying about physical paper tickets.

TRUX Contactless Ticketing is an eTicketing solution that integrates sales orders and scale tickets directly into technology solutions for all participants in the material supply chain by leveraging unified digital dispatching, hauling, and site contact load tracking and resolution software.

TRUX Contactless Ticketing meets established requirements from the leading state DOTs across the country for digital ticketing, ensuring full conformance with modern regulations, according to the manufacturer. With over 16,000 approved drivers on its platform, as well as some of the nation’s largest material producers and contractors as customers, TRUX is uniquely positioned to modernize ticketing in the construction industry and set a new standard for safe, digitally-enabled worksites.

Bart Ronan, CEO, TRUX, said: “Contactless ticketing benefits all players in the field, and it helps solve many of the problems that paper ticketing presents.”

For more information, visit the TRUX Now website.

WEBSTER

Webster Combustion, Winfield, Kansas, is pleased to announce the delivery and successful commissioning of two new, high performance, low NOx aggregate drying burners to asphalt plants in Kentucky and West Virginia to help improve the plants’ performance and efficiency. The model HDRA-RF long-nose style burner was developed in response to plant operators’ input on the need for a better technology than their existing burners.

Over the first several months of operation, the new 125,000,000 BTU/hour multi-fuel burners installed at Mountain Enterprises in Hazard, Kentucky, and Mar-Zane Materials plant in Benwood, West Virginia, are both delivering increased efficiencies and reduced operating cost per ton. Managers at both plants said they were pleased with their performance and looking forward to a full evaluation as the season plays out.

Webster’s engineering group listened to plant operators discuss the problems they had with their existing burner technologies and developed a prototype solution. The first model HDRA-RF Aggregate Burner was installed November 2017 at a Mar-Zane asphalt plant in St. Marys, West Virginia, one of the firms that early on challenged Webster to develop a better solution to replace their existing burner technology. Since then, the burner has performed flawlessly with very good emissions numbers, according to the manufacturer.

The Webster Combustion model HDRA-RF is a multi-fuel register-style burner for asphalt rotary dryers that allows users to shape the flame by automatically controlling the register vanes to optimally fit their dryer and combustion zone. The HDRA-RF is the first burner to introduce dynamic flame shaping to the aggregate drying industry, according to the manufacturer. A servo actuated register located at the front of the burner continually controls the shape of the flame based on the output of the burner. The Webster Combustion HDRARF provides the option to control the combustion air with a damper, a VFD, or both.

For more information, contact your local independent representative.

FAMILY OWNED, CUSTOMER DRIVEN. As a family-owned and operated business offering state-of-the art portable and stationary asphalt plant equipment, having a personal touch with our customers is important to us. People always come first. When you call, you can speak to an owner. We are large enough to supply your equipment needs, while still being flexible and responsive. Contact us today to learn more about how CWMF Corporation goes the extra mile.

We build long-term relationships by earning the trust of our customers.

• Customer-Driven Equipment & Solutions • Unparalleled Service After the Sale • Complete Product Line Designed & Built In-House

701 Julep Rd. Waite Park, MN 56387

877.457.3938 sales@cwmfcorp.com

cwmfcorp.com

new tech

CrewMinders Makes Safety as Simple as a Text Message CrewMinders allows companies to send text messages to its crews (left). One feature includes the ability to send out a brief COVID-19 safety check questionnaire (center left). If an employee responds that they may be at risk, they will be asked to contact their employer (center right) and their supervisor will receive a text message to follow up with that particular employee (right).

W

When D.W. White Construction, Acushnet, Massachusetts, recommenced work on a project at Boston Logan International Airport following the statewide shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company wanted to ensure its employees could return to work safely. The heavy civil contractor’s crews started each shift filling out safety screening questionnaires from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“We knew there must be a safer and more efficient way to collect this information,” Operations Manager Peter Pavao said. That’s when the company began using CrewMinders to send automated text messages containing the CDC safety screening questions.

That way, Pavao said, “We can see who is at risk before they step foot on site.”

CrewMinders, Atlanta, is a frontline employee engagement platform for the construction, manufacturing, fitness and restaurant industries. However, its roots are in the asphalt industry. CrewMinders is a division of HaulHub Technologies, the company behind e-ticketing apps DOTslip and JOBslip and a full suite of other management tools under the HaulHub brand.

CrewMinders launched in April, only two weeks after D.W. White, one of HaulHub Technologies’ founding customers, reached out to see if the technology company could create a simple communication solution.

40 // September 2020

“One of the biggest stumbling blocks for these types of companies is how to communicate with the front lines—the men and women out there doing the work,” said HaulHub Vice President of Services Matthew Valle. “The foundation of CrewMinders was rapid communication.”

HaulHub recognized that employees didn’t want to have to download an app and that there might be concerns about employers tracking them through an app. That’s why CrewMinders delivers its messages by text.

“Hourly employees don’t have company-issued phones, computers or email addresses,” said CrewMinders General Manager Rabun Lewis, “so text messages are a great way to mass communicate information.”

On the back end, management staff utilize a simple web portal to manage employee contact information, create groups, and create, schedule, and send messages. The platform can also be used to set up surveys or share attachments, such as photos, videos or PDFs. For example, D.W. White’s COVID-19-related texts ask how the employee is feeling and include a link to a brief questionnaire on CrewMinders’ website. If an employee is found to be at risk of having COVID-19 based on his or her answers to the questionnaire, CrewMinders sends an automatic alert to their supervisor to follow up with the employee.

Heavy civil contractor Brad Cole Construction, Carrollton, Georgia, was able to complete safety check-ins in half the time after implementing CrewMinders.

Management can also use CrewMinders’ analytics dashboard to review who viewed each message and when, who responded, and to receive feedback via its analytics dashboard.

Additionally, the platform can be used to send out toolbox talk resources, job site assessments, near-miss reports and other useful safety information.

“COVID-19 will continue to be a prominent piece of CrewMinders, because there is such a need to track those safety checkins,” Lewis said. “But, we’re really passionate about continuing to build out the platform with features to effectively communicate with frontline employees.”

Although HaulHub’s core clientele is within the asphalt industry, Lewis said he immediately saw CrewMinders’ applicability to other industries. “CrewMinders was born out of the pandemic, but it’s also addressing the existing desperate need for effective communication and engagement with front-line employees across a number of industries.”

– BY SARAH REDOHL

off the mat

Tips to Navigate Re-hiring Workforce After COVID-19 Editor’s Note: By the time this edition mails, statistics may change. The Associated General Contractors of America, citing data from the construction technology firm Procore, reported construction activity returning to pre-coronavirus levels in many parts of the country June 18, with some firms adding workers. “The new economic data, however, also shows some future projects are being canceled and many others are being delayed by supply chain issues and labor shortages, underscoring the need for additional federal recovery measures, association officials noted.”

M

Many business owners are now navigating the uncharted waters of layoffs and re-hiring following COVID-19 interruptions. In a perfect world, business owners would be able to re-hire all of the employees they had to lay off during the pandemic. However, with potential legal risks around re-hiring, business owners have to be careful about how they approach re-hiring as we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. Here are a few factors to consider when creating a strategy for re-hiring.

Maneuvering re-hiring while on PPP assistance If your business was approved for a Payroll Protection Program loan, which you can read about on the AsphaltPro blog, and is leveraging those dollars for operation, there are specific guidelines you must follow on how many employees you’re bringing back to qualify for loan forgiveness.

Following the recent PPP changes, the loan can be forgiven up to 100 percent if a borrower spends 60 percent of their loan on payroll.

This new number is more flexible than the initial 75 percent that was required initially.

Navigating fear to return to work Many employees may be scared to return to work in the current climate for health and safety reasons. If you find yourself offering to re-hire an employee, but he or she voices concern about returning, facilitating an open and honest conversation with the employee goes a long way.

Some employees may have immunocompromised family members at home or may be at a greater health risk themselves. Making sure to lead with empathy is of greatest importance, especially as we emerge from a pandemic. As an employer, you have an obligation to provide a safe workplace. Part of making sure your employees feel safe returning involves clearly communicating how sanitization and other safety protocols, including social distancing and protective equipment use, will be handled. You should also provide specifics, like how often surfaces, machinery, and shared spaces will be cleaned and who will be responsible for these processes. A good rule of thumb is to ensure your company is complying with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for our industry, then take a step back and ask yourself if you’d feel comfortable in your employees’ shoes.

If employees still feel unsafe after a candid conversation and clearly communicated, adjusted safety protocols, consider whether their reasoning falls under paid sick leave or other laws that require disability accommodation. If neither of these fit the circumstance and you feel that, as a business owner, you cannot hold their job, you must clearly

42 // September 2020

communicate that refusal to work may act as a voluntary resignation.

The clearer and more open you can be with the employee, the better.

Accounting for increased wages When funds from the initial Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act were allocated for unemployment, individuals were set to receive an extra $600 worth of federal money in addition to the regular dollars they would receive normally based on their previous salary. As a result, many citizens were making as much money— if not more—while on unemployment than they were making while working. This can create a challenge for business owners, especially those looking to bring back contractor employees.

On top of ensuring that you’re compensating your employees fairly with a livable wage, creating a reason for employees to want to return to work is crucial. Consider providing coaching and development opportunities to employees. These opportunities will help your employees feel valued at your company, and should make it more difficult for other companies to easily poach your employees.

Minimizing discrimination claims There are risks that come with bringing certain employees back while keeping others laid off. To avoid any legal repercussions around discrimination, business leaders should be thoughtful about which employees they are bringing back if they are not bringing back all employees.

Consider factors such as seniority, operational needs or past performance as ways to protect your company. Employees with high seniority, who fill specific operational needs or have stellar performance records, are among those who should be brought back most immediately. Creating a chart that ranks each employee in these three categories on a scale can be a helpful way to ensure you’re covering yourself and the business against any potential legal issues. Ensuring that you have tracked and documented rationale can protect you from any grievances (should they arise).

As the United States reopens and construction leaders try to manage hiring needs with uncertain project contracts, the industry’s longtime struggle with outdated recruitment procedures is more evident than ever.

It’s important to understand your responsibilities as a business leader, but responsibility goes further than a legal obligation. During a time of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders are called to step up and put employees first. By remaining flexible and empathetic, employees and clients alike will remember what your company did for years to come to ensure everyone felt valued and safe during these uncertain times.

– BY BOB LESTER

Bob Lester is president and CEO of Dura-Seal.

He has worked in the paving industry for over 20 years, leading two buyouts, an acquisition and the sale of an equipment manufacturing company. Prior to joining the company, he studied business finance at Otterbein University.

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 43

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Army Skills Apply to Asphalt Maintenance

By Sarah Redohl

In the spring, AMS was hired to apply tack for a project at Westchester County Airport for Tully Construction. “It’s a small county airport, but some of the New York teams fly out of there,” Reuss said (pictured).

When Mark Reuss served in the U.S. Army, he never imagined that so many of the skills he’d learned would transfer seamlessly to running a tack coat company. In fact, he never imagined running a tack coat company at all.

Reuss had no prior experience in the paving industry when a friend of his who had grown up in the industry asked Reuss to be his partner on a new venture. They purchased Asphalt Maintenance Services Corp., Mount Vernon, New York, in the late 1990s. Soon after, Reuss bought out his friend and began running AMS on his own.

“I was very much learning as I went in the beginning,” Reuss said.

He gave himself a crash course in how to seal, tack coat and line stripe. However, he discovered that many of the skills he honed in the military were also relevant to his new line of work, like having a safety mindset, always being early, setting up a schedule, and following through on a promise.

“I think what I offer my customers is very simple,” Reuss said.

“They know they can call me and tell me what they need and that I will get it done.”

Another skill that came in handy was making equipment maintenance a priority. He spent most of his four years in the Army working

W

on helicopters while stationed in Europe. So, Reuss makes a point to teach his drivers how to best maintain the company’s trucks.

Reuss also reiterates the importance of a safety check ahead of each shift and proper clean-up at the end of each shift. “If you do your cleanup right, you’ll be all set for the next day.”

“It can be a complicated machine, but I want them to understand it so they can diagnose problems if they have any out in the field,” he said. “It’s important to know how things operate.”

Just this past fall, this strategy came in handy when the air system on one of the older trucks was freezing up on a job. Reuss was able to walk his driver through the problem by phone and the driver was able to fix the problem on the spot before the paver caught up to him.

Reuss is also a firm believer in having a plan B, and often likes to have two tack trucks on site for particularly important jobs. For example, when his crew was applying tack for a job at Westchester County Airport in the spring of 2020 for Tully Construction.

WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM 51

Reuss's dog, Sam, goes with him on most jobs. “Everyone knows when I’m on a job that the dog’s with me,” Reuss said. “The guys get a kick out of it.”

AMS has eight distributor trucks, all from E.D. Etnyre, and will add two more to its fleet over the winter.

AMS had just purchased three new distributor trucks from E.D. Etnyre, Oregon, Illinois. The airport job was the first time they’d be using two of those new trucks, and Ruess wanted to make sure everything ran smoothly. It turned out that one of the trucks had a minor issue, which was quickly repaired by the manufacturer under warranty.

“The problem didn’t prevent the truck from working, but I believe in planning for the worst and hoping for the best,” he said.

“When all was said and done, the customer was happy we were prepared with two trucks on the job.”

AMS Sells Sealer

AMS sells crack filler in 50-pound boxes and tack coat material in pails, drums and in bulk. The company has an 8,000-gallon storage tank for tack coat at its yard, and material can be picked up at the yard or delivered to the job site. Although Reuss has moved away from selling sealer as the other portions of his business have grown, material sales continue to be a significant part of AMS’s business. Contact Ruess at (914) 667-9044 for more information.

52 SEPTEMBER 2020

It was hard to have this mentality in the early days, when Reuss only had one truck available. But now, with eight employees he trusts and eight E.D. Etnyre distributor trucks, it’s become easier to deliver a plan B.

Roughly 70 percent of AMS’s tack work is for towns and counties, and 30 percent, for DOTs. “Every year, we get busier, and last year [2019] was the busiest ever and a tremendous jump for us,” Reuss said. “With the extra trucks we have now, we think things are going in the right direction.”

More than two decades after Reuss had to quickly learn the hard skills of the asphalt industry, the soft skills and strategies he learned from his time in the military continue to serve him well.

He also recognizes these attributes in many of his current employees, half of whom are also New York City firemen. This works out with the seasonal nature and varying degrees of busyness of this line of work. “They have a very similar mindset,” Reuss said.

“They’re always on time and they treat equipment with respect.”

As he looks to the future of AMS, Reuss sees continued growth. “I’d like to hire more veterans in the future,” he said. “If they’re anything like I was when I got out, they would be perfect for these jobs.”

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Upgrade Micro Surface and Slurry Sealing Operations Part 2 In part one, published in the Fall 2019 issue of PreservationPro, we shared all of the best practices leading up to the best micro surface and slurry seal applications. In part two, we dig into the best practices on the job site.

Slurry seal and micro surfacing are specifically-designed mixtures of asphalt emulsion, aggregate, water, mineral filler and additives, mixed in set proportions, and uniformly spread across a prepared surface.

Both treatments can be cost-effective options to seal the pavement surface, fill small top-down cracking and restore surface friction.

In part one of this series, Upgrade Micro Surface and Slurry Sealing Operations (now available on theAsphaltPro.com), we covered the best practices leading up to the best micro surface and slurry seal applications. In part two, we dig into the best practices on the job site.

I

Proper Weather for these Preservation Treatments One of the key benefits of micro surfacing and slurry seal applications is their ability to cure quickly, allowing roads to be returned to traffic.

However, a number of factors affect the cure time of these treatments, including mix design, but also temperature, humidity, and wind, among other factors.

The weather should be 50 degrees Fahrenheit and rising, without any freezing temperatures within 24 hours. Although recently applied slurry seal and micro surface can withstand some rain, the treatments shouldn’t be performed if rain is expected.

Even at the correct temperature, humidity and cloud cover can affect the curing time.

If curing time would be too long to postpone traffic, it may be best to wait for better weather conditions.

Specs may require that fog not be present during these operations.

Prepare the Surface “Surface preparation is without a doubt one of the most important factors for proper in54 SEPTEMBER 2020

stallation of slurry or micro surfacing,” said Vance Brothers’ Tim Harrawood. “Treatment success is 100 percent reliant on the ability to bond to the existing surface.”

There are a number of steps to prepare the surface for these treatments.

Plant matter should be treated with an approved herbicide a couple weeks ahead of the treatment. Trees that may prevent equipments’ performance should be trimmed.

Any full depth repairs should be performed, as should pothole patching and sealing cracks wider than ¼ of an inch.

Some agencies require sealing any cracks wider than 1/8 of an inch, rather than ¼ of an inch.

Cracks need to be clean and dry before sealing. Also, avoid applying excessive sealant, as it can be picked up by the paver tires and spreader box runners. Check out our article, “The Best Practices of Crack Sealing,” at theasphaltpro.com for more tips.

Protect utility structures, such as manhole covers, catch basins and valve boxes, with paper, roofing felt/tar paper or another protective material. Harrawood recommends protecting bridge decks with heavy plastic sheeting, pulling the paver onto the plastic sheeting, which can be picked up once the treatment has cured. These protective materials should also be used at the beginning and end of a pass to provide a straight edge.

Raised pavement markers should be removed. Thermoplastic pavement markings larger than 4 inches should also be removed, Harrawood said, by grinding or water blasting. It’s important not to gauge the pavement, as this could create areas where water may pond. Eighty to 85 percent removal is adequate to ensure bonding, he added.

Harrawood recommends grinding in areas with a larger percentage of cracks. “Water blasting is so high-pressure that you could turn a ¼ inch crack into a ½ inch crack in a short period of time.”

Snow plowable markers should be removed and patched with suitable asphalt materials. Harrawood said Vance Brothers has had a lot of success with high performance

Geneva Rock performs a micro surfacing application in Utah.

cold mix. “I highly recommend not masking these off,” Harrawood said, adding that this too might present ponding issues.

Immediately prior to the treatment, pavement should be swept to ensure all loose material is removed.

“Before Bergkamp added a blower on the bottom of its pavers, the crew would need to keep a broom in front of it pretty much all day,” said Jimmy Kendrick, director of sales at Bergkamp Inc., Salina, Kansas. “With the addition of that blower on the machine, the crew can broom the road in the morning and that blower will take care of the rest.”

If the existing surface is severely raveled or oxidized, Dr. Andrew Braham of the University of Arkansas recommends tacking the surface, allowing the tack appropriate time to cure.

Application Rate The rate at which slurry sealing or micro surfacing is applied is based on a wide range of factors.

Application rates should be higher for high traffic roads, if the pavement is particularly dry or porous, or roads whose existing surface is relatively rough because more material will be required to fill the voids. Flushed or bleeding areas on the existing pavement should see a reduced application rate.

Regardless of the application rate, the paver should be traveling no faster than a brisk walking pace.

A common mistake Zach Jensen, product support manager at Bergkamp, has seen is running the augers too fast. “When you’re running the augers too fast, all you’re doing is over agitating the mix,” he said.

Passing Your Passes The paver should take a minimal number of passes to cover the entire pavement, starting with the lower elevation edge of the pavement.

Jensen reiterates the importance of having a good paving plan. “You need to be able to put the puzzle together before you go out on the job, especially if you’re paving residential cul de sacs, radiuses, ins-and-outs, etc.,” Jensen said. “You need to be able to tie those roads together and make them look uniform.”

Jensen recommends knowing the job well.

Drive it ahead of the application to identify imperfections in the road.

“Any dips in the road will accumulate mix and could empty the spreader box, resulting in blank spots you’ll need to fill in,” Jensen said.

“And the application will not look uniform.”

Knowing about these issues ahead of time allows the crew to make adjustments as needed.

Overlaps should be minimal, as any overlaps will result in bumps in the final product.

Transverse joints should be butt joints, rather than overlap. The end of each pass will be made into a straight line, either with a shovel or the use of tar paper, and subsequent passes will start from that point.

If the spreader box is operated properly and the material is the correct consistency, the gutters should be protected. “With today’s equipment, it’s very easy to cut a straight line along a curb or gutter panel without getting material into the gutter,” Harrawood said.

If prior overlays have made the asphalt quite a bit higher than the gutter pan, Harrawood recommends keeping the spreader box a few inches away from the edge and moving material over to the edge with spreader tools.

If the existing pavement is very hot and dry, PPRA suggests fogging the surface with water ahead of the spreader box. However, avoid pooling water ahead of the spreader box.

Jensen said it’s important not to run your spreader box so slow it could become empty, since the corners will be the first place to run out of mix. “If that happens, you’ll have to go back and patch those areas and the application won’t look uniform.”

Any areas the spreader box cannot reach will need to be hand worked. These areas should be slightly dampened beforehand. The handwork should have the same finish as the surface applied by the spreader box. PPRA also suggested performing hand work before final sealing to have as much area as possible applied by the spreader box.

As you pave, check that there are no drag marks left behind the paver. This may

be caused by oversized aggregate or dirty spreader rubbers.

“It’s important to take the time after each pull to stop and clean off the spreader box, augers and strike-offs,” Kendrick said. “If they aren’t cleaned regularly and the mix starts to build up, it could cut grooves in the mat or fall off into the mat, causing segregation.”

Rut Filling Unless using micro surfacing to fill ruts, there are no differences between it and slurry surfacing during construction. Slurry sealing should not be used on pavements with more than ¼ of an inch of rutting, however micro surfacing can be used to fill more significant ruts.

According to the slurry sealing and micro surfacing pocket guides prepared by the Foundation for Pavement Preservation (FP2) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), a rut box should be used for ruts deeper than ½ of an inch, while a steel strike-off can be used for ruts less than ½ of an inch. In either case, a second course should be applied over the top of the rut filling or leveling course. Ruts deeper than 1 ½ inches may require multiple applications with the rut filling box.

Harrawood said that it’s important to crown that rut 1/8 of an inch for every 1 inch in depth to allow for return traffic compaction prior to the surface treatment.

In addition to roads requiring rut filling or leveling, double lifts may be required for a more robust wearing surface and on roads with higher traffic counts. It’s recommended to wait a minimum of one day between placing the first lift and the second lift, but the exact waiting period required will depend on the agency and the traveling speed on that roadway.

Rolling Some projects may require rolling, including airports and pavements that will not receive regular traffic, such as parking lots and culsde-sac. This will increase their longevity.

Rolling shouldn’t begin until the mat has finished curing. It should also begin on the lower elevation edge and work its way upslope. The pavement should be rolled once, but not more than twice. The roller, preferably a rubber tire roller, should not travel more than 8 to 9 miles an hour for slurry sealing and 5 miles an hour for micro surfacing.

Final Surface Texture “Slurry systems have an aggressive surface texture and when applied properly can maintain a high friction surface for the duration of their useful life,” Harrawood said.

However, a number of factors can affect the final surface texture, including existing pavement surface texture, mix consistency, adherence to the job mix formula, type of screed rubber used, spreader box maintenance, use of drags or secondary strike off, application rate, speed of application, opening to traffic, and rolling, if required. For example, Harrawood said, too fast of an application speed may cause wash boarding.

If the finish texture is too rough, PPRA suggests modifying the drag used or increasing the application rate. The mixture being placed may be too dry, or it may be breaking too quickly. If using Type III aggregate, it may be impossible to decrease roughness. If the finish texture is too smooth, PPRA suggests modifying the drag used or decreasing the application rate. It may also be the case that excess liquid in the mixture is floating emulsion to the top.

In the event of drag marks on the mat, it’s possible that the aggregate may be contaminated with oversized material. It might also be the case that material has built up on the pugmill or spreader box, which must be cleaned regularly. Material could also be built up on the drag, which should then be replaced. It is also possible that the mix may be breaking too quickly; an additive can be used to slow the break time.

Cure Time Harrawood said micro surfacing can typically support rolling traffic within one hour and cross traffic a bit sooner, if need be.

Traffic should travel at speeds of less than 25 miles per hour on fresh slurry seal or micro surfacing. Stopping and starting, as well as turning, should be limited until the treatment has sufficiently cured.

The cure time will depend on a number of factors, including temperature, cloud cover and other ambient conditions.

“Keep in mind those other factors,” Harrawood said. “If you’re laying on a sunny 85-degree Fahrenheit day and the next day is 68 and cloudy, it will take longer to cure sufficiently on the second day.”

The new surface may initially appear dark brown, but will be black after it cures. Note that micro surfacing placed in cool or damp weather may cure with a faded color, but it should become darker over time.

Visit theasphaltpro.com and search for part one of this series, Upgrade Micro Surface and Slurry Sealing Operations.

– By Sarah Redohl

WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM 55

Stretch Agency Budgets Veterans suggest road network life support From PPRA

A recent study by the PPRA found that of those surveyed, 71 percent of agencies expect decreased gas tax revenue to considerably or somewhat impact their budgets in 2021.

The same survey reported that as a result of decreased gas tax revenues, agencies anticipate fewer local road improvements, less aggressive pavement management programs, delays in equipment purchases or replacements, and delayed projects from 2021.

Across the country, each community is dealing with differing circumstances, but one prevailing fact remains: Any negative impact to already stretched budgets could have massive effect on backlogs now and into the future—unless road managers start treating their networks differently.

A

Ahead of the Curve Webinar Interviews We set out to learn what city, county, state agencies around the country are doing to prepare their networks for 2021 and the years following this economic downturn. As a part of the 2020 PPRA webinar series, Ahead of the Curve, we asked three high-performing agencies and their consulting partners how each community reacts to reduced revenues, and what advice they would share with agencies around the country facing budget cuts. To hear additional information on any of the stories in this article, visit roadresource.org/webinars.

The Risk We Run: Losing the Battle for Service Life For the preservationists out there, the risk pertaining to reduced revenues from the impact of COVID-19 is all too familiar: If communities don’t gain ground for their networks every year, they contribute to an ever-growing trend of deterioration and set themselves up for a growing backlog. That risk grows when budgets are threatened and plans are altered.

Steve Lander, P.E., local agency pavements practice leader with The Kercher Group shared the biggest threat to network progress, due to the economic downturn, in his opinion. He said the problem is that many agencies will reactively cut or de56 SEPTEMBER 2020

lay their preservation programs due to decreased budgets. This response, he says, can have big implications for the long run.

“Agencies may decide to complete only their most distressed road projects, instead of preserving their roads,” he said. “The worst-first mentality is exactly the opposite of what their networks need to survive reduced budgets.”

He said, “You can’t solve a network problem with a project solution.”

Lander said, at this time, agencies should be using an optimization project selection approach to determine the best mix of fixes for their roadway networks. Optimization maximizes the benefit across the entire roadway network by selecting the optimal percentage of each maintenance activity per year based on the benefit cost ratio, the condition of the network and the funding allocation. This is how to accomplish the right treatment, for the right road, at the right time. Essentially, if we do one project at the right time, we save money over the life of that roadway. If we do all projects at the right time, then this has a compounding effect.

The goal of these programs is to add service life to their networks, cover more ground and keep good roads in good shape— because you can’t control how long the effects of economic recession could last. The effects of a poor reaction early-on could set the stage for an even more unmanageable backlog in just a few years.

“One of the first building blocks that agencies can use to check network health is remaining service life,” Lander said. “Every agency should understand the overall health of their network, and how each annual plan impacts it. It won’t write your plan for you, but it can be a great first step to understanding the problem. Especially as agencies look toward reduced budgets, getting ahead of the curve will only make things easier in the future.”

Remaining Service Life (RSL) can be used ahead of budget cuts to understand network health, but it is also designed to help agencies leverage even reduced budgets. Learn more about remaining service life, and use the free RSL calculator at the RoadResource website.

Preservation Puts North Carolina Network on Life Support With many agencies facing cuts, this problem could become even more prevalent: You’ve got too many road miles, and not enough money.

CJ O’Neill, P.E., the public works director of Matthews, North Carolina, is no stranger to this predicament. When O’Neill first became town engineer in 2014, the Matthew’s town board had allocated a budget of $500,000 per year for road projects. The board believed O’Neill and his team would be able to maintain the network of 100 centerline miles at a pavement condition index (PCI) of 78.

“It just wasn’t going to work,” O’Neill said.

“When I first got there, they used only patching, milling, resurfacing and some crack seal.

If we’d stuck to that funding plan and the reactive maintenance from the past, the network would be in failing condition in no time.”

O’Neill set to work assembling a plan that would prevent further deterioration, so that the town didn’t “dig themselves into a deeper hole” or contribute to a growing backlog of projects. The plan began with a streets survey and partnership with the Kercher Group to identify and optimize asset management.

“After we gathered the data, we learned the network needed $880,000 annually to meet expectations,” O’Neill said.

This information was surprising news to the members of the Matthews town board. After learning more about pavement preservation, and the effects that a minimal budget would have on the network, the town board raised the original budget to $600,000.

“It was still not where we needed to be, but it was a start,” O’Neill said.

Ultimately, O’Neill’s long-term goal was to advocate for sufficient spending to improve the network; but in the meantime, O’Neill would have to keep Matthews' roads healthy until more funding could begin to flow. Essentially, he was putting the network on “life support” until more help could arrive.

O’Neill began implementing surface treatments such as rejuvenators and cape seals. To save even more on budgets, he brought the existing crack seal program in-house and imple-

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mented a full-depth reclamation (FDR) program, instead of the conventional methods for severely deteriorated roads. O’Neill said he considered every option to save with each lane mile and each project.

“Mill and fill is not in my toolbox at the moment,” he said. “I looked at the numbers, and it just didn’t make sense as a realistic approach to fix the network. We couldn’t afford to spend our money that way. Instead, we treat the roads above poor pavement conditions, or reclaim the more deteriorated roads if we have to. Right now, there isn’t an in-between.”

O’Neill said he’s careful when he selects an application for a given road. In some cases, when the pavement requires a specific treatment, he has to get creative.

“We’re small, and we occasionally run into the problem that there aren’t contractors for a given treatment in our area. A few times, we’ve partnered with neighboring agencies to make it worthwhile for a contractor from another area to travel this direction. It’s how we’re able to keep a larger toolbox of treatments.”

By shifting projects up and down the deterioration curve, O’Neill was able to cover more lane miles with a limited budget. As a result, Matthews’ network has remained in good health.

After seeing the progress O’Neill made with reduced budgets, the town board began to appreciate the importance of optimized network management. In the years following 2014, when more funding became available, the board increased O’Neill’s budget to begin gaining ground for the community.

“For agencies worried about funding next year, as a result of COVID, I’d say they should really consider preserving the assets they have, rather than spend on expensive projects,” O’Neill said. “It will get you a lot further with less.”

Communication Keeps Clear Channels Too often, even the best pavement managers run into difficult-to navigate hurdles— especially when purse strings are tight.

Agencies around the country are worried that reactive decision-making could get out of hand if elected officials or taxpayers opt to cut road budgets in favor of other spending areas.

The trick, according to John Livsey, town engineer in Lexington, Massachusetts, is to keep everyone informed and educated on the issues at hand.

Over the last 10 years, Livsey and his team have improved their network health 58 SEPTEMBER 2020

Table 1. Lexington’s 10-year Projection (Graph created in 2010)

Steve Lander, P.E., The Kercher Group

CJ O’Neill, P.E., Matthews, North Carolina

from 68 to 85 PCI. Lexington addresses 2025 percent of its roads every year, and has reduced its backlog from $35 million to $7.5 million. What may be the best part: Livsey’s department has seen a “nearly total” drop in public complaints with their new program.

Much of this success Livsey attributed to his communications plan.

“We have lots of presentations to town leaders,” Livsey said. “It’s important that they understand the plan, so that it doesn’t get altered or changed for political reasons.”

Political leader education is important to ensure elected officials understand the “method to the madness.” Livsey and his team provide a yearly report and presentation documenting the success of their annual planning, and project future impacts.

This in-depth education provides rationale and justification to decision makers.

Plus, by equipping elected officials with the background understanding of road network management, Livsey and his team are equipping their elected officials with the knowledge they need to answer calls, complaints or questions from their constituents. As any elected official knows,

John Livsey, Lexington, Massachusetts

having the information is always better than not having it.

“We take time to educate residents as well—it’s not just about traffic control and expectations, but we want to make sure they understand why we’re treating their roads with a given treatment, and why it matters in the big picture,” Livsey said.

For free, pre-built tools that agencies can put to use, the RoadResource website has a suite of public-friendly videos and PDFs explaining network management.

Put it to Work in 2020 & 2021 Although the outlook for the next few years may be uncertain, there are plenty of examples that road managers can learn from to better navigate the changes ahead. For information and updates on initiatives to revive infrastructure after the 2020 recession, visit transportation.org.

If your agency is looking for new ways to learn and adapt to budgetary changes, visit RoadResource.org for free tools, information, and network optimization calculators to begin putting these and many more concepts to work for your community.

The recycling agents used in the project differed in color and chemical composition, but the team at Anderson Brothers Construction did a great job of accommodating the additive manufacturers’ specifications to meter the products for the test sections. Photo courtesy of Dr. Michael Vrtis

NRRA Flexible Team Field Tests Recycling Agents

By AsphaltPro Staff

During the 21st annual conference and workshop for the Association of Modified Asphalt Producers (AMAP), Michael Vrtis, Ph.D., of Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), shared with the audience two preservation research projects performed in the state. This article shares information from the National Road Research Alliance (NRRA) Flexible Team’s recycling agent field study specifically. The May issue of AsphaltPro included information in the article MnROAD Tests Cracking on 70th Street from cold recycling techniques performed on 70th Street. Vrtis presented both of these Feb. 13.

The two projects Vrtis discussed were done in unique partnerships with MnDOT and industry: one with the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) and Buzz Powell for the pavement preservation study; and one done with the National Road Research Alliance (NRRA). NRRA is comprised of 10 different state agencies. Eight state departments of transportation, the Illinois Tollway and the Minne-

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60 SEPTEMBER 2020

sota Local Road Research Board make up this pooled fund, but it also includes 50+ industry and academia members. The point Vrtis found important to make is “We can’t and shouldn’t be building roads on our own. We need to be learning from our neighbors and we need all the stakeholders involved…At the end of the day, we’re all trying to make better roads and better products.”

All of the work done on this project was done under the NRRA’s Flexible Team. Agency and contractor members as well as industry and academia were on this team to take an existing project and turn it into a demonstration—or research—project to gather data in addition to preserving a roadway. The contractor performing the work was Anderson Brothers Construction, Brainerd, Minnesota, on a project in MnDOT District 3. Vrtis spoke highly of the contractor saying, “Anderson Brothers really made this project possible.” The project began in winter 2019 with a callout for asphalt rejuvenator—or recycling agent—suppliers to participate if they wished. Anderson Brothers cal-

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culated the cost of performing the changes to the job and those costs were split evenly among the seven rejuvenator suppliers who elected to participate.

Vrtis’ colleagues recognized that the use of recycling agents is an emerging technology in HMA used to increase recycled asphalt content in mixes, but especially at the DOT, they’ve seen a lot of producers, sources and salespeople coming to them wanting to get various products incorporated into recycle jobs. Vrtis pointed out: “There’s a lot of research going on with rejuvenators, but a lot of that is primarily laboratory-based.” The researchers wished to add field performance testing to the knowledge base.

“We used a lot of the tools that we used to monitor performance at MnROAD to monitor progress here.” It was the intent to blend inline each rejuvenator at the hot-mix asphalt (HMA) plant as that was the easiest process to handle the logistics of having seven different products, but one product was best handled by blending at the terminal.

The NRRA Flexible Team wanted to answer: 1. Can mix rejuvenator be incorporated into the HMA plant and construction process?

2. How well do these products perform in real world construction?

3. What are rejuvenators doing to our asphalt and how long does it last?

Along trunk highway 6 (TH6), the 13-mile project stretched from south of Emily to Outing, Minnesota. The contractor performed 2 inches of mill and fill, then placed 1.5 inches wearing course overlay with rejuvenators dosing mixes that included 40 percent reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). All the research sections were placed in the southbound lanes.

The mix testing was done with the state agencies, but the binder testing and comparison of how the rejuvenators perform long-term will be part of a $100,000 research findings contract let in February.

At this time, from the 300+ buckets of mix collected during construction, states are performing the following tests: • MnDOT: DCT and Hamburg • Illinois: I-FIT • Missouri: TSR • Wisconsin: IDEAL CT • And more to come Vrtis made it clear that this project is “not a direct comparison or ranking of product performance, but a comparison of each product to the control section. In reality, with the location, what we’re expecting, field wise, is more of a mix durability type of assessment.” They expect reflective cracking to occur and want to learn how well the mix “holds together” over the years.

“We had seven different products there; we had pine-based products, corn-based products, soy products,” Vrtis said. “Anderson Brothers did a good job of knowing their plant; each one of these has a slightly different viscosity, a slightly different dosing rate. The contractor was able to keep each supplier and producer happy. Anderson worked great dialing it in and then calling us to let us know it was dialed in.”

Bob Kluttz from Kraton Polymers concurred, saying, “They did an excellent job of monitoring. They had an ammeter on the pump. They were monitoring the levels of drop in each of the totes. When they did ours, their calculated dose rate was within a tenth of a percent of what we asked for.”

Even though the project took place in northern Minnesota, the binder specified for the original project was a PG58S-28 unmodified.

62 SEPTEMBER 2020

“LTTP Bind tells you that you need -34 and -40 for this location, but for Minnesota, we used a -28 on this job. We’re expecting it to have reflective cracking no matter what binder we put in.”

“We had a lot of discussion on what the target dosage of rejuvenator would be.” They settled on a -34 low temperature grade based off of what would be collected from plant-produced pressure aging vessel (PAV) samples. “The feedback we got from producers was that’s higher than typical dosage; the feedback we got from academia was that producers tend to under-dose these.” Because the team started with a “pretty good, pretty soft RAP,” they anticipated—and experienced—having some extra rejuvenator in the mixes. They considered that a bonus.

Construction took place at the end of August 2019 and Vrtis reported there were no major issues during construction. The crew reported no unpleasant smells, stating one section had a touch of a “piney” scent, but even that wasn’t overwhelming. Rolling patterns remained consistent. “All suppliers were happy with their test sections,” he said.

Since construction, initial testing with Gmm has already occurred and ride has been measured twice in the fall of 2019 with the digital inspection vehicle. “We cored sections six weeks after construction for future binder testing.” The RFP for binder testing and long-term evaluation closed in February.

When Vrtis traveled to the project site to get pictures in January 2020, he was pleased by the smoothness of the drive. “Driving into the project at 60 miles an hour, it was very smooth. It looked perfect.” When he turned around to drive the shoulder of the project at a much slower speed, he became aware of “sporadic reflective cracking in each of the test sections and control sections. My takeaway is, we drove in, and couldn’t feel any cracks.”

Participants:

Section 6001 includes Cargill Anova 1815 Rejuvenator Section 6002 includes Poet JIVE Section 6003 includes U.S. Soybean Board’s Sub Epoxidized Soybean Oil (SESO) Section 6004 includes Ingevity’s WMA Evoflex CA-17 Section 6005 includes Kraton Polymers US LLC’s SYLVAROAD™ RP1000 Performance Additive Section 6006 includes Asphalt and Wax Innovations’ PAVSAV Section 6007 includes Georgia Pacific’s TUFFTREK 4002 Renewable Oil Technology (this was terminally blended with a different binder source) Section 6010 control section using 30 percent RAP Section 6011 control section using 40 percent RAP on day 1 Section 6012 control section using 40 percent RAP on day 2

Source: Michael Vrtis, Ph.D., is a research project engineer with Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Office of Materials and Road Research (OMRR).

For more information, contact him at Michael.vrtis@ state.mn.us. .

The Asphalt Doctor is In

Virtual Measurement isn’t Just for Temperature Anymore

By Meg Robinson

LEFT: The Doctor Asphalt crew performs infrared patching as well as other pavement maintenance and preservation techniques, and now uses the surface area measurement tool to assist in the estimating and bidding process. RIGHT: The surface area measurement tool is a free online solution that lets contractors measure the pavement to be maintained or paved, so they can determine material quantities and costs without visiting the site beforehand. Photos courtesy of Asphalt Kingdom

When Jake Abernathy and Brad LeVesque met at University of Wisconsin, they were on different paths. While Brad’s dream was (and is) to be a brain surgeon, Jake’s was to use his financial planning and entrepreneurship degree to start a business.

The young men learned about asphalt maintenance while working for other companies in the Madison and Minneapolis areas. These early experiences led them to start their own, different kind of business—one founded on service excellence and pride in workmanship. This is how Doctor Asphalt was born.

Doctor Asphalt provides professional sealcoating, crack filling, pothole repair, seamless infrared patching, paving, striping and other related services in Madison, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“As our company grew and service area expanded, we found that it became increasingly difficult to go on-site to measure for proposals,” Abernathy said. “To level up our business, we had to find a way to be in multiple places at one time.”

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That’s when Doctor Asphalt learned about the surface area measurement tool, which is a free online solution from Asphalt Kingdom, based in Dwight, Ontario, that allows users to create estimates and proposals efficiently. By using the system, Abernathy explained that he has saved considerable time and travel, while sending professional quotes to his customers at a much quicker rate.

“The system is quite easy to use. I put the customer’s address in, then mark out the area we’re bidding on. I then share those pictures as part of their proposal.

Customers appreciate our precision from the quote all the way through job completion,” Abernathy added.

Judd Burdon, president of Asphalt Kingdom, said, “We made this tool available free so that experienced companies like Doctor Asphalt all the way to new business owners have a dependable way to estimate prices and material costs without having to walk the areas with a measuring wheel.”

For more information, call Asphalt Kingdom at (866) 399-5562.

WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM 63

off the mat Step 2

Step 1 A geofence is created to define the area in which the roller will operate autonomously.

The operator uses remote controls to unload the roller, before turning it over to autonomous mode.

Step 3 Once in autonomous mode, the roller uses GPS sensors to stay within the geofenced area.

EMERGENCY BUTTON

Step 5 Equipped with Asphalt Manager, the BW154 measures material stiffness using two accelerometers and will automatically adjust its compactive force based on the level of stiffness already achieved.

Step 4 The roller stops automatically if an obstacle is detected by one of its four proximity sensors.

!

PROXIMITY SENSORS

BOMAG’s Robomag BW154 Autonomous Tandem Roller F

Fully autonomous compaction equipment could offer a number of benefits, including eliminating human error during compaction and removing human operators from potentially dangerous situations. That’s why the team at BOMAG Americas, Ridgeway, South Carolina, has developed its Robomag BW154 fully autonomous tandem roller, which had its North American debut at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020 in Las Vegas. Here’s how it works: When unloading or loading the machine, the operator controls it remotely via a remote with two handheld joysticks.

The operator creates a geofence with a laptop or desktop computer to define the area within which the roller will operate autonomously. The BW154 relies on GPS sensors to remain within the predeter-

64 // September 2020

mined area. An operator can also use the joystick remote to control the machine if it needs to perform compaction outside of the predefined area.

Four proximity sensors detect obstacles, including people crossing near the machine, and signal the roller to automatically stop moving. One sensor is located on the back, one on the front, and one on each side. The BW154 is also equipped with emergency stop buttons on both sides of the machine.

As the BW154 travels autonomously, it relies on BOMAG’s Asphalt Manager technology to monitor and control compaction power. Asphalt Manager uses two accelerometers to measure the material stiffness.

The operator selects the layer thickness, and Asphalt Manager then determines the amount of force to apply for compaction.

With Asphalt Manager, the BW154 can adjust its compactive force based on the level of compaction already achieved. The machine will sense stiffness of the material and will turn vibration on or off automatically, depending on the stiffness of the mat.

This information can either be printed out, if equipped with a printer, or shared to an Android tablet, if the unit is connected to BOMAG’s IC mapping tool, BOMAP. In the future, BOMAG would like to equip the machine with thermal mapping sensors so it could also detect the temperature of the material it is compacting.

At this point, the BW154 autonomous roller is still a prototype, but BOMAG continues to strive for its future vision.

For more information, visit your local BOMAG dealer.

advertiser index 4 Rivers Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Almix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Asphalt Drum Mixers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Astec, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 13, 17, 21, 24 B & S Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Blue Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Brock Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 CWMF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 E.D. Etnyre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Fast-Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Gencor Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Green Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 50 Heatec, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Front Cover Hitek Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Ingevity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

KPI-JCI-AMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover KM International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Libra Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Meeker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 47 NCCP Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 Process Heating Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Reliable Asphalt Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back Cover Roadtec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Stansteel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Systems Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Tarmac International, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Top Quality Paving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Transtech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Unique Paving Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Willow Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Wirtgen America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

AsphaltPro’s advertiser index is designed for you to have quick access to the manufacturers that can get you the information you need to run your business efficiently. Please support the advertisers that support this magazine and tell them you saw them in AsphaltPro magazine.

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 65

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