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Transportation Talk:

EU-Compliance Law That Will Affect U.S.

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3

New Road Products: ConExpo-Con/Agg Sneak Peek

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23

Kirk Landers: Solutions

for a Bankrupt Trust Fund

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Stringless Paving in the Fastest Billion-Dollar U.S. Project Page 13

Road Science

Noteworthy Road-Construction Equipment Technology at ConExpo-Con/Agg Page 5

Contractor Wins $1 Million Case Against Government January 2014

www.BetterRoads.com

Page 20

When IT comeS To emISSIonS and economY, Your IdeaS helped uS make The Grade. and The Grader.

Introducing the new Final Tier 4 G-Series Graders. You asked if our new Final Tier 4 engines could improve total fuid economy, not just diesel consumption. We answered by incorporating cooled EGR and our Integrated Emissions Control system. Total fuid consumption — diesel fuel plus diesel exhaust fuid (DEF) — is lower than diesel fuel consumption alone on our previous model. Throw in extended ash service intervals, choice of controls, excellent visibility, and exclusive Event-Based Shifting, and you have emissions compliance without compromise. See for yourself at your dealer or on our website.

You’re on.

TM

www.JohnDeere.com/graders

Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info

Contents January 2014

Volume 84, Number 1

13

5

HIGHwAy CONTRACTOR: No Strings Attached

ROAd SCIENCE: Expo Engineering Hundreds of products new to ConExpo-Con/Agg 2014 will be on display at that triennial exposition this year, but some of them will be distinguished by the advanced science and engineering that has gone into perfecting them. Here is a sneak peak at the most noteworthy.

How the use of stringless paving technology on the Utah I-15 Corridor Expansion Project was used to save money, complete the project two years ahead of schedule and allow for future expansion plans. It was finished in 35 months, making it the fastest billion-dollar public highway project ever built in the United States.

23 ConExpo-Con/Agg Products

A sneak peek at the equipment that will be shown at this every-three-year show.

CoLumns & dePartments

3 transportation talk:

REACH: How this European law will challenge the U.S. equipment manufacturing market.

20 in Court: Federal court

rejects government’s motion to dismiss a claim for nearly $1 million based on contract ambiguity.

28 Kirk Landers: Solutions for a bankrupt Highway Trust Fund: Three fearless forecasts for road funding changes in the next decade.

ProduCts & serviCe

24 Marketplace

27 Advertiser Index

trending online

BetterRoads.com

top reads: • Chevy unveils 2015 Colorado pickup, available fall 2014: betterroads.com/chevy-2015-colorado • Proposed bill would raise federal gas tax by $0.15 for highway funding: betterroads.com/federal-gas-tax Contributed: Dowel Bar Retrofit: Where Are We Now? The International Grooving & Grinding Association (IGGA) looks at past and present dowel bar retrofit case studies. betterroads.com/dbr Contributed: Kandiyohi County uses aggregate base stabilizer on damaged county road. How liquid stabilizer was used to increase the granular equivalency (GE) value of aggregate base. betterroads.com/ kandiyohi-county-aggregate

betterroads.com /BetterRoadsMagazine @betterroads

Contribute:

If your agency or crew has worked on an exceptional project, or if you want to share your thoughts on current transportation issues, email your ideas for a blog or contributed story to Online Managing Editor Amanda Bayhi at amanda.bayhi@randallreilly. com. com and Editor-at-Large Tina Grady Barbaccia at tinabarbaccia@ gmail.com.

Better Roads Subscribe to our newsletter! For daily news updates sent directly to your inbox, subscribe to our free newsletter. Visit betterroads.com to signApril up.2013

1

Tensar TriAx Geogrid saves you money in more ways than one.

The industry-leader has once again revolutionized the geogrid landscape. Tensar TriAx Geogrid helps save on construction costs by optimizing aggregate requirements, reducing labor costs through quick and simple installation, and even reducing future maintenance costs by improving structural performance. Compare it with conventional Tensar BX Geogrid, and judge the facts for yourself.

Learn the facts about Tensar TriAx Geogrid and how you can save money on your next project.

Call 888-827-9737 or visit Triaxfacts.com/BR to request information or schedule a job site demonstration.

Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info

TransportationTalk Editorial Editor-At-Large: Tina Grady Barbaccia Editorial Director: Marcia Gruver Doyle Online Editor: Wayne Grayson Online Managing Editor: Amanda Bayhi Production Editor: Lauren Heartsill Dowdle Editor Emeritus: Kirk Landers Truck Editor: Jack Roberts Construction Editors: Tom Jackson, Tom Kuennen, Dan Brown editorial@betterroads.com

Design & Production Art Director: Sandy Turner, Jr. Production Designer: Timothy Smith Advertising Production Manager: Linda Hapner production@betterroads.com

Construction Media Senior VP of Market Development, Construction Media: Dan Tidwell VP of Sales, Construction Media: Joe Donald sales@constructionmedia.com

Corporate Chairman/CEO: Mike Reilly President: Brent Reilly Chief Process Officer: Shane Elmore Chief Administration Officer: David Wright Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller Senior Vice President, Editorial and Research: Linda Longton Vice President of Events: Alan Sims Vice President, Audience Development: Stacy McCants Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid Director of Marketing: Julie Arsenault

3200 Rice Mine Rd NE Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 800-633-5953 randallreilly.com For change of address and other subscription inquiries, please contact: betterroads@halldata.com Better RoadsTM magazine, (ISSN 0006-0208) founded in 1931 by Alden F. Perrin, is published monthly by Randall-Reilly Publishing Company, LLC.© 2014. Executive and Administrative offices, 3200 Rice Mine Rd. N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Qualified subscriptions solicited exclusively from governmental road agencies, contractors, consultants, research organizations, and equipment and materials suppliers. Single copy price $5.00 in U.S. and Canada. Subscription rate for individuals qualified in U.S. and Canada $24.95. Foreign $105.00. Special group rates to companies qualified in quantities over five names. We assume no responsibility for the validity of claims of manufacturers in any advertisement or editorial product information or literature offered by them. Publisher reserves the right to refuse non-qualified subscriptions. Periodical circulation postage paid at Tuscaloosa, Alabama and additional entries. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage retrieval system, without written permission of the copyright owner. For quality custom reprints, e-prints, and editorial copyright and licensing services please contact: Linda Hapner, (224) 723-5372 or reprints@betterroads.com. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 707.4.12.5); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Better Roads, 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406.

The EU’s REACH regs have implications for U.S. equipment market

E

nforcement for the European Union’s (EU) REACH – the Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisiation [sic] and Restriction of Chemicals – regulations began on June 1, 2007, to control chemical manufacturing.

Under these new protocols, existing chemicals, when there is evidence of concern, are identified as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC). These trigger immediate reporting requirements to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and then may be banned until safety is established.

The SVHC list is continuously changing, with new substances added several times per year. More than 1,000 of these SVHCs are expected to be on the list by 2020.

EU REACH also has a restrictions list that allows certain substances to be used only for specified purposes. ECHA provides and maintains IUCLID (International Uniform Chemical Information Database), a software application provided free that captures, stores, maintains and exchanges data on intrinsic and hazard properties of chemical substances.

These regulations are far-reaching. As the SVHC list regularly changes, it could become a trade barrier by potentially forcing U.S. equipment manufacturers to redesign their products or be banned from the EU marketplace, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) EU REACH Equipment Brief.

“In addition, as materials and substances are identified in the EU as SVHCs, this knowledge of their toxicity is now public information,” says John Wagner, AEM director of materials management. “If these substances are used in construction projects, contractors may have potential legal liability for their impact.”

To ensure exports can continue, AEM suggests three important steps: Manufacturers need to become aware what substances are restricted, banned or require notification; identify the substance content of all materials used; and eliminate use of these chemicals through redesign.

REACH is changing the regulatory environment and making it more onerous. Like Tier 4 regulations, these EU regulations may increase manufacturing costs, which will most certainly be passed on to the end-user. This will affect contractor costs and make everything more difficult and expensive to buy and use.

We all want to protect the environment. But, we don’t want to be overregulated where it’s going to cost jobs and make it impossible to get the equipment we need. The repercussions from REACH are potentially more damaging than anyone has acknowledged. As the nation is recovering from the severe economic recession, we can’t afford any impairment. (For a glossary of REACH terms, go to page 6 on aem.org/pdf/2013-10_EU-REACH-executive-brief.pdf.)❖ Correction: In the December 2013 issue of Better Roads’ “Transportation Talk,” Gov. Bob McDonnell was misidentified as governor of Pennsylvania.

Gov. Tom Corbett is the current governor of Pennsylvania. McDonnell is the governor of Virginia. We apologize for the error.

by Tina Grady Barbaccia, Editor-At-Large tinabarbaccia@gmail.com Better Roads January 2014 3

Smart decisions are rare in Vegas. This trip will be different.

Smart works.

Plan now to meet us in Las Vegas for CONEXPO/CON-AGG 2014.

Talk with our experts about the latest industry trends, and get an up-close look at the smart innovations you expect from Volvo. Get a head start — download our app at volvoconexpo.com.

North Hall, Booth 10951 • Gold Lot, Booth 1300 Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info

RoadScience

by Tom Kuennen, Contributing Editor

Photo courtesy of Caterpillar, Inc.

Expo Engineering

The Caterpillar Mobil-Trac undercarriage delivers traction on heavily tacked surfaces, and the large ground-contact area minimizes the base disturbance on soft materials.

Here’s a sneak peek at the technologies behind exceptional equipment for roadbuilding at ConExpo-Con/Agg 2014

H

undreds of products new to ConExpo-Con/ Agg 2014 will be on display at that triennial exposition this year, but some of them will be distinguished by the advanced science and engineering that has gone into perfecting them.

This month, Road Science takes a close look at noteworthy road construction equipment technology at ConExpo-Con/ Agg. In our February issue next month, we’ll examine the science and technology behind road construction materials to be exhibited there.

Plan now to attend ConExpo-Con/Agg 2014 in Las Vegas March 4 to 8. Visit conexpoconagg.com for more information.

Cat track, compaction control

Recent technological improvements that are engineered and built into Caterpillar’s paving, compaction and cold-planing products will be on display at ConExpo-Con/Agg 2014.

“Customers tell us they want technology with function — technology that helps them improve their productivity and their bottom lines,” says Jim McReynolds, president, Caterpillar Paving Products. “Our ultimate goal is to provide customers with solutions that reduce their owning and operating costs.”

The Mobil-Trac undercarriage, available on many new Cat pavers, provides best-in-class traction, with the high travel speeds and maneuverability, Caterpillar says. Work is completed quickly, and pavers can perform under varied and demanding conditions.

With this undercarriage, an oscillating bogie design provides multiple pivot points, so the undercarriage easily overcomes bumps and dips. The tow point is isolated from the deviations and ride quality is enhanced.

Friction-drive with automatic belt tensioning has always been part of the system, Cat says. Belts do not slip, while rubber-coated components prevent the build-up of asphalt that is common to other belt drive systems, and leads to Better Roads January 2014 5

RoadScience

6 January 2014 Better Roads

IC workshops/IC equipment demos, Veda data management software, pilot project selection and IC-related technical documents.

Phone and email support is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST. Call the IC Support Hotline at 512-659 1231 or email ICSupport@TheTranstecGroup.com.

In addition to phone and email support, the IC TSSC also provides local assistance, workshops, equipment demos, and an online library of technical documents and other resources.

For more information, visit intelligentcompaction.com.

TanGO with BOMAG

BOMAG Americas Inc. will introduce technologically advanced oscillation technology at ConExpo-Con/Agg at booth No. 50675.

Oscillation compacts asphalt or soil with a horizontal effort, without introducing vertical vibrations into adjoining structures or bridge decks.

BOMAG’s Tangential Oscillation, dubbed TanGO, will be shown on its new BW161ADO-4 tandem roller. BOMAG TanGO oscillation makes use of the physical laws of vibration generation to its best effect, the maker says. The careful coordination of exciter system to drum weight ratios is the basis for BOMAG’s tangential oscillation. Target applications for this compaction technology are on bridge structures and for working in close proximity to buildings. Usage for intermediate and finish rolling are additional proven applications.

With tangential oscillation always applied horizontally, it maintains continuous ground contact, and efficient compaction results are often able to be seen immediately after a few roller passes. The interaction of TanGO oscillation from the rear drum and traditional vibration power from the front

Photo courtesy of BOMAG AMERICAS

premature belt failure. Guide lugs keep the belt centered for maximum performance.

Mobil-Trac undercarriage delivers traction on heavily tacked surfaces, and the large ground contact area minimizes base disturbance on soft materials. The operator always has full control for steering and the ability to push trucks.

Cat Compaction Control is featured on new Cat soil compactors, tandem vibratory compactors and pneumatic rollers and is one element of a suite of intelligent compaction technologies.

For soil compactors, the basic system provides compaction measurement using either Compaction Meter Value (CMV) or Machine Drive Power (MDP) technology, with the ability to boost the system with GPS mapping capability. For tandem vibratory rollers and pneumatic compactors, the system provides pass-count information and GPS mapping, enabling the operators to achieve more homogeneous and effective compaction by making sure the right number of passes is made.

Features beyond pass-count information are available, including infrared sensors on the front and rear to continuously measure asphalt temperatures. The accumulated data may be stored for later analysis so processes can be examined, adjusted and archived.

MDP, an exclusive technology, is available on new Cat B-Series soil compactors, and is unique in that it measures compaction with the vibe system on or off. MDP measures rolling resistance as an indication of soil stiffness. It measures closer to the depth that the machines are able to compact. It also measures closer to lift thickness. The measurements are less impacted by the dampening effect of cohesive soils, so it can be used on padfoot machines.

Cat Compaction Control, whether using CMV or MDP measurement, can also use a Global Navigation Satellite System – such as GPS – to provide positioning information to map pass count, coverage and compaction measurement details. This data can be stored for review at a later time.

Visit Caterpillar Inc. at its indoor booth No. 10915 in the North Hall and outdoor booth No. 1015 in the Gold Lot or at cat.com.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) offers intelligent compaction (IC) advice. Along these lines, the FHWA now offers IC phone and e-mail support as part of its national effort to deploy IC throughout the US. The IC Technical Support Service Center (TSSC) will answer all IC-related questions, including those regarding specifications,

BOMAG TanGO oscillation makes use of the physical laws of vibration generation to its best effect.

ONE VS MANY

COMPACT EXCAVATORS FACE OFF

SEE WHO WINS GOING HEAD-TO-HEAD. Do you want to see how compact excavators perform in head-to-head competitions or watch side-by-side comparisons relating to performance, serviceability and durability? Before you buy your next excavator, watch our video comparisons of excavators. Not only do the videos show you which excavator is best, they explain the small details that increase your performance and reduce your downtime. You can watch all the videos at BobcatAdvantage.com/faceoff1 or scan the code and find out who comes out on top.

BobcatAdvantage.com/faceoff1 1.877.745.7813 Bobcat ® and the Bobcat logo are registered trademarks of Bobcat Company in the United States and various other countries. ©2014 Bobcat Company. All Rights Reserved. | 1204X-0

Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info

FOUR OF A KIND: THE WIRTGEN GROUP

Wirtgen Group, the technology leader in road construction and mineral processing with the market leading brands Wirtgen, Vögele, Hamm and Kleemann. Four brands – One technology leader.

Experience it at CONEXPO 2014.

ROAD AND MINERAL TECHNOLOGIES CONEXPO 2014 Las Vegas Convention Center · Central Hall · Booth No. 51021 March 4-8, 2014 · Tuesday - Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. www.wirtgenamerica.com Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info

RoadScience

Photo courtesy of Case Construction Equipment

M Series dozers include best-in-class drawbar pull, increased horsepower ratings, fuel savings up to 14 percent, industry leading visibility, new versatile controls and a pressurized cab for optimal comfort, according to Case.

The smaller 750M, designed primarily for the rental market, features a cooled exhaust gas recirculation engine also produced by Fiat. This emissions treatment requires diesel particulate filter maintenance but no end-user involvement in filling diesel exhaust fluid.

See the line at Case’s indoor exhibit at Booth No. 11722 in the North Hall and adjacent Booth No. 12012 or visit casece.com.

The first selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technologies built into a dozer are part of Case Construction Equipments’ M-Series line of dozers.

drum provides practical advantages on difficult-to-compact asphalt mixes. This directly leads to achieving desirable smoothness and density results, BOMAG says.

BOMAG is planning future TanGO introductions into other roller weight classes. For more information, visit go to No. 50675 in the Central Hall or BOMAG.com/us.

Case SCR Exhaust Technology

Case Construction Equipment introduced an innovative, low-maintenance, Tier 4 Interim emissions control system on a new line of dozers in October. The first selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technologies built into a dozer are part of the new M Series line of five dozers, which includes models ranging from 92 to 214 hp.

Case is the first heavy equipment manufacturer to build proven selective catalytic reduction engine technology into a dozer to meet Tier 4-interim standards. The engines on the four larger models are built by Fiat Powertrain Technologies and offer advantages in terms of maintenance (no regeneration or diesel particulate filter to maintain) and fuel efficiency (some models experience fuel savings up to 14 percent).

One of the greatest advantages of SCR in this application relates to machine performance, Case says. SCR is suited for dozers because it lets the engine run at peak performance under variable loads without compromising the power or drawbar pull that achieves the brute force required for earthmoving.

In addition to the SCR technology, key features found on

Volvo: Fuel Savings via ITS

Volvo Construction Equipment manufactures and markets equipment for the road construction industry, including wheel loaders, excavators, articulated haulers, motor graders, asphalt milling machines and pavers, soil and asphalt compactors, backhoe loaders, skid steer loaders, compact wheel loaders and compact excavators.

Coming to Volvo Construction Equipment will be Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), which may reduce fuel consumption by up to 30 percent in certain applications while increasing safety.

Hundreds of engineers at Volvo CE are making equipment as fuel efficient as possible, the company says. One area of Volvo technological development is wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) and machine-to-infrastructure (M2I) communication.

Volvo CE has conducted tests to calculate the potential fuel savings M2M communication could bring to articulated haulers working in the quarry and aggregates segment.

The project monitored a hauler, loaded with rocks from an excavator, traveling to the crushing site. The machine was fitted with an internal measurement system to verify the fuel consumption. The hauler was operated by different drivers, at both constant and varied speeds, with different amounts of idle time and both with and without stops along the way. Tests showed that when the hauler traveled faster than necessary to the crusher, and as a result had to wait before unloading, fuel consumption was up to 30 percent higher compared to when the hauler traveled at a constant speed and arrived at the optimum moment.

Better Roads January 2014 9

UNCOVER WHAT’S NEW Get the ultimate up-close look at the future of asphalt.

CONEXPO-CON/AGG represents an immense unveiling of all the newest equipment, technology and product breakthroughs in asphalt. Bringing you the latest in everything from warm-mix asphalt to making roads smoother, it’s the one show that paves the way to working smarter.

Pre-register to get show updates at conexpoconagg.com

March 4-8, 2014 | Las Vegas conVention center | Las Vegas, Usa

Co-located with 2 014 ®

Thus, by using M2M communication the operator would know exactly when to arrive at the crusher and what speed to travel at to get there. Through reducing machine speed and idle time, fuel consumption and machine wear and tear are minimized, and an efficient flow of equipment is facilitated.

The next stage of the project will be to provide the operator with information – such as target speed and arrival time – inside the cab. This live information will support and guide operators to the most fuel efficient operation and could be presented in future concepts like heads-up displays and other innovative approaches.

Volvo will exhibit its line of construction equipment at booths No. 1300 in the Gold Lot (outdoor), and 10951 in the North Hall, or visit volvoce.com.

Bergkamp Melds Patchers, Software

Photo courtesy of BERGKAMP, Inc.

RoadScience

Bergkamp’s InPave pothole patching management system provides users with a technologically advanced patching program.

They can also use these data to verify patching performance and material usage, troubleshoot potential pothole problems and help reduce inefficiencies. No software needs to be downloaded. Visit bergkampinc.com for more information. 

So

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56

No

Web Exclusive: Read about Hamm’s Tier 4 Bergkamp Inc.’s new spray injection pothole patchers dirt roller that transforms into a concrete breaker at incorporate exclusive engineering technology and will be betterroads.com/hamm-dirt-roller. introduced at ConExpo-Con/Agg 2014 at Bergkamp’s booth No. 8202 in the Platinum Lot. Three new spray injection patchers complement Bergkamp’s all-in-one FP5 flameless pothole patcher, and may be used with the intelligent InPave pothole patching management system to provide users with a technologically advanced patching program.

In Pave helps a user monitor and manage pothole-patching performance.

Multiple data reporting sensors are strategically placed throughout the patcher that log production, performance and Cut foremen entry time in half with locations of pothole patcher and crew, HeavyJob Mobile Apps and...

H a ll # 1 1 the maker says.

Reduce payroll processing by as much as 90% th 9 r

Know if jobs are profitable with same-day As potholes are repaired, InPave feedback against budget automatically gathers and reports data

Work offline for remote jobs with no internet such as quantity of potholes repaired,

Train foremen quickly with easy-to-use time card location, time and material used for

Low risk—Software comes with a 12-month money back guarantee! each repair, and material levels and temut peratures. Retrieved from any computer h H 45 a ll # 6 with internet access, the data can then be turned into easy-to-read reports that assist managers and owners in evaluatLearn More at www.HCSS.com or 800-683-3196 ing current and historic production.

Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info

Better Roads January 2014 11

2014 APWA North American Snow Conference The Premier Event in Snow & Ice Management May 4-7, 2014 | Cincinnati, Ohio Duke Energy Convention Center | Hosted by the APWA Ohio Chapter | www.apwa.net/snow

The American Public Works Association (APWA) invites you to attend the 2014 North American Snow Conference in Cincinnati, OH, May 4-7. This unique event offers you an opportunity to experience the most concentrated collection of snow and ice solutions you’ll find under one roof.

From industry-leading snow and ice education sessions to an exhibit floor packed with vendors waiting to show you the latest technologies, equipment and processes to help keep your community safe, the Snow Conference has it all! You’ll even have a chance to participate in a special discussion with leading associations where you can help determine where their dollars are being spent for winter maintenance research!

Don’t wait, register today! register online: apwa.net/snow Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info

HighwayContractor

By Tina Grady Barbaccia

No Strings Attached How the use of stringless paving technology on the Utah I-15 Corridor Expansion Project saved time and money.

W

hen placing concrete, staying within the determined lines is absolutely critical to achieving accurate pavement smoothness and thickness in the proper location. But the use of total robotic stations with 3-D modeling enables paving with added accuracy without physical stringlines.

This technology, known as stringless paving, is computermodel replacement of stringline guidance using electronic tracking process that controls horizontal and vertical movement of slipform pavers.

Conventional concrete-pavement construction uses a physical guidance system with a string or wire – i.e. a stringline – on one or both sides of the paving train of equipment to ensure there is proper pavement thickness and alignment.

This method uses both horizontal and vertical control for the

equipment to place the necessary pavement thickness in the required location, according to Iowa Department of Transportation and the Iowa Highway Research Board in the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center at Iowa State University’s Stringless Portland Cement Concrete Paving Final Report (Project TR-490).

The placement and verification of the stringline is time intensive and can limit access to the area in front of the slipform paver because a space is needed on each side of the paving machine to set the survey control line near the paver.

Stringless control allows the guidance without the need for a physical stringline. The system, which controls the paver through radio signals, depends on robotic station technology.

The paving sequence is completed in a controlled environment. The paver is fed information, which enables operators Better Roads January 2014 13

HighwayContractor The added efficiency of using stringless paving technology enabled the team to complete the job ahead of schedule and under budget, he says.

“Typically, it takes roughly two days to set up for one paving pass on a project,” he explains.

“We had more than 1,000 pave passes. When you do the math, you are automatically out of days to get the job completed in time. The dynamics of this job was pretty much 24/7 for two years.”

But the PRC team managed to complete it ahead of schedule and under budget.

Provo River Constructors (PRC) reconstructed 24 miles of freeway with two lanes in each direction using stringless The $1.5 billion project had a paving in the Utah 1-15 Corridor Expansion Project. The project was completed two years ahead of schedule. $1.725 billion price tag (including ROW) in the original request for proposal. The project, which began Jan. 1, 2010, to make small adjustments during the paving process. was completed on Dec. 31, 2012. The original completion Use of stringless paving technology proved to be important with Utah’s 1-15 Corridor Expansion Project, which re- date was slated for Dec. 31, 2014. The original length of constructed 24 miles of freeway from Lehi, Utah, to Spanish portland cement concrete pavement was 14 miles, but 22 miles were actually completed.

Fork, Utah. The project widened the freeway by two lanes In 2010, 380,993 total square yards were completed. in each direction; replaced the original asphalt with new 40-year concrete pavement; extended the Express Lane from In 2011, 1,380,061 square yards were completed, and in 2012, 1,038,946 square yards were completed. The last Lehi Main Street to Spanish Fork and rebuilt or replaced 63 slipform paving day was Aug. 29, 2012. bridges and 10 freeway interchanges. The complex project The labor cost of placing and removing the stringlines and was completed nearly two years ahead of the Utah Departthe difficulty of working around the paving pins and string ment of Transportation’s (UDOT) original schedule. It was lines throughout a project is eliminated with stringless pavfinished in 35 months, making it the fastest billion-dollar ing, which helped speed up the I-15 Corridor Expansion public highway project ever built in the United States. project. “Placing and removing the stringlines is a continuous job that occupies a small crew throughout the project,” according to the Stringless Portland Cement Concrete Paving Final The upfront challenge was the “sheer magnitude” of the Report. The related costs include not only the labor cost, but project, says Kelly Steeves, concrete paving manager for also the cost of the equipment, such as tractors or trucks, Provo River Constructors (PRC), the joint-venture paving that is needed to haul and distribute the stringlines, as well contractor for the project comprised of Ames, Floure, Ralph L. Wadsworth and Wadsworth Brothers. “The typical concrete as the actual hardware that is needed for the stringlines.

“The overall challenges of working around the stakes and paving job let is 150,000 to 200,000 square yards per constringlines can be eliminated leaving fewer obstructions struction season,” says Steeves, who is now paving account when moving equipment around and preparing the submanager for Leica Geosystems North America, a manufacbase for paving,” according to the report. “An increase in turer of total robotic stations used in stringless paving. “We efficiency and productivity is also possible with more direct completed 2.8 million square yards of concrete paving in routes delivering concrete and materials to the site. The need two years.”

Massive job, more efficiency

14 January 2014 Better Roads

WIN A ONE-YEAR

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1.877.613.7970 www.doosanequipment.com/CantIgnore ** NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. THIS IS NOT A CONTEST OR SWEEPSTAKES. OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS 21 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER OF THE UNITED STATES (INCLUDING D.C.), excluding Hawaii, and CANADA, excluding Quebec. Visit the Doosan booth (Gold Lot, Booth 1501) at CONEXPO-CON/AGG between March 4-8, 2014 to enter. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Contest entries must be submitted by 3 pm on March 8, 2014. For Official Rules, prize descriptions and odds disclosure, visit www.doosanequipment.com/conexpo1.

Doosan and the Doosan logo are trademarks of Doosan Corp. Doosan and the Doosan logo are registered trademarks of Doosan Corp. in the United States and various other countries around the world. ©2014 Doosan Infracore Construction Equipment America. All rights reserved. | 145E-0

Doosan Delivers

2014

henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center San Antonio, Texas ConvenTion: february 21–25, 2014 TrAffiC expo: february 23–25, 2014

ATSSA’S 44Th AnnuAl ConvenTion & TrAffiC expo

ENGAGE.

EXPAND.

Join thousands of your colleagues at this dynamic, annual event that brings together every segment of the roadway safety industry:

Compare notes with industry experts when you attend workshops and power talk sessions covering all aspects of the roadway safety industry including:

• Manufacturers • Suppliers • Federal, State and Local public agencies • Legislative advocacy professionals • Contractors

EXPLORE. • Breakthrough products presented by nearly 200 exhibitors during ATSSA’s legendary Traffic Expo • Solutions to industry challenges • The future of the roadway safety industry

Where the Industry Meets

• Guardrails • Work Zones • Emergency Response • Signage • Pavement Marking • Traffic Signals • Intelligent Transportation Systems • High Friction Surfacing • and More . . .

Traffic Expo 2014 Exhibit Hours

Sunday, February 23 Noon–5:30 p.m.

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Tuesday, February 25 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

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HighwayContractor to build wider shoulders on certain projects can be eliminated without the extra width needed for the stringlines.”

Paving in organized chaos Aside from the sheer magnitude of the project size, the job team for the I-15 Corridor Expansion faced several other challenges,

particularly traffic management. The team had to work under conditions based on maintaining the existing traffic patterns, keeping ramps all ramps open during peak hours and keeping the public traveling through the job while only about 9 feet away and with traffic 2 feet away.

“It was paving in ‘organized chaos,’” Steeves says. To make

What you need to know about implementing stringless paving 1. Create a survey control network. “All of this is based off of your existing roadway,” says Kelly Steeves, concrete paving manager for Provo River Constructors (PRC), the contractor on the Utah I-15 Corridor Expansion project and now paving account manager for Leica Geosystems. “You don’t want to cut too much or fill too much of an existing road.”

Steeves suggests setting up controls “where you still have a smooth roadway, minimizing dirt excavation and moving the dirt around.” He also advises having benchmarks set up as you move through the project, with each standard tying into specific segments of a project “so there aren’t any dips or humps.”

With the I-15 CORE Project, the project team wanted to leave as much of the roadway as possible in the natural elevation. Some variations had to be done with the new bridges. “Those new benchmarks — i.e. controls points — had to be elevated going into a vertical curve and going uphill and back down,” Steeves points out. “All of those had to be smoothed out.”

2. Collect filled survey data of the surface. This requires a great deal of upfront work during the design phase. “Once the design of the roadway is established, this information is used to create the 3-D model,” Steeves explains. “With the existing bridge, we needed to go out and take true elevation shots.

Maybe the bridge is off a tenth in elevation or we had to field-fit a section not per design. That is the kind of data manipulation we need to do. Per design, we are at one elevation but the reality is that we may be at another elevation.”

He gives the example of the segment of a slab on the bridge where this was a bump, with one bump being worse in one lane than the other. “Those are

the tie-ins that often need to be manipulated,” Steeves says. “Sometimes you fly right over, and you don’t realize you went over a bridge because they are so smooth. This is how it should be.”

Stringless paving helps achieve this type smoothness, Steeves notes, because “with this method, you can see it on a computer screen and can see where the roadway will be. You can really fine tune down to the ‘N’ on the computer and have so much more control over the smoothness without a bunch of wirelines. Tying into a wireline on bridges can be difficult,” Steeves says. There are also major financial incentives for creating smoother pavement from DOTs.

3. Design the roadway and create a 3-D model.

It’s important to work closely with the design team to create a model of the project plan. “When paving stringless, the information being fed into the paver is being compared to the design,” Steeves says. DOTs put out paper plans so the contractor must convert 2-D plans into a 3-D D45 file. “It is advantageous to work directly with the designer on a 3-D model because it makes it easier to note if something doesn’t line up on the roadway and correct it before out on the jobsite,” he says.

4. Transfer 3-D model and begin paving. Download the D45 files (similar to a PDF) via a USB stick — i.e. thumb drive—and download to the paver using anon-contact X, Y, Z guidance system. “You just download the file needed for the pave pass,” Steeves says, “and you should be good to go.” On the paver, a computer, software, radios, slope sensors and prisms or GPS and masts are needed to use the 3-D model file and perform stringless paving.

Better Roads January 2014 17

HighwayContractor Implementation benefits of stringless paving Stringless paving eliminates the need for stringlines, which provides the following benefits, according to the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center at Iowa State University’s Stringless Portland Cement Concrete Paving (Project TR-490) research findings: • Avoid project delays caused by time-intensive staking of stringlines.

• Reduce contractors’ move in and move out times.

• Have shorter construction periods that disrupt traffic.

• Reduce labor costs of placing and removing stringlines.

• Increase the amount of traffic access along the road, especially on county roads where the shoulders are limited.

• Reduce the need to set stringlines in hazardous areas.

• Experience greater work access to the slipform paver and surrounding area.

• Eliminate the need for stringline sensors on paving machines.

• Decrease the overall width of paving machines by eliminating need for sensors, making it easier and faster to cross bridges and other tight spots.

For more findings from this report, visit intrans.iastate.edu.

it work, Steeves says, extensive paving plans that detailed all paving passes as well as daily meetings amongst the paving group to cover new issues that came up each day and coordinate with other work being completed. Some of this work included side slopes being finished; noise wall posts being drilled, set and concreted in place; noise wall panels; sharing the same haul road; barriers being built; curb and gutter work; and drillers for the sign foundation.

Coordinating the paving plans was easier because the planning occurred ahead of time in an office instead of on the jobsite. “You get the design files brought over – D45 files, a file format similar to a PDF – manipulate them to smooth out transitions and then work out the vertical curves,” Steeves says. “When you string point to point, you end up with a straight line.”

However, being able to manipulate a file in AUTOCAD and add more points allows a better radius to be developed, he continues. D45 modeling shows the machine operator a steering

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reference line – “virtual stringlines in the project coordinate system” – a reference point and a steering offset. Similar to a stringline, using a rectangular grid with stringless paving is suggested, but surveying is not necessary. The project can be modeled with as many or few details as needed for vertical, horizontal curves, transitions and super elevations. The model can represent existing stringline data, slab edges – i.e. “virtual slabs” – or any arbitrary offset (position and/or height).

The future of stringless paving Steeves says eliminating the wire line on a jobsite creates safer working conditions for crews because they do not have to constantly step over it or manage the gates for the truck entrances, conventionally set up about every 600 to 800 feet.

“Wireless technology allows trucks to come in ahead of the paver safety and back up a minimal distance,” Steeves says.

Minimizing backup increases paving efficiency, Steeves says.

Using stringless technology increases the efficiency because the contractor can start paving as soon as the subgrade is verified instead of waiting for the paving pins to be set and for their own crews to set the stringlines. Such was the case with the Utah 1-15 Corridor Expansion project.

Progressive contractors are more often than not asking counties and DOTs to create 3-D digital designs of their projects to be entered into the paving machine control systems, Steeves says. “In the future, most design work will be done on these digital programs,” he says. “The way technology is advancing so rapidly, contractors are pushing DOTs to provide digital files.”

Stringless Paving: How it works • Prisms mounted on paving machine reflect signals back to total stations, giving them X, Y, Z positions.

• Information is transmitted via radio signal from total stations to computer on the paving machine.

• The paving machine computer processes the exact position in relation to a computer model of the new pavement.

• Onboard computer adjusts evaluation of machine on each of the four corners of the pan to achieve the correct pavement thickness, crossfall (cross-slope control monitored by sensor) and mainfall (forward and back slope control monitored by sensor).

Smooth as glass.

It’s time.

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Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info Untitled-7 1

8/26/13 AM 19 Better Roads January9:26 2014

InCourt Court

by Brian Morrow, P.E., Esq.

Attorney Brian Morrow is a partner in Newmeyer & Dillion LLP and a licensed civil engineer specializing in construction law, incl. road and heavy construction. brian.morrow@ndlf.com

Ambiguous Contract Court denies government’s motion to dismiss contractor’s $1 million claim

I

n the recent case of West Bay Builders, Inc. v. Dept. of the Interior (April 29, 2013), the government’s motion to dismiss West Bay Builders’ claim for almost $1 million was denied based on a contract ambiguity regarding concrete construction joints.

The subject of contract interpretation involves interpreting human communications. Construction and contract law are two specialized fields with their own set of jargon and technical language that has developed during time.

The language of these areas is common to architects, engineers, contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers and attorneys. This language, however, is foreign and often misunderstood by lay people and the courts: courts often with rules of contract interpretation, especially in technical areas like construction law.

Throughout the years, different court approaches have developed to contract interpretation. These include “strict” rules of interpretation that focus on determining a contract’s “plain meaning.” In contrast, “liberal” rules of interpretation focus on determining the “intention of the parties.”

Ambiguity in contracts occurs when contract language has more than one meaning. If an ambiguity is obvious, it is called “patent.” If there is a hidden ambiguity, it is called “latent.” Since construction contracts typically include numerous documents, including the contract, general and supplementary conditions, specifications, and drawings, the likelihood increases of an ambiguity in the contract.

In attempting to interpret ambiguities in contracts, courts often sometimes consider the role of trade custom and usage, including the parties’ course of performance.

In West Bay Builders, Inc. vs. Dept. of the Interior (2013), the contractor claimed an ambiguity in its contract regarding construction joints for a concrete siphon. West Bay 20 January 2014 Better Roads

Builders was awarded a contract to construct the Red Bluff Pumping Plant and Fish Screen Landfill Excavation & Canal, Siphon and Access Bridge. The concrete siphon consisted of a large concrete structure with a slab-on-grade, walls and a ceiling. Section 3.04 of the specifications, “Joints and Edges,” set forth four joints to be used in concrete construction, including construction joints, contraction joints, control joints and expansion joints.

On Feb. 2, 2010, West Bay submitted RFI No. 1, requesting permission to omit the construction joints at the intersection of the walls and top of the siphon because it planned to place the vertical walls and top of the walls monolithically. The government denied the request, stating the construction joints were necessary “at the design locations due to the restrained cracking experienced in similar types of structures, particularly in the thick areas where walls/floors or wall/ceilings are cast together.”

A year later, West Bay asked the government to reconsider its response. West Bay stated it had based its bid on pouring the siphon walls and soffit monolithically. After its request was denied, West Bay stated it had proceeded with a different form system for Phase I of the siphon, was not as productive as hoped for and incurred substantially more costs than anticipated. To mitigate its losses, West Bay requested the government reconsider RFI No. 1 because they said it would save both parties time and money. In April 2011, the government denied West Bay’s request.

West Bay wrote the contracting officer (CO), stating “industry standards” indicate the contractor should decide whether or not to include or eliminate construction. On July 14, 2011, West Bay submitted a proposed change seeking $920,163 from the government’s refusal to eliminate the construction joints. On Aug. 1, 2011, West Bay converted its proposal to a certified claim. On Oct. 28,

2011, the CO denied West Bay’s claim. West Bay appealed to the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (the board).

In the board proceeding, the government brought a motion to dismiss West Bay’s claim, arguing the “plain meaning” of the specifications was clear and unambiguous regarding the type of joints, how they were shown in the drawings, and the CO’s right to approve (or disapprove) the relocation, addition or elimination of construction joints. The government disagreed that West Bay could decide on its own whether to eliminate construction joints because this would render meaningless the contract language requiring government approval for such changes.

In response, West Bay argued the contract was ambiguous regarding the placement of joints. West Bay stated “control joints” did not require government approval for relocation, addition or elimination. West Bay noted the drawings did not reference “control joints,” though they provided details for other joints, including contraction and expansion joints. West Bay’s project manager noted the government allowed West Bay to omit construction joints in the slab-ongrade and elevated decks and argued the government was

inconsistent in interpreting the contract.

In its decision, the board stated as West Bay recognized in its RFI, the joints in question appear to have been required by the specifications. However, based upon the minimal record before the board, they could not determine whether the specifications could be interpreted differently from how they were interpreted by the government. Given the early stage of the proceedings, the board denied the government’s motion.

The West Bay Builders decision underscores how ambiguities in contract language can arise, including from documents incorporated into the contract and course of performance. If a contractor believes that contract language is ambiguous, they should request clarification prior to bid opening so it is clear what they are bidding on. Otherwise, a court or jury — who typically lack technical knowledge and understanding — may decide a critical issue of contract interpretation and the contractor’s fate. In West Bay Builders, the board ruled in the contractor’s favor regarding a potential ambiguity, thus keeping alive the contractor’s claim for almost $1 million. v

Better Roads January 2014 21

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Better Roads Magazine

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Better Roads January 2014 27

Kirk Landers Editor Emeritus

Solutions for a Bankrupt Trust Fund j.kirk.scribe@gmail.com

28 January 2014 Better Roads

A

Republican-dominated Congress under President George W. Bush couldn’t do it.

A Democrat-dominated Congress under President Barack Obama couldn’t do it.

The current fragmented Congress couldn’t do anything.

America’s federal highway program is crumbling faster than our highways and bridges, and the odds against a solution oozing out of the primordial slime that is the current American Congress are oppressive at best.

The Highway Trust Fund (HTF) is on a fast track to insolvency, which is the inevitable result of freezing the federal fuel tax, its sole funding source, at a 20-year-old level, ignoring two decades of inflation, and substantial increases in the usage of highways and bridges by our ever-increasing population. The HTF is projected to zero-out at the end of the federal government’s 2014 fiscal year, barring a Congressional intervention.

Not many pundits are forecasting how the failure of the HTF will impact America’s roads and the hard hit industries that maintain them, probably because experience has shown government leaders find a way to patch together temporary solutions to dire crises. Whether that happens again, here are three fearless forecasts for road funding changes in the next decade.

Tolling will take over. In November, we discussed a recent Reason Foundation study that proposed opening the entire Interstate Highway system to tolling as a way to create revenues for its reconstruction. Unless mid-term elections usher in a Congress willing to raise the fuel tax, this seems inevitable and the only rational solution to a mounting crisis in U.S. surface transportation.

One of the hallmarks of nationwide tolling will be a standardization of automatic tolling systems so that motorists can pay their taxes without stopping, no matter what state they’re in.

With the cost of replacing bridges ranging from the tens of millions of dollars for small ones to hundreds of millions of dollars for big ones, bridge tolling is going to be the rule, not the exception. It may be that the next generation of motorists will never cross a major river without paying a toll.

Universal tolling will bring in its own problems and challenges. For example, collecting $5 or $10 worth of tolls from a scofflaw in a distant state could be a problem, especially if an emaciated federal bureaucracy is unable to intercede. Another example: If tolls are managed too aggressively, traffic loads on secondary routes could create safety and maintenance problems.

Most sweeping changes bring unforeseen consequences. In Europe, one potential consequence of national tolling came up for discussion last fall when spokesmen for Germany’s national security forces made a case for monitoring tolling data as a way of tracking suspects and locating criminals. This discussion took place at the time when Germany was abuzz over revelations that America’s NSA was monitoring Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cell phone, among many others, and it had a chilling effect on the proposal.

It would have the same effect here. One of the few things that unite Americans of the left and right is a fear of government monitoring, though even that might not outweigh the terrifying specter of an increase in the fuel tax. 

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