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Written by Daniel C. Brown Studies show that smoothness ranks at the top of what Americans want to see and experience when driving their highways. And several contractors are reporting that they produce smoother concrete pavements—and earn more smoothness bonuses—by using machine-control systems from Leica Geosystems. Automated machine control saves time and money because it eliminates all of the detailed survey labor normally spent for a runway, staking of hubs, setting blue-tops, and the labor to...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Equipment, Paving, Technology
Written by Paul Hull The concrete path that comes to my front door from the sidewalk showed a crack this summer, and I was annoyed, thinking such features of a residence should never fail. Then I realized that the little path had already lasted, untended, untreated, battered by months of snow and ice each year, for almost 60 years. It makes those wonder products of today with a 90-day warranty look rather pathetic, doesn’t it? It seems there is so much good concrete around us that we take lit...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Concrete, Operations, Paving
By Daniel C. Brown Few projects involve the challenges faced by FNF Construction Inc. in building 15 miles of new two-lane roadway through the Black Mountains in Arizona. The two new lanes of US 93, completed in December 2010, run parallel to two existing lanes that lead southward from the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge into Arizona. The $72.7 million project also included milling and resurfacing the asphalt on the existing two lanes, widening two existing bridges, two new mainline highway bridges, 34 box...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Environment, Management, Paving
By Carol Wasson Experts say that if cities want roads to last for 20 or more years, it’s important to have a consistent plan of how to treat them. From a basic standpoint, slurry seal is definitely the most economical surface treatment for residential streets, while micro surfacing is ideal for highly traveled roads. Asphalt overlays have their place, but significant money can be saved by committing to pavement preservation. While slurry seal and micro surfacing projects most often fall into the hands o...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Paver, Paving, Technology
By Carol Brzozowski Now, the use of geosynthetics in paving operations may get a boost from the federal government. In late October 2011, US Reps. John Duncan (R-TN) and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)—both members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee—sent a letter to the US Government Accountability Office, asking that office to conduct a study regarding geosynthetic materials in roadway systems. The Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA), a division of the Industrial Fabrics Associat...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Geosynthetics and RECPs, Paver, Paving
By Daniel C. Brown The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) reports recent, rapid progress with field adaptation of its Safety Edge concept, which is mainly aimed at making rural roads safer. The Safety Edge is a paving detail that consolidates the pavement edge into a 30-degree angle to mitigate pavement edge drop-offs. These drop-offs develop as the material adjacent to the pavement settles, erodes, or is worn away. A pavement edge drop-off can create problems after a vehicle driver drifts off the pa...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Grading, Paving, Safety
When it comes to serving one’s state and nation, men and women in uniform know what it takes to protect lives and property. But, working quietly behind the scenes, civilian contractors often provide key pieces to enabling that service. Among those contributing to the nation’s defense through their own special skills are the employees of Pavers Inc. They don’t wear uniforms, but they recently took on a project to keep those who do flying—a key component to National Guard response in times of natural disa...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Concrete, Paver, Paving
By Paul Hull
This morning I walked by the big parking lot again. It’s an embarrassment. The asphalt was the perfect stuff for the job, but the way it was applied was atrocious. Less than four weeks after the job was done, there were huge puddles. The job had to be redone, but it is still not good. There’s another parking lot done a few weeks later, by the hospital, and that has shown no weeds peeping through, no puddles, and no rework. Putting it simply, there are three stages to asphalt paving: before the asphalt, ...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Equipment, Paver, Paving
By Penelope B Grenoble
Listening to instructors Steve Neal and Wayne Tomlinson talk about what they do at the Road Institute, a kind of mini-asphalt paving university for contractors, DOTs, municipalities, engineers, material manufacturers, and just about anybody who has a connection to or an interest in the asphalt paving industry, suggests another look at what good training can be about. Train. Train. Train. We hear it everywhere—how important it is, how we’re not doing enough. But too often the nature of training ends up b...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Paving, Safety, Training
By Peter Hildebrandt
Cold in-place asphalt recycling (CIR) has been around for over 50 years as a way to deal with decaying roadways, but because of its environmental and financial qualities, it is becoming more and more popular. As its name implies, the technique involves using the existing road material rather than bringing in new asphalt. The “cold” refers to the fact that a hot asphalt mix does not have to be brought onsite. The Asphalt Recycling and Reclaiming Association (ARRA), a trade association of recycling contra...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Paver, Paving, Technology
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