Extend Your Season with Extended Equipment Life
H-K Increases Capacity
Queensland Shows Funding Prowess Asphalt Saves the Day for TDOT Training in Tough Times Whistle Stop
Used Oil: Solid Waste or Not? October 2010
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Safety gets a new sound from the sports arena. See related article on page 8. Photo courtesy of Top Quality Paving, Manchester, N.H.
October 2010
When Milestone Contractors wanted to upgrade for recycling and other green capacities, they found a reliable option in recycled equipment. See related article on page 24. Photo courtesy of Mark McGaughey, Milestone Contractors, L.P., Indianapolis.
Departments
Articles
Letter From the Editor 5 AP Website Delivers the How-to Industry Resource You’ve Been Waiting For
22 New Resources Spell Success for H-K by Sandy Lender
Around the Globe 6 Safety Spotlight 8 Whistle While You Work by John Ball Equipment Maintenance 14 Replace Heat Transfer Fluid Analyze to tell when it’s time to change the thermal fluid in your system by David Dowlen Project Management 12 Australia Funds Extensive Motorway Improvements Queensland shows international road-building community how to ease congestion, lower accidents, plan for future traffic loads by Sandy Lender Mix It Up 16 Design With Temperature Curves in Mind by Mike Anderson Equipment Gallery 40 Gilson’s Permeameter Tests Pavement without Destruction Here’s How It Works 46 W.S. Tyler’s HydroClean Last Cut 48 EPA Proposes Change for Used Oil by AsphaltPro Staff Resource Directory 50
24 Milestone Finds Reliable Recycling Option by Sandy Lender 18 Decide Who Will Improve Your Next Project Training in today’s economic environment takes on new importance by AsphaltPro Staff 34 Tennessee Crew Takes Asphalt to the Rescue by Sandy Lender
18 Train serious employees to make a difference in project quality and project pay. See related article on page 18. Photo courtesy of Wirtgen America, Antioch, Tenn.
36 Scalia Brothers Extends Crushing Equipment, Season by Carl Emigh
Hot Topic: Transportation Funding Highway Funds Should Fund Highways, Not Bike Trails 30 by Sandy Lender Tiger I, Tiger II Primer 32 by AsphaltPro Staff Start Up Funding 33 by AsphaltPro Staff Surface Transportation Idea Puts $50 Billion Up Front 33 from American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
22 On the cover: H-K Contractors makes an upgrade to the family business. See related story on page 22. Photo courtesy of CEI Enterprises, Albuquerque, N.M.
14 New heat transfer oil is devoid of particulates and problems from thermal cracking, oxidation and contamination. Analyze for early signs of sludge before it affects your operating costs. See related article on page 14. Photo courtesy of Heatec, Inc., Chattanooga. ASPHALT PRO 3
October 2010 • Vol. 4 No. 1
AP Website Delivers the How-to Industry Resource You’ve Been Waiting For editor’s note
2001 Corporate Place Columbia, MO 65202 573-499-1830 • 573-499-1831 www.theasphaltpro.com
publisher Chris Harrison associate publisher Sally Shoemaker
sally@theasphaltpro.com (660) 248-2258
editor Sandy Lender sandy@theasphaltpro.com (239) 272-8613
operations/circulation manager Cindy Sheridan business manager Renea Sapp graphic design Alisha Moreland Kristin Branscom creative services Betsy Bell
AsphaltPro is published nine times per year: January, February, March, April/May, June/July, August/ September, October, November and December by The Business Times Company, 2001 Corporate Place, Columbia, MO 65202 Subscription Policy: Individual subscriptions are available without charge in the United Sates, Canada and Mexico to qualified individuals. One year subscription to non-qualifying Individuals: United States $90, Canada and Mexico $125.00 and $175.00 all other countries (payable in U.S. funds, drawn on U.S. bank). Single copies available $17 each.
Let’s face it: when creative minds get together, they tend to overproduce a project. I think that’s one of the reasons people roll their eyes when you suggest forming a committee to work on something. Committees tend to slow progress. For AsphaltPro magazine, we’ve been working on a creative project off and on for three years—our website. Here’s where the committee comes in. The staff at AsphaltPro is more than the Chris Harrison-Sally Shoemaker-Sandy Lender team that you’ve known for years and met at tradeshows and state association meetings. While the three of us have our experience in publishing and the asphalt industry to recommend us for building a first-class asphalt business website, we also have our creative sides that recommend us for building something aesthetically pleasing. Then we have two artists in our headquarters office who can build, create and design in their sleep! Combined, the staff has 62 years in magazine publishing (more than 33 of it specifically in the asphalt industry). That’s a lot of creative juices. Add in a whole company in our headquarters town that designs websites for a living and I think you get the picture. I don’t mind telling you that the team has pulled out a lot of hair over the website project. We wanted something that looked full, yet clean and easy to navigate. We wanted something filled with content and useful information, yet quick to load. We wanted something that complemented the print magazine, yet didn’t compete with it and certainly wasn’t redundant. I can’t tell you how annoyed I get with magazine sites that merely regurgitate their print information. Why would I pay for one when the other is free? Why would I support the murder of innocent trees to have a magazine sent to my home if the editor’s just going to put the information up on a website a week or two after it arrives? That’s stupid and irresponsible. I have no patience for it. Creative minds want to build something superior to that. So we did. I present to you: www.theasphaltpro.com. Of course there are departments and articles that bear regurgitation. But it doesn’t take an outside expert to tell us that magazine readers and web readers tolerate different styles. We’ve edited our content for the web to make it user-friendly. When you visit www.theasphaltpro.com, you’re not going to be stuck in front of a monitor trying to read tiny type in magazine format. No…I give classes on website and blog development and intelligent online social media use. I’ll be presenting this kind of marketing information at CONEXPO-CON/AGG in March to assist contractors and producers to use their online presence effectively. We know what we’re doing at AsphaltPro not just in the asphalt arena, not just in the magazine publishing arena, but also in the website presentation arena. Now we’re offering a pleasing, informative, useful website to the masses. I invite you to visit www.theasphaltpro.com often for updates and information that impacts your bottom line. Then be sure to send me a note about the site’s efficacy. Let me know what else we can add to the site or to the blog to enhance your business. Stay Safe,
Sandy Lender ASPHALT PRO 5
AROUND THE GLOBE Industry News and Happenings from Around the World Australia
The Australian Asphalt Pavement Association (AAPA), its members and Austroads have begun a major project on the Hume Highway in Melbourne to validate the effectiveness of warm-mix asphalt (WMA). Crews from VicRoads MNW and Downer EDI Works placed WMA and hot mix asphalt (HMA) mats with various percentages of RAP and new aggregate from Boral Asphalt, Downer and Fulton Hogan on the highway for comparison in April. Source: AAPA
China
The 5th China Asphalt Summit will be held in Shanghai this Oct. 20 through 21.
France
• The 5th CME World Emulsion Congress will be held in Lyon, France, this Oct. 12 through 14. • The International Transport Forum, Paris, has reported that 30 of the 33 countries assessed for transportation safety have shown a decrease in their number of road fatalities in the past decade. The largest decline in traffic fatalities between 2000 and 2009, according to ITF, took place in Portugal (55 percent) and Spain (53 percent). France achieved a reduction of 47 percent, while the United Kingdom saw traffic deaths fall 35 percent. Source: AASHTO
Switzerland
At the Sept. 8 United Nations “Climate Change Impacts on International Transport Networks” conference in Geneva, presenters suggested that a series of global weather issues will negatively impact transportation infrastructure. 1) Rising sea levels and increased storm intensity will threaten harbors and other maritime traffic. 2) Melting permafrost will damage roads, airports and pipelines. And 3) Rising temperatures may degrade infrastructure and impose higher energy costs for road, rail and air transport systems. Source: AASHTO
United States
• Sens. Kent Conrad (D.-N.D.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) introduced a new bill in early August. The Freight Rail Infrastructure Capacity Expansion Act of 2010, also known as S. 3749, is a companion bill to H.R. 1806, and is designed to encourage private capital investments in freight rail and help expand rail capacity. Source: Progressive Railroading • For updates, opinion and links concerning funding legislation, such as the Administration’s transportation strategy 6 August/SEptember 2010
posted in early September, be sure to check the blog at www.TheAsphaltForum.blogspot.com.
Colorado
• Get your entries in for the 17th Annual Best in Colorado Asphalt Awards Program. The nomination deadline is Nov. 5 and the site to visit is www.coasphalt.com. • Sterling Municipal Airport’s deteriorated concrete runway is getting fixed. Officials held an open house to showcase the technology that is saving time and money, and conserving materials. McAtee Construction, Sterling, Colo., crews will rubblize the runway, overlay it with asphalt, and extend it to 5,200 feet. Source: Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association.
Florida
Stevens Construction Institute, Inc., Gainesville, Fla., announces the release of its new book The Practical Construction MBA, by Matt Stevens, available at Amazon.com.
Indiana
Officials at Cummins, Columbus, Ind., announce that by the end of August, they had built and shipped more than 26,000 of its EPA 2010 certified and compliant engines. That means both Heavy-Duty and MidRange engines with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) exhaust aftertreatement have gone out. Cummins has developed and certified 13 engine families to the EPA and California Air Resources Board (ARB) regulations to serve more than 60 OEM customers in 180 vehicle installations. The ISX15 Family 1 engines feature On-Board Diagnostics (OBD), which will be required by the EPA and will be featured on all engine families beginning in 2013.
Kentucky
The Asphalt Institute announces a couple of fringe industry webinars that may be of interest to asphalt readers. You can register for Introduction to Slurry Seal & Microsurfacing & Best Practices to be held Oct. 26 and/or Introduction to Chip Seals & Best Practices to be held Nov. 9. Both courses begin at noon and cost $85. Visit the Asphalt Academy page at www.asphaltinstitute.org for more information.
Massachusetts
The Federal Aviation Administration and the Asphalt Institute will present a three-day airport pavement workshop focusing on designing, constructing and managing
asphalt airport pavements. The cost is $995 or $645 for FAA employees. Contact Katrina Walasinski for more info at (859) 288-4964.
Minnesota
Be cautious when accepting checks for amounts greater than necessary. Sound like fraud? It may be. According to Caterpillar, Peoria, Ill.: “Person(s) unknown have issued counterfeited checks using the Caterpillar name as an attempted fraudulent payment for merchandise sold at auction sites, want ads, online sales, etc. Usually the check is written in an amount larger than the purchase price and the seller is directed to send the difference to the originator. These attempted frauds have occurred across the United States.” If you wish to verify a “Caterpillar” payment you’ve received, merely contact Caterpillar at (800) 447-6434.
Oklahoma
The 16th annual Southeastern Asphalt User Producer Group (SEAUPG) meeting will be held Dec. 6 through 9 at the Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel. Contact Jill Baumgardner for more information at (601) 206-5330 or jrbaumgardner@seaupg.org.
Pennsylvania
Check out the green finish on Hauck Manufacturing, Co., Lebanon, Pa., burners! The company has switched its product line, with the exception of Kromschröder burners, to a new green paint. The new paint is very similar in color to the traditional “Hauck green” being used on its industrial products. The industrial high temperature paint will now be very similar in appearance to the standard green with a flat/satin finish, but customers may still request custom paint jobs as desired.
Washington, D.C.
Asphalt shows its green side again! The leaders of the trade associations that represent 150 million tons a year of asphalt recycling—the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) and the Asphalt Recycling and Reclaiming Association (ARRA)—signed a cooperative agreement aimed at doubling the rate of reuse/recycling of asphalt pavements within five years. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided letters of support as the entities pledged to support each other’s efforts to deal with common challenges and build on each other’s strengths regarding asphalt recycling issues. Source: NAPA
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SAFETY SPOTLIGHT Whistle While You Work by John Ball
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ouldn’t it be nice to just press a button and get the dump truck to stop instantly? It’s a dumpman’s dream. Think of the accidents and injuries that could be avoided. Think of the messes that crews wouldn’t have to take valuable production time to clean up. Think of the bumps and dents in equipment that wouldn’t be detracting from resale value. Out in the work zone, I’ve seen all manner of devices used for dumping trucks, but the most recent is great. The Electronic Sport Whistle from Spalding, a division of Russell Corp., Springfield, Mass., was originally designed for—you guessed it—the sports industry. Enterprising asphalt workers saw a higher purpose for this whistle: to save lives in the work zone. The whistle offers three distinct tones which sound when the user sets the desired one and presses a single button. The engineers at Spalding designed it that way so players on the Night paving operations are rife with danger. When a truck driver for Barriere Construction Co. LLC, Boutte, La., basketball court or the soccer field could tell when the coach hears the shrill, 105-decibel shriek from the Spalding Electronic Whistle shown here, he or she knows to stop. This dumpman not only shows off the new whistle with safe breakaway wrist lanyard, but he also carries a was signaling them versus when the referee was signaling safety-orange glow stick that helps him direct trucks visually. He demonstrates best personal safety practices them and so on. Asphalt contractors can use the three different with high visibility PPE. sounds to signal different warnings, or, as Mitch Wicker’s crews do for Barriere Construction Co. LLC, Boutte, La., to keep crew “They’re pretty loud at 105 decibels. It gets the truck driver’s attention members on their toes. if he’s in the dumping zone. If he’s within 50 feet of the paver, he’s going “The whistles have different sounds so no one gets used to one to hear it. That’s when they come in handy for us.” particular sound,” Wicker said. His dumpmen use one signal for a while, Something else that makes the Spalding Electronic Whistle different and then change it up the next day or so to keep truck drivers and from the traditional whistles we use is its breakaway wrist lanyard. You ground personnel from growing complacent. don’t have to worry about the cord pulling you into a dangerous situaThe whistles won’t be missed, either. They’re loud enough to hear over the roar of the truck and paver engines on the projects I’ve been on. tion because the adjustable lanyard is designed to break away. “The whistle was always around the dump guy’s neck,” Wicker said. Wicker concurs. “This (electronic whistle) has a breakaway strap so it’s going to break off before it jerks your hand into something.” Wicker said he’s not at all concerned about the cost of losing a few electronic whistles. He remembered paying about $13 for each of his and considers that a small price to pay for keeping a worker’s hand, or neck, out of danger. Something else Wicker appreciates about the new whistle is sanitation. Bob Llewellyn, the director of consumer products for Spalding explained how the whistles keep germs at bay. “Because there is no human air needed, the whistles are sanitary and can be used by multiple individuals,” Llewellyn said. Wicker explained it in terms for the asphalt industry. “One thing I really like about these whistles is you can pass them around. If the dumpman takes off tomorrow, the next guy can just grab it off the dashboard and use it. It hasn’t been in anybody’s mouth and they’re not sharing germs.” To get more information about the Spalding Electronic Whistle, contact The dumpman for this Barriere Construction Co. LLC, Boutte, La., crew shows the compact, SpaldLynn Luczkowski at (413) 478-1569 or lluczkowski@spalding.com, or visit ing Electronic Whistle, which he sounds by depressing a single button when he wishes to alert one of the e-tail sites that sells it: kuzsports.com or flaghouse.com. the dump truck driver to stop backing. 8 August/SEptember 2010
Australia Funds Extensive Motorway Improvements Queensland shows international road-building community how to ease congestion, lower accidents, plan for future traffic loads by Sandy Lender
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he Ipswich Motorway in Australia is part of the AusLink national ture explains: “The Smiths Road extension will be constructed in partnerhighway network and forms part of the Brisbane Urban Corridor. ship with Ipswich City Council and provide a direct connection from Mine According to a spokesperson for the Department of Transport and Street in Redbank to the existing Smiths Road in Goodna. This will cater Main Roads (TMR), the corridor is a key component in the transport links for short trips between Goodna and Redbank, eliminating the need for between Melbourne-Brisbane, Sydney-Brisbane and Darwin-Brisbane. motorists to access the motorway for local travel.” The Federal Government identified the Ipswich Motorway as needing an The scope of the project involves placing 480,000 tonnes of asphalt as upgrade, and is the entity funding the project to upgrade and expand 8 part of the six-lane expansion of 8 kilometers of motorway, the upgrading kilometers of road from Dinmore to Goodna. of several interchanges and the lengthening and re-spacing of on and off The “entity” performing the work is a little more complex and offers ramps for safety considerations. This work is designed to provide more reliroadway engineers everywhere a study in design-build methodology. able travel flow on the motorway and to increase the motorway’s capacity “An options workshop was undertaken by Transport and Main Roads while decreasing its congestion. This spells safety and convenience for the (TMR) to assess the most appropriate delivery methodology for the motorists of Western Australia courtesy of asphalt—some other materials, upgrade of the Ipswich Motorway,” the spokesperson said. “Given the of course—and good project management. complexity of this project, they determined that the Alliance delivery The other materials add up, and the Alliance has done a good job methodology was best of putting the numbers in suited and Origin Alliance perspective for the general The scope of the project involves placing was formed in mid-2008 to public. According to a newsdeliver the project. TMR’s allithe Alliance released, 480,000 tonnes of asphalt as part of the six-lane letter ance partners—Abigroup, a project this size will use Fulton Hogan and Seymour 1,500,000m3 of earthworks, expansion of 8 kilometers of motorway. Whyte Constructions—bring which is equivalent to 600 their civil construction experOlympic sized swimming tise to the alliance, while SMEC Australia and Parsons Brinckerhoff bring pools. The 480,000 tonnes of asphalt is about nine times the weight of their design expertise.” the Syndney Harbour Bridge. The 100,000m3 of concrete they’ll use is Mick O’Dwyer of Abigroup is the Alliance Project Manager. He brings 10,000m3 more than what the new Wembley Stadium can boast. The more than 30 years of extensive road building experience working for 10,000 tonnes of reinforcement is 1,000 tonnes more than the weight of client organizations and contractors to the helm. He guides the team in the Eiffel Tower. widening the motorway to a minimum of six lanes, with provision for Good project management doesn’t stop when the design is ready and widening to eight lanes in the future. Crews will make extensive upgrades the assignments are made. As evidenced by the newsletters referenced to an interchange at Mine Street; will build new service roads between here, the Alliance has put an incredible public communications system in Aberdare Street and Redbank Plaza, from Dinmore to Brisbane Road, and place to keep motorists apprised of lane closures, lane openings, speed from Mine Street to Lower Cross Street; and will elevate the motorway at limit changes, etcetera. From a dedicated website to brick-and-mortar Endeavor Road to allow for a connection there. information centers where the general public can stop by, bring school One of the project goals is an extension of Smiths Road, allowing local children for field trips or call in for updates, management is working hard traffic and long-distance traffic to take different corridors. Alliance litera- to minimize disruptions to motorists and keep everyone informed.
12 August/SEptember 2010
Then the construction work begins. The asphalt aspect of the project motorists to hazards. Bright lighting is used to illuminate all night works is in the capable hands of the Fulton Hogan company. and traffic diversions are used to further separate workers and drivers “Origin Alliance has subcontracted this work to a subsidiary of Fulton when major night operations are required (for example for demolition Hogan,” the spokesperson said. The Fulton Hogan team is using a new work and pavement works).” Astec plant with a Double Barrel drum to produce the asphalt. The plant One safety barrier that readers may find intriguing is an antiis rated at 300 tonnes per hour and has 800 tonnes of storage, using four gawk screen. silos over two weighbridges, according to the TMR spokesperson. “There are several thousand anti-gawk screens being used on the “The pavement design requires 365mm of dense graded asphalt project. Each one is 2.4-m long by 1.2-m high and is made from a bondor base (nominal size 20mm), followed by 50mm of dense graded asphalt panel, which consists of steel Colorbond, an aluminum frame and an base (nominal size 14mm) and then 40mm of 14mm open graded.” EPS (expanded foam) core. The screens are fitted onto the top of large To place the mixes, crews use material transfer vehicles and pavers precast concrete barriers (PCBs). Each PCB weighs 7 tonnes and must be with extendable screeds. lifted into place using a crane.” “The main paver is a RP195 Roadtec track paver. It is a telescopic Crews also get help enforcing safe conditions. paver capable of paving widths between 3m and 5.8m. It has gener“Police and traffic controllers play a key role in maintaining a safe ally been supported by a RP190 and a PF 2181 Blaw Knox. This is also a worksite. CCTV cameras are in place throughout the project to monitor telescopic paver capable of paving traffic flows and police conduct widths between 2.4m and 4.2m. regular speed enforcement activiThere are several thousand anti-gawk “Roadtec Shuttle Buggy material ties. They can and do book motortransfer vehicles are being used on ists for disobeying roadwork signs screens being used on the project. the project. These are mandatory in and speed limits.” terms of the TMR specifications. The Setting the police on motorpredominant ones have been SB2500s, which store up to 25 tonnes of ists might not seem friendly at first, but it’s life-saving. Members of the asphalt but have been irregularly supported by the SB1500 (15 tonnes).” Alliance partnership, from O’Dwyer at the top to every laborer on the To get density, crews have a variety of compactors on the job. “We roadway, have demonstrated their care for neighbors and motorists generally utilise between 1 and 2 double drum steel rollers which are through safe practices and through community outreach. approximate 8 tonnes. We initially started with Dynapac CC222 models “The alliance has nominated three local charity organizations, which but now are using the newer CC224 model. In addition, a pneumatic they assist from time to time in various ways,” the spokesperson shared. rubber tire roller is also used which approximates 8 to 15 tonnes fully “Any cash donations that are made to these charities are raised by the ballasted. Depending on the type of work, a 3-tonne double drum steel workforce themselves.” roller may be used.” The World Cup team tipping competition is a recent example of the With all the equipment for each aspect of production on hand, not workforce’s community outreach. Alliance employees ended up raising to mention traffic still speeding by, personnel take safety seriously. In $3,000, which the local Junior Rugby League team and Operation Kinder fact, the Alliance’s literature states Community shared. According to that serious traffic incidents on this Alliance literature, a recent visit …serious traffic incidents on this section of the motorway have fallen to the Riverview Neighbourhood by two-thirds since work began. playgroup, where Origin Allisection of the motorway have fallen by House The spokesperson for TMR ance staff donated toys, generated confirmed this: “The statistics are a hand-made thank-you note from two-thirds since work began. provided by the Queensland Police the children that now graces the Service, and confirm a fall in accireception area in the Origin Alliance dents causing injury since construction began. For example, in the six site office. months from July to December 2008, prior to construction, there were “Alliance team members have also raised money for one-off appeals, 18 accidents involving injury. For the same period, July to December, in such as relief for the Haiti earthquake victims, and have collected cans 2009 there were eight.” for a local state school fundraiser. They also regularly support other That kind of drop can be attributed to a safety-minded team and community causes, such as Red Cross blood donations, breast cancer good, safe practices. research (raising $10,000 last year) and the Leukemia Foundation’s “Ensuring the safety of motorists and road workers is a key factor ‘Shave for a Cure’.” during all motorway works, with speed limits, stopping distances and There’s a lot of work to be done before completion of this massive sight lines all carefully considered. Accurate signage is an integral part project in 2012, but once the last line is striped, the motorway’s mainof road safety, helping motorists to navigate the new section of road. tenance becomes the responsibility of the TMR. “The Metropolitan Several remotely operated variable speed limit signs are also used to Regional Office of TMR is responsible for maintenance,” the spokesshow the speed limit, and these can be altered quickly as conditions person confirmed. “The Federal Government provides TMR with funding dictate. The more traditional variable message signs are also used along for maintenance of its national highways. TMR may in turn sub-contract the project to issue reminders about changed conditions and alert some or all of these works to private maintenance contractors.” ASPHALT PRO 13
EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE Replace Heat Transfer Fluid
Analyze to tell when it’s time to change the thermal fluid in your system by David Dowlen
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hen you perform a visual inspection of your heat transfer (thermal) fluid, you will see some important signs of its condition. But appearance alone doesn’t tell you all you need to know. You need to have the fluid analyzed periodically. If you’ve worked around the plant for long, you already know that heat transfer fluid degrades with time and use. What you may not know is that degradation can have some serious side effects. Degradation can produce sludge, which significantly reduces heat transfer and downgrades the performance of your system. You’ll pay for poor performance with longer heat-up times and increased fuel costs. Over time, some degradation is normal and is to be expected in virtually any heating system. Degradation usually results from thermal cracking, oxidation and contamination. Each of these effects can be caused by different operating conditions. So, if a fluid analysis reveals an unusual presence of these effects, it might be time to investigate operating conditions. You may have operating problems that need to be fixed.
This picture shows the sock filter (in color) and bypass valves installed in the thermal fluid piping of a heater. The filter acts as a secondary filter to help keep the new thermal fluid clean and reduce wear from old fluid’s residuals. 14 August/SEptember 2010
There’s not enough space here for a full discussion of the operating conditions that can cause all three effects, but that information is readily available on the Internet. For instance, MultiTherm, LLC, the producer of MultiTherm® heat transfer fluid, has an in-depth article on the causes of degradation titled “Analyze It,” at www.multitherm.com. Another producer, Paratherm Corporation, also offers extensive information on the causes of fluid degradation at www.paratherm.com. At Heatec, we recommend you have your heat transfer fluid analyzed once a year.
Take a sample of your thermal fluid while the heat is shut off and the fluid has cooled, but while the system is circulating fluid.s.
The analysis should be done by a specialist experienced and properly equipped to analyze chemical properties of the fluid. Fluid suppliers may do a free analysis for you. Or you may need to have an independent lab do the analysis. Take the sample while the heat is shut off and the fluid has cooled down somewhat, but while the system is circulating the fluid. Although you cannot reliably tell if the fluid is okay by visually inspecting it, you may be able to detect problems. Every time you inspect the strainer on the heater, be sure to watch for signs of problems with the thermal fluid. (You should inspect the strainer once a month and clean it if it is dirty.) If the appearance of
the fluid shows signs of a problem, you should have the fluid analyzed. Watch for the following signs: ✓ Flakes of carbon ✓ Foam or milky appearance ✓ Contamination by leakage (of the material or liquid that is being heated) into the heat transfer fluid ✓ Unusual thickening of the fluid When you replace old heat transfer fluid with new fluid, the new fluid will loosen carbon and other debris the old fluid left in the system. This debris will flow through your piping and begin to clog the strainer. Debris can bypass a clogged strainer and enter the circulating pump, causing unnecessary wear and damage. A very effective solution to this problem is to install a sock filter in the heater’s thermal fluid piping. The sock filter acts as a secondary filter to the strainer. The extra protection is worthwhile. It not only protects the circulating pump, it greatly helps to keep the new fluid clean. David Dowlen is the assistant service manager for Heatec, Inc., Chattanooga. For more information, contact him at (423) 825-3424 or visit www.heatec.com.
mix it up Design with Temperature Curves in Mind by Mike Anderson
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sphalt mix design procedures have traditionally used equiviscous temperature ranges for selecting lab mixing and compaction temperatures. Lab techs’ intents were to normalize the effect of asphalt binder stiffness on mixture volumetric properties. Beginning as early as 1962, the Asphalt Institute’s Mix Design Methods for Asphalt Concrete and Other Hot Mix Types (MS-2) recommended lab mixing and compaction temperature ranges based on Saybolt Furol viscosity. In 1974, AI switched viscosity measurements to the more fundamental unit of centistokes and recommended viscosity ranges of 170 ± 20 centistokes for mixing temperatures and 280 ± 30 centistokes for compaction temperatures when performing a Marshall mix design. Twenty years later, the same ranges were recommended for Superpave mix design, except that the units were converted to metric (Pascal-seconds.) To determine the equiviscous mixing and compaction temperatures, the asphalt technologist simply needs to determine the viscosity of the asphalt binder at two temperatures, plot the data on a double-log graph and observe where the line connecting the two data points intersects with the appropriate temperature range. Although the procedure for determining equiviscous lab mixing and compaction temperatures worked well in normalizing the effect of asphalt binder stiffness, for highly-modified asphalt binders the procedure often resulted in temperatures that were unreasonably high (above 350°F or 177°C).
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At these high temperatures during production and construction there could be problems with binder degradation, increased binder stiffening (aging), and problems in obtaining density in the asphalt mix, leading to high in-place air voids. To address the addition of a highly-modified asphalt binder, a recent study completed for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) examined the use of mastercurves for determining the mixing and compaction temperatures. In this procedure, a mastercurve is generated by performing a frequency sweep (0.1 to 100 rad/s) at a minimum of three test temperatures that will vary depending on the grade of the asphalt binder being tested. All asphalt binders will be tested at 80°C since it is the reference temperature in this procedure. The mastercurve is then developed (at 80°C) and the frequency is determined where the phase angle is equal to 86 degrees (see figure). This frequency (rad/s) is then input into two equations to determine mixing and compaction temperatures: Mixing Temperature (°F) = 325w-0.0135 Compaction Temperature (°F) = 300w-0.012 The research found that the mastercurve phase angle procedure resulted in significantly lower mixing and compaction temperatures for modified asphalt binders than the older equiviscous procedure. The results were more reasonable and better matched field experience. Based on the research, it appears that the mastercurve phase angle and the steady shear flow procedures provide better characterization of lab mixing and compaction temperatures than the traditional equiviscous procedure. Mike Anderson is a professional engineer and director of research and laboratory services at the Asphalt Institute. This article appears courtesy of AI’s online Summer 2010 Lab Corner. Information about the mastercurve phase angle procedure and the rest of the research can be found in NCHRP Report 648, Mixing and Compaction Temperatures of Asphalt Binders in Hot-Mix Asphalt (available at www.trb.org.) For more information, contact Anderson at manderson@asphaltinstitute.org.
Decide Who Will Improve Your Next Project Training in today’s economic environment takes on new importance
During one of the Caterpillar Equipment Training Solutions schools, students practice the techniques discussed in the classroom with wet sand to mimic the properties of asphalt. Photo courtesy of Caterpillar.
by AsphaltPro Staff
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hen a contractor purchases new equipment, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) often assigns an engineer to train employees on the product’s proper use for optimum performance. When the trained employee retires, leaves the company, or moves to a different piece of equipment, a new employee approaches the machine with a different set of skills or level of knowledge. How does a manager prepare the newcomer for “optimum performance?” When it comes to preparing the work force on hand for an upcoming project, owners and managers face tough decisions. There’s more than equipment-know-how to consider. Managers can spend copious amounts of time and money on training everyone for basics such as rolling patterns, lab safety, feeding bins properly from a stockpile, as well as specific equipment use. Who does an owner send to school and who does a manager turn into a trainer to teach others upon his or her return? Members of the training community offered sound advice for owners and managers in today’s economic environment to help with important decisions—decisions that affect project quality and project pay.
The Project is Worth a Well-Trained Team Chuck Deahl of Bomag Americas, Kewanee, Ill., pointed out that welltrained employees are important, regardless of what the economy is doing. “Well-trained employees contribute to quality paving, cost reduc18 August/SEptember 2010
tion, productive attitudes, profit and safe operations,” Deahl said. “These traits in people are always required—good or bad economy. They’re more important in an economy where margins are lower and competition is greater. Quality and well-trained employees cost nothing. Lack of quality and ignorance cost plenty.” Spending money “now” on training the production and/or paving crew means saving money “later” on errors and making money “later” on project bonuses. Clarence Richard of Clarence Richard Company, weighed in on that concept. “Training is very inexpensive when considering the alternative results caused by mistakes that affect the plant production rates, personnel safety, equipment damage, mix quality, energy efficiency downtime, maintenance and other operating costs….Training is the best investment you can make. It doesn’t take long to pay for an investment that can keep a disaster from happening.” Terry Sharp of Caterpillar Paving Products, Brooklyn Park, Minn., spoke of the return on investment training offers. “When looking to invest in your business, training will give you an immediate healthy return on your dollar. Today’s road construction equipment is complex, and specifications are getting more and more challenging. Having skilled, knowledgeable and safe employees will improve efficiency, improve productivity, and reduce costs associated with poor construction quality and employee health. It will also make your business leaner and more competitive.”
Brian Jerman, the manager of aftermarket services at Terex Roadbuilding, Oklahoma City, Okla., also spoke about the investment. “It can be difficult to make the decision to spend money on items like training or service tools, especially with the uncertainty of our current economic climate. However, the contractor must look at training as an investment rather than an expense. A contractor stands to lose exponentially more money through unnecessary downtime as a result of employees who are not properly trained.” Good training also helps reduce equipment maintenance costs. Jan Schmidt, vice president-product support at Wirtgen America, Inc., Antioch, Tenn., spoke specifically about maintenance benefits. “In times of a slow economy, it is even more important to ensure that your personnel has the necessary experience and training to take the best care of your equipment, and the knowledge to maintain it properly,” she said. “Proper maintenance alone can prevent downtime and reduce higher maintenance costs caused by failed components due to material buildup or other maintenance oversights. Properly trained personnel can also perform basic troubleshooting and repairs and reduce the need for outside service assistance and cost.” With experts outlining obvious, yet often ignored benefits of training personnel, managers have to look at the training budget. Yes, it’s wise to set aside money for an investment in training, but whom do you spend that money on?
Bob McGregor of Brookfield Engineering Laboratories, Middleboro, Mass., looked at the employees’ credentials from another angle. When owners or managers send lab techs to train at a regional Brookfield course, they’re usually sending a person who already has lab savvy. McGregor still offered advice for managers when selecting the personnel. “The employee must have the trust of the manager to take on the information,” he said. “When they come to our class, the objective is to verify that what they’re doing is correct. We encourage them to bring samples from their labs to test and verify. The manager should have confidence in the employee that’s coming to the training.”
Timing Changes Nothing
“Through the years, we have found the best time for training seems to be just before the season starts,” Terex’s Jerman said. “Timing is everything and nothing,” Deahl said. “Some people go to a seminar in January and retain information into spring start-up. Other people go to the same seminar and don’t remember anything. It goes back to the traits discussed before. The ideal training scenario is to train in the classroom in the morning and go to the job that day. This isn’t always possible, but training in the winter can get results if we train on the job during the season as well. Repetition is the mother of learning.”
I Believe in You
Deciding which employees to send to training, which to have on hand when bringing in a training consultant or which to provide passwords for webinars poses an issue for some managers. As Deahl pointed out, the same traits a manager sought when hiring an employee make an employee an ideal candidate for additional training. “The following traits are desirable in hiring people and selecting people for training schools: 1) desire to learn; 2) interest in the asphalt paving industry; 3) performance in prior schools; 4) understanding what quality paving means to the company and the total industry; and 5) interest in their own growth and the opportunity to assume additional responsibility. They need desire, interest, performance, understanding and responsibility.” Wirtgen’s Schmidt added to Deahl’s list. “Curiosity, the desire to ask lots of questions, proactive thinking, the wish to be involved in every aspect of the machine, not just certain tasks or areas of responsibility. Obviously he or she must have commitment to the company, and to long-term employment with this company, if the company should be willing to invest in the training expense.”
Places to Find Training Opportunities While there are myriad OEMs and private consultants who offer quality training services that you can find with a Google search, here is an alphabetical list of those who have put forth the effort to bring you information for this issue. The AsphaltPro staff thanks them for their assistance in getting information out to help you make good training decisions. We also remind you to check the associations you may be a member of for webinars and other mid-year learning opportunities in addition to their annual meeting offerings.
✓ Bomag Americas Visit http://www.bomag.com/americas/index.aspx?&Lang=478
✓ Brookfield Engineering Laboratories Visit http://www.brookfieldengineering.com/.
✓ Caterpillar Equipment Training Solutions Visit www.cat.com
✓ Clarence Richard Company Visit http://www.clarencerichard.com/1training.html or contact (800) 372-7731. See the ad on page 37 of this issue.
✓ Hauck Manufacturing Company Contact Pat Horn or Sharon Kreiser at (717) 272-3051 or service@hauckburner.com. See the ad on page 49 of this issue.
✓ Reinhard Wirtgen Learning Center Visit www.wirtgenamerica.com or call (615) 501-0600
✓ Roadtec’s Paving Professional’s Workshop Visit www.roadtec.com/www/docs/148/paving-professionals-workshop. com. See the brief training facility article in the August/September issue
✓ Terex Roadbuilding University Visit http://www.terexroadbuildinguniversity.com/ or contact Cindy.LeBlanc@terex.com
✓ Top Quality Paving and Training Students at the Reinhard Wirtgen Learning Center put new knowledge to work on a Vogele paving machine. Photo courtesy of Wirtgen Americas.
Visit http://www.tqpaving.com/ or contact John Ball at (603) 624-8300. See the safety article on page 8 of this issue. ASPHALT PRO 19
While Sharp agreed that prior to the paving season is an excellent time for training, freshening paving fundamentals in crew members’ minds, there’s another time to consider, and ways to make it happen. “Another good time for training is before you begin a job that has challenging specifications to meet….Of course, new hires with little or no experience can benefit immediately from training, as the courses are designed to expose the student to the fundamentals and science of paving and quickly help them attain the skills they need to provide value to their employer. This protects the employer from the risks inherent in the ‘earn-while-you-learn’ approach to training.”
Tonnes of Options
The different options Sharp alluded to include consulting at the contractor’s site, which original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Cat have begun to do in addition to the established consultants in the industry. “Cat Paving Products training specialists and consultants can train crews in the classroom or on the jobsite to ensure that crews utilize and understand the techniques that promote success,” he said. “Cat Paving also offers on-the-job consulting to help troubleshoot a problem or optimize performance to ensure maximum bonus payout.” Dave Dennison, product manager for Bomag Americas, offers a similar opportunity. “Bomag Americas doesn’t charge for our training. We take the training directly to the dealer, contractor, DOT, asphalt paving association, etc. We go to them on the site or in the classroom.” Caterpillar and Bomag aren’t the only OEMs getting creative with training location and timing. From associations to consultants to OEMs, experts have started to offer online learning opportunities. This has pros and cons; managers can decide for themselves how well online training works for different specialties. Deahl has a pretty clear opinion about which specialties it’s best for. “There are a number of good webinar training programs in the asphalt industry for engineers, managers, paving foremen, project managers, quality control managers, design engineers and lab techs. This type of training doesn’t get the job done with laydown crews and roller operators,” he believes. “We need personal interaction with crew people in the classroom and on the job.” Teachers have pointed out for years that different employees have different learning styles. Even if an employee is one of those with an “allergy” to computers, there’s no time like downtime to get someone used to a computer and used to a new skill. As Richard of Clarence Richard Co. said, “now is a good time” to help an employee become computer literate. “Considering the cost and the convenience, everyone with a job description relating to plant equipment, management or operation is a candidate” for online training. Richard made another good point regarding online training’s flexible schedule. It lets managers adapt to changes in personnel. “When you lose people through attrition, promotion, etc., you don’t have to be without qualified people for very long. This program brings people up to speed without distracting the plant operators from doing what they do. New people will get the concepts, learn the terms and buzzwords, and help keep them and plant parts out of harm’s way. They can continue to refresh as they gain experience. We often hear ‘what can you possibly teach a veteran operator?’ We also hear the veteran operators after we’ve turned on a few light bulbs for them. It was a great refresher and they never thought something worked ‘that way’ and they learned some new skills.”
Whether it’s in the classroom or on the site, OEMs can offer training specific to the employees’ learning styles and the project’s needs. Photos courtesy of Terex Roadbuilding and Caterpillar.
Let it Spread
In other words, Richard sees what other sources stated as well. Both new employees and veterans benefit from training—be it online, in an OEM’s classroom or beside a consultant on the jobsite. “All employees can benefit from training, from rookies to seasoned veterans,” Sharp agreed. “Rookies can learn the fundamentals, while veterans can utilize the time as a refresher to perfect their technique. If you can’t send an entire crew, it is good to choose someone that possesses a good working knowledge of paving, pride in the work they do, good leadership qualities and patience. They can take what they learn and teach the rest of your crew.” Selecting the right employee to become the trainer goes back to the beginning of our discussion. Everyone knows training is a wise investment, even in challenging economic times. Take the time to evaluate the members of the production and paving team to see who makes a good candidate for training and for teaching others. Take the time to select a training program that fits your crew’s skill level and offers all that you want your crew to learn. With the multitude of programs available in person and online, the sky’s the limit. Comparison shopping is as easy as clicking through websites to see what best suits your needs. 20 August/SEptember 2010
You don’t have to bring the whole control house to a new employee. Here a Terex Roadbuilding University classroom has a control house problem simulated for students to troubleshoot. Photo courtesy of Terex Roadbuilding.
New Resources Spell Success for H-K
To run WMA at the new Astec 400-tph plant in Idaho Falls, H-K managers selected the Astec Double Barrel Green system. They use both foaming technology and chemical additives to create their warm mixes.
by Sandy Lender
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hat started as a two-machine excavating company in 1950 has blossomed into a successful production and paving company that extends its work season through the use of warm mix asphalt (WMA) in award-winning national park projects. Now that the team at H-K Contractors, Idaho Falls, has had a full season through its new hot mix asphalt (HMA) plant with increased liquid asphalt cement (AC) storage capacity, team members are ready to share their success story. The first aspect producers typically consider when putting up a new plant is the permit. Luckily for H-K Contractors management, they were installing a more modern plant on an already-permitted site. “It was an existing facility,” Jeff Trosper, division manager for H-K explained. “We were replacing an old plant with this new one. The
people at Astec were very helpful in the process. Getting the permit took about six weeks with the help of the Astec engineers.” With the plant in place, H-K managers invited the neighbors out to take a look. “We put the plant up and invited everybody out to see it; neighbors, customers, DOT, competitors, state, etcetera,” Trosper said. “We started it up so they could see how clean it is. The Department of Environmental Quality was on-site while EEMC performed stack tests which determined the amount of pollution the plant would put into the sky. The amount of pollution put into the sky was so minimal that EEMC said that if all plants were this clean they would be out of business. DEQ said they were very impressed with the plant and it is one of the cleanest plants they’ve ever seen.”
In 1950, George Hartwell started Hartwell Excavating with a backhoe and a dump truck. Around the middle of 1975, Kennaday Paving signed on to form H-K Contractors, Inc. Their award-winning local, state and federal work, including the “Best Construction Project” for 1998, 2003 and 2004 from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, garnered attention from around the globe. In 2007, Oldcastle Materials, the United States division of CRH, pc., Dublin, Ireland, purchased H-K and provided more resources to increase the company’s purchasing leverage. In 2009, management was ready to replace an old facility at Idaho Falls with a new 400-tph Astec plant, two 25,000-gallon CEI tanks and a 1.5 million BTU CEI heater.
22 August/SEptember 2010
The plant’s operator, Josh Waite, spoke of the plant and mix performance that day. “It was also a warm mix presentation. We put down a strip of warm mix and a strip of hot mix next to each other and took compaction measurements on the two to show our guests that they were the same.” H-K Contractors have been using warm mix with other plants for several years. Kurt Hanson, Administration, spoke proudly of the company’s success in Yellowstone National Park. “We were the first contractor to use WMA in the national park,” Hanson said. “Our plant was in Cody, Wyo., so we had a 50-mile haul. We started in 2006 and it took three construction seasons. FHWA wanted to see if we could extend the season, and we did that in the fall.” The project Hanson speaks of stretched from the East Entrance Road to Sylvan Pass, and it garnered a NAPA 2009 Quality in Construction award for H-K. According to Hanson, any national park project requires more than just attention to the mix. “One of the most important aspects of the national parks projects is preservation of existing amenities,” Hanson said. “That project [East Entrance Road] was a reconstruct; we needed to make the road safer while maintaining traffic. We needed to satisfy the FHWA, who owned the project, and the National Park Services, who owned the road, and the businesses in Yellowstone Park, who survive on tourist traffic. It was important to keep traffic flow to the businesses.” For the East Entrance Road project specifically, the H-K crew built some game passes so the animals could get up and down the steep embankments. “We try to minimize our impact when we’re in the parks. We manicure exposed slopes. Landscape architects are with us throughout the project to make sure there’s no evidence we were there. We’re careful with fuels and other liquids. No leakage or spills. Most of our asphalt production takes place within park boundaries.” Trosper explained that the three portable plants the company can move within the park boundaries are also equipped with WMA foaming systems. “From the paving side’s standpoint, we promote using warm mix in the parks—both foaming and chemical additive warm mix,” he said. To run WMA at the new Astec 400-tph plant in Idaho Falls, H-K managers selected the Astec Double Barrel Green system. They use both foaming technology and chemical additives to create their warm mixes. Trosper explained that they run both hot and warm mixes, as well as high percentages of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP), and can store up to three types of mixes at a time in the three 200-ton silos. Aggregate material is supplied from in-house crushing and screening and a 2-bin RAP system; liquid material comes from two 25,000-gallon CEI vertical AC tanks heated by a 1.5-million BTU CEI heater. The company can’t justify the use of recycled asphalt shingle (RAS) yet as none of the landfills in the area receive an appreciable amount of shingles as waste. Trosper reported that about 75 percent of H-K Contractors’ asphalt product goes to internal projects with the other 25 percent filling orders for clients.
Right now, the company is in the second of a three-year contract it won to provide all of the state of Idaho’s maintenance work materials. That means they need to produce any type of mix the state needs. They don’t seem to be concerned about that. Switching mixes hasn’t been a problem. “We adjusted the flighting in the drum to accommodate our RAP percentages,” Trosper said. “We’re running an average of 20 to 25 percent everyday.” Waite discussed the ease of adjusting the drum to keep mixes and the baghouse working together nicely. “The Astec drums come fully flighted and have to be adjusted for elevation, so we took about half the flights out. Then we put about six of them back in to keep the temperature down in the baghouse.” The production team now creates the perfect veil and can time material to be in the drum for just the right dwell time for their elevation and their needs. The new facility also uses the environmentally safe Slippery Wizard asphalt release agent system with a “no splash” feature.
Milestone Finds Reliable Recycling Option by Sandy Lender 24 August/SEptember 2010
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or Milestone Contractors, L.P., Indianapolis, Ind., recycling a 1982 Standard Havens plant proved the right move to increase the company’s recycling capacity. It also gave owners a chance to add more warm mix asphalt (WMA) tonnage to production. While their main goal was to get the project accomplished for a reasonable cost, personnel were also interested in producing environmentally friendly products with recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) and recycled asphalt shingles (RAS).
“The main goal was to build a plant from used components to save on the initial cost,” Milestone’s Ron Terrell said. “It was never a question of whether or not to run RAP and RAS. Running both has become standard operating in today’s economic environment.” More than economics drove the company’s decisions with the recent upgrade. Terrell spoke of good environmental options as well. “If using old plant parts is ‘going green,’ then we accomplished it. As with all decisions in business, if ‘going green’ is an economic
The team at Reliable Asphalt Products, Shelbyville, Ky., reconditioned the rotary mixer for Milestone’s personnel. Photo courtesy of Reliable Asphalt Products. Left: Milestone’s Ron Terrell spoke proudly of the team’s new 20,000-gallon fuel tank, and three new 30,000-gallon liquid asphalt cement tanks with all new plumbing for both fuel and liquid AC. Photo courtesy of Reliable Asphalt Products, Shelbyville, Ky.
benefit, then it’s a good decision, and in this case it was. WMA is the biggest environmental benefit to happen in asphalt production since the baghouse.” With help from Reliable Asphalt Products, Shelbyville, Ky., Milestone personnel saw the upgrade from start to finish in just a few months and had their “new” Bloomfield facility ready for production outside of Bloomington, Ind. They worked together to keep costs under control and to get a quality facility in place. Step one got everyone on the same page. According to Terrell, that meant getting a plan
from Reliable Asphalt Products. Mike Mauzy of Reliable outlined the early stages of the process. “Milestone and I have teamed up on several mixing drum plant upgrades over the past two decades. This gave them the confidence to proceed with this concept for entering this new market. Coupled with their confidence in this concept, cost was the driving factor. Ron Terrell and I determined that if this project exceeded 60 percent of the price for a new plant, then it would be more advantageous to go with an all new plant.”
Considering all that Milestone and Reliable personnel had in mind for the upgrade, costs started stacking up. But they came up with some ways to curb costs that other producers may find useful. “As it turned out, we [Reliable] had the bulk of the components necessary to complete this project by purchasing a used 1982 Standard Havens plant also located in Indiana,” Mauzy continued. “Reliable Asphalt Products reconditioned and reconfigured the existing plant, added a mixing drum and other components to meet the ASPHALT PRO 25
Reliable Asphalt Products, Shelbyville, Ky., added two new cold feed bins and two RAP bins to the Milestone facility. Photo courtesy of Reliable Asphalt Products.
requirements of Milestone Contractors. It turned out that the overall cost of the project ended up around 67 percent of new. “However, Reliable Asphalt Products provided two new cold feed bins and conveyor extensions, converted the drum from parallel flow to counter flow, put all new flights in the drum with a new early entry RAP collar, added a new RAP bin and conveyor, baghouse extension [to accommodate longer bags], new bags and cages, new exhaust fan and variable frequency drive, all new ductwork and knockout box, support legs for the dryer, complete new dust return system to the rotary mixer, [reconditioned] rotary mixer, three new vertical 30,000-gallon AC tanks and a new double walled fuel tank, new piping and valves, a new fuel preheater, warm mix foaming system and injection pipe, and a complete paint job. Reliable Asphalt Products also provided all of the labor to dismantle, deliver and erect the plant at the new site.” Terrell listed some items Milestone personnel took care of. “Milestone’s role was to first have the site ready for Reliable to make the installation,” he said. “Milestone was responsible for all the electrical. Mark McGaughey was Milestone’s leading person and he worked closely with Dennis Mauzy (at Reliable) on the schedule and any decisions that were necessary during the entire process.” McGaughey is the new plant’s manager, and explained how things came together. “We moved an existing plant off the site and bought a piece of property adjacent to the site, 26 August/SEptember 2010
so we had to do some land clearing,” he said. “We got with the county for erosion control and started the permitting process, started the site preparation. “Permitting was a breeze,” he continued. “We had no arguments from our neighbors, no hangups with the government. We made sure we had a viable site for the plant, made sure the silos and other structures could be supported, made sure the plant we wanted fit the profile of the property. It’s a significantly larger plant than what was there before. We did all this while Reliable dismantled the plant at its location and prepared it for transport. We fit the first piece during the first week of February.” It made sense for Milestone personnel to take on site work, and Terrell explained why. “The grade and concrete work we did as a cost savings, yes, but we have people who do that sort of work all the time. That’s the business we’re in, so it made sense for us to take that on. “The reason we did the electrical ourselves is that Mark McGaughey is an electrician and an engineer. He does it all. He could manage that as well as anyone else could. That was an agreement we reached with Reliable. Mark’s a key guy for us.” McGaughey didn’t remember the exact percentage of the project cost that was saved by handling some tasks “in-house,” but he said it was a significant enough amount to make it worth the effort. The team of Reliable and Milestone was able to work out the costs and planning to get everything accomplished efficiently. “Just as you would with any new facility, we had things to troubleshoot,” McGaughey said. “It was an old plant so we had to do repairs just like we do with our existing plants, but the process has been straightforward and it’s performed well all along.” The straightforward operation runs like any other, with a 470-tph rating, according to Terrell.
“We operate other double drum plants at Milestone that are very similar. This plant does have an early entry RAP system that we believe will be beneficial from a quality of mixture and reduced drying cost savings. At this time we do not have enough data to confirm this, but early indications are that both should be correct. “The learning curve did not present a significant problem. It seemed to go well. RAP and RAS are just other materials that require slightly different operating procedures than virgin materials. We don’t see recycling as a complicated issue. We find one of the biggest issues with WMA is getting the equipment operators comfortable running at lower temperatures.” Operators all across the country are getting comfortable with lower temperatures, according to the presentation “Warm Mix Asphalt—A National Perspective” at the State Asphalt Pavement Association (SAPA) mid-year meeting in August. Approximately 23 states have adopted permissive specs for WMA now, and all but nine of the 50 states have performed pilot projects with WMA. It’s already caught on with a projected 30 million tons of WMA being placed in the United States in 2010. That means the system Milestone has in place in Bloomfield, as well as their established plants throughout Indiana, put them in good standing to produce the mix of the future. As Mike Mauzy pointed out, the process Milestone personnel went through to upgrade their Bloomfield facility offers a good snapshot for other producers interested in upgrading for warm mix capacity while keeping costs under control. He reported that Milestone’s personnel worked with Reliable’s personnel for “professional project management and field mechanical service” to end up with good counterflow technology that now allows high RAP and RAS percentages as well.
The new Bloomfield plant for Milestone Contractors, L.P., Indianapolis, is a recycled 1982 Standard Havens parallel flow that Reliable Asphalt Products, Shelbyville, Ky., converted to a counterflow. Now the company has another RAP, RAS, and WMA-capable facility in its fleet with Mike Steinway at the operating helm. Photo courtesy of Mark McGaughey, Milestone.
Hot Topic: Transportation Funding
I don’t apologize for it. I simply believe that placing a 15- to 20-pound, two-wheeled device, which is dependent upon balance, alongside 3,000- to 80,000-pound vehicles that travel at speeds ranging from 50 to 70 miles per hour is a recipe for disaster. Yet the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) guidance document titled Bicycle and Pedestrian Provisions of Federal Transportation Legislation states “Maintaining access to the transportation system for nonmotorized users is not an optional activity.” The document suggests all construction project designers find a way to incorporate bicycle and pedestrian paths in their projects. “Federal transportation policy is to increase nonmotorized transportation to at least 15 percent of all trips and to simultaneously reduce the number of nonmotorized users killed or injured in traffic crashes by at least 10 percent.” I support the concept of reducing accidents. (See my comment about bicycles alongside 18-wheelers above.) I would approve build-
ing separate, health-inducing bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly paths and recreational trails if they’re funded by special taxes on energy drinks—Brain TonIQ, Pimp Juice and Whoop Ass, to name a few. In fact, while working out of the national office of Natural Awakenings magazine, I prepped news stories about bike trails that seemed delightful. Unfortunately, it looks like the highway construction industry has to pay for the hobbies of the few* with the dollars we’re struggling to get to maintain the infrastructure for all. Please don’t peg me as anti-health. I own a bicycle. I’ve even been on it once. It stands on my lanai to proclaim to anyone walking by that someday I’ll ride it again. But I live in Southwest Florida where it’s border-of-hell hot 10 months out of the year. I like the climate, but I’m not riding a bike to the store in that heat. (And I’m not drinking something called Venom Death Adder to “refuel” when I get there.) Therein lies the hole in the bicycle clubs’ logic. ABOVE: In London, Mayor Boris Johnson bikes to work, so citizens also refer to the bike hire scheme as “Boris Bikes.” This is the concept of renting a bicycle to get around town. When union commuter workers in London went on strike in early September, travelers and tourists were forced to wait in extensive lines for already-crowded buses or find a more energy-intensive way to get from point A to point B. Bicycle funding advocates like those in Portland, where Mayor Sam Adams proposed $500,000 for bicycle boulevards, signals, connections, staging lanes, and more are keen on set-ups like this where citizens can grab a bike and get about town without a motor. LEFT: On a September day in London (and France), travelers found themselves in the midst of a union strike that affected the commuter system. That meant few subway trains were running on the tube, leaving folks to jump on the bus, rent a bicycle or take a long walk to get to work. Papers reported that lanes reserved for vehicles “turned into pedestrian lanes” where drivers feared to tread. Photos courtesy of EZ Street’s Dag Seagren, who was vacationing in London during the turmoil.
30 October 2010
Information compiled from the May 2010 The National Bicycling and Walking Study: 15-Year Status Report and census.gov.
How many sane people put on their business suits and bike it to the office every morning? Or just the mornings when it’s not pouring down rain? Or just the mornings when it’s not snowing up north? Or just the mornings when it’s not deathly hot in Arizona? You get my point, right? Yet there are entities, like the secretary of transportation, trying desperately to see trends in increased bicycle use. The strange thing is they have found a trend for which they’re patting themselves on the back. I’d like to offer an alternate supposition. The National Bicycling and Walking Study: 15-Year Status Report, released in May, showed slow and steady growth in the number of bicycling trips the U.S. population was taking, despite the higher percentage rise in population for the same time period. You can download and review the study results from www. walkinginfo.org/15_year_report. Pedestrian trips showed a little more active growth for the same time period. Then in 2009, there’s a big jump from the previous year in pedestrian trips. If you add in the modest jump in bicycle trips, it sounds quite impressive. Say it like this: There was an 11.9 percent increase in pedestrian and bicycling trips in 2009 from 2001. The researchers who put the report together attribute the jump to American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) funds, which injected “more than $400 million for bicycle and pedestrian projects and programs.” That gave the movement $1.2 billion in funding for 2009,
which is right around 2.1 percent of transportation funding. The Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation reported in June that there’s a “disconnect” in these numbers. They see 2 percent of highway funding for the new stats that show nearly 12 percent of biking and walking trips as underfunding. They would like to see more than $1.2 billion to build paths that are half the width, half the depth and require less than half the design effort of the roads that contribute all of the economic power. I’m not down with any part of that. Let’s start with the enhanced statistic: 11.9 percent of trips. Who are those people? As of late, that statistic has included illegal aliens. Let me break down what I’m talking about. Before 2000, most states allowed illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses. The climate changed dramatically when the 9/11 Commission recommended a change in how easily people without proper documentation could get a state driver’s license. In 2005, the Real ID Act, a federal law intended to enhance security, set new limitations in motion. It will be in full effect in 2013. According to Stateline.org, “If a state does not meet the law’s standards, license-holders in that state will not be able to use their ID to board airplanes or enter federal buildings, among other things.” In other words, it has become more difficult for illegal aliens to acquire driver’s licenses in the United States in the past few years. They
must make their trips by walking or riding a bicycle. When you consider the vast number of illegals in this country, it certainly enhances the statistic, but I doubt those people are riding bikes for the joy of it on weekends. Then let’s consider where the $1.2 billion in funding came from. When a vehicle pulls up to a gas station, the driver gets out and pumps gas, paying for the privilege of driving on safe, quality roads with a user fee built into the gas price. She isn’t riding a bike. Why should she pay for a bicycle trail on the other side of town? The “gas tax” is a true user fee. By asking drivers to pay for services they don’t use, government dictators are changing the nature of the law the voters let them put in place. I like the idea of healthy, fit Americans enjoying their Saturday bike rides next to a mix of families playing in the park. I just don’t think I should pay for that rare scene when I pull up to the gas pump. I believe my user fee dollars that go into the Federal Highway Fund should pay for highways (especially asphalt ones) and bridges. The side projects should come from other funding sources and should be built along our safe, slower-speed thoroughfares. I’m not out to ban bicycles. I’m not out to ban walking. Far from it. I think both are excellent forms of exercise, and I’m willing to admit that I need better balance for the former. I am out to get the funding for bicycle and pedestrian paths in its own arena. Perhaps bicycling was once a valid form of transportation. In this day and age when China is installing buses that literally bridge slower-moving traffic, Japan will celebrate the opening of a 300-mph rail line next spring, and the Panama Canal is allowing bigger ships and larger cargo loads to our ports, does this superpower really want to fund walking and bicycle trails with its highway money? No. No, we don’t. Stay Safe,
Sandy Lender *The forum at www.bicyclegroup.com, reported to be an organized group of professionals who lobby for bicyclists’ rights, has 399 registered international users, with a peak usage of 68 members on June 22 of this year. ASPHALT PRO 31
Hot Topic: Transportation Funding
Tiger I, Tiger II Primer by AsphaltPro Staff
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here’s an extra acronym that asphalt producers and contractors need to understand these days. You’ve heard it at state meetings and you may have seen it in recent bids. Here’s a primer on the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) and TIGER II Discretionary Grant Programs. TIGER goes hand in hand with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), serving as a catalyst for high-dollar, multi-partner projects. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) reported “The TIGER Discretionary Grant Program was included in the Recovery Act to spur a national competition for innovative, multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional transportation projects that promise significant economic and environmental benefits to an entire metropolitan area, a region or the nation.”
The DOT put $1.5 billion up for grabs, and more than 1,400 applications came in seeking the funds. According to the DOT, that equaled $60 billion worth of projects. AsphaltPro staff categorized the projects that garnered TIGER Discretionary Grants in the table above. Not every project’s title was transparent. For instance, the Revere Transit Facility & Streetscape in Revere, Mass., has the following project benefits listed: “For decades, auto traffic has overshadowed alternative modes of transit in Revere, in large part due to parking lot sprawl. The Blue Line and Route 1A currently impede direct access for pedestrians and bicyclists and degrade transit connections. This project will provide transitoriented improvements that enhance livability and travel choices...” The word “Streetscape” in the project title may give the impression that streets are given consideration and attention in the project, when in fact free movement of independent drivers appears to be a nuisance. The project has a total cost of $122,585,262 and will receive a TIGER grant of $20 million. Another street project, to take place in Dubuque, Iowa, is titled “Millwork District Multimodal Improvements,” but will focus its $6.2 million price tag on designing “streets that are attractive, convenient and safe for a broad range of users, including drivers, public transit, pedestrians, bicyclists, people without access to automobiles, children, and people with disabilities.” While a laudable goal, it makes categorizing the project 32 October 2010
a little fuzzy. For this article, we’ll place the $5.6 million TIGER grant in the Streets, Highways & Bridges column. A variety of projects for the Streets, Highways & Bridges category included building bicycle lanes and pedestrian pathways. Six of the twenty projects, including an intermodal bridge, called for bike paths. One $10 million grant specified sidewalks instead of bike paths were to be built along U.S. 18. A project in Portland will reconstruct and rehabilitate existing streets, but also includes tracks for streetcars, lanes for bicycles and paths for pedestrians. These are all green options for healthy citizens, but make it difficult to break down costs for exact reporting. Once again, we’ve placed the $23,203,988 grant in the Streets, Highways & Bridges category. Despite the bias toward Mass Transit/Rail & Port-related projects in the TIGER Discretionary Grant funding from this spring, there’s opportunity for agencies and owners to work on highway and bridge infrastructure yet. Not only do bridges and highways share in the nearly $386.5 million granted earlier this year, TIGER II is under way. Back in June, the DOT filed a notice of funding availability for the DOT’s national infrastructure investments under the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for 2010. The FY2010 Appropriations Act is similar enough to the TIGER program that DOT officials are referring to the grants that will be awarded for national infrastructure investments as TIGER II Discretionary Grants. First, agencies/owners had to turn in their pre-applications for projects, such as the Crescent Corridor, that would have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area or a region by 5 p.m. July 16. The $2.5 billion Crescent Corridor public-private partnership project involves adding freight-rail capacity in Virginia and Mississippi; intermodal facilities in Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee and Pennsylvania; track speed enhancers; and expansions to a couple of terminals along the South to Northeast double-stacked route. Then the final applications had to be in by 5 p.m. Aug. 23. DOT announced the grants Sept. 15, just after this publication went to press. To see updates on the TIGER II Discretionary Grants, visit www.dot.gov/ recovery/ost/TIGERII. While the success of projects with multiple parameters—such as including bicycle paths and sidewalks along busy routes—is inherent in the system, asphalt producers and contractors can view the results to see what street, highway and bridge projects may be coming up for bid in their neck of the woods based on new, partial funding. Don’t forget to check out the projects with ports and multi-modal centers that require sustainable entries and parking areas. The TIGER II Discretionary Grant Program gives the asphalt industry another opportunity to put a permanent, sustainable pavement in place, whether it’s for a multi-regional highway or a simple bike path.
Surface Transportation Idea Puts $50 Billion Up Front from American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
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resident Barack Obama laid out a plan during a Labor Day address in Milwaukee to jumpstart job creation with a $50 billion investment in infrastructure that would be added to the first of a six-year surface transportation reauthorization bill. While he did not cite a specific dollar figure for transportation investment in his remarks, the White House issued a three-page briefing paper containing $50 billion as the targeted upfront investment level. That amount presumably would be in addition to already planned spending for federal Fiscal Year 2011, which began Oct. 1. The House of Representatives approved a transportation spending bill July 29 that contains about $45 billion for the Federal Highway Administration, $11 billion for the Federal Transit Administration, and $3 billion for high-speed and intercity passenger rail grants to Amtrak and states. The Senate has yet to act on the measure. For the first time, the president spoke about areas he wants to see emphasized in the next six-year surface transportation reauthorization bill: creating a national infrastructure bank; continuing to support states’ development of high-speed rail; consolidating programs; and promoting competition and innovation in federal transportation grants. The White House fact sheet also notes a priority of expanding investments in safety, environmental sustainability, economic combativeness and livability. The plan’s timeline is not clear. The administration has maintained a position since June 2009 that it favors postponing surface transportation reauthorization until Spring 2011. Obama did not cite a target date for signing a reauthorization bill during his Labor Day speech nor does the White House fact sheet contain any mention of a timeframe. Obama also did not mention a desired price tag for a six-year reauthorization bill, which House leaders have pursued at around $500 billion. The president instead laid out some general principles. “We’re going to continue our strategy to build a national high-speed rail network that reduces congestion and travel times and reduces harmful emissions,” Obama said. “We want to cut waste and bureaucracy and consolidate and collapse more than 100 different programs that too often duplicate each other.” The fact sheet contains more details about Obama’s wish to create a national infrastructure bank. The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee announced it will hold a Sept. 21 hearing on Obama’s infrastructure bank concept. Obama said his $50 billion upfront investment in transportation projects would be fully paid for, but he did not mention increasing the federal tax on gasoline and diesel fuel in his remarks. During a media briefing prior to the speech, administration officials told reporters they propose paying for the transportation spending by asking Congress to close tax breaks for oil and gas companies as well as multinational corporations, The Associated Press reported. In response to the speech, industry leaders stated they are pleased to see Obama’s call for greater transportation investment, but they need to see more facts to understand exactly what the administration is proposing. Among the details up in the air is whether the administration will push for the $50 billion investment as part of the six-year surface transportation reauthorization measure or first as a single bill that would cover only a year and later be followed by a five-year authorization. Motor club AAA said the president’s plan is unlikely to go anywhere until it comes with a gas-tax increase to pay for it. “There is no ‘free money’ with which to fulfill our nation’s infrastructure needs,” AAA President and CEO Bob Darbelnet said. “That’s why AAA has not taken any funding option off the table—including an increase in the federal gasoline tax—in order to pay for a reformed federal program.”
Start Up Funding by AsphaltPro Staff
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fficials at the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) encourage you to contact your representatives and request they sign the Start Us Up USA! Infrastructure Campaign Pledge. November’s midterm elections are right around the corner. Do your current and potential representatives know how important highway funding is to their constituency? The Infrastructure Campaign Pledge, launched in August, offers candidates and sitting Congressmen a chance to commit to supporting what AED and AEM officers call “robust federal investment in surface transportation and water infrastructure programs.” According to the campaign’s website at www.startusupusa.com, by signing the Start Us Up USA! Infrastructure Campaign Pledge, candidates and incumbents agree, commit and believe. 1) They agree that investing in our nation’s deteriorating infrastructure is a top priority. 2) They commit to supporting robust federal investment in surface transportation and water infrastructure programs to create jobs, spur economic growth, ensure the country’s global competitiveness, protect public safety and the environment, and create a better quality of life for all Americans. 3) They believe infrastructure investment should be done in a transparent and fiscally responsible manner and the current user-fee system must be improved to ensure an adequate and sustainable revenue stream for transportation programs. As candidates and incumbents sign the pledge, the administrator adds their names to the 2010 Start Us Up USA! Infrastructure Campaign Pledge Signatories list on the website, but is careful to point out that listing them doesn’t imply an endorsement. While there haven’t been any recent events listed on the site, at press time, visitors can view past events and testimonials and read past posts about funding issues on the blog. The overall Start Us Up USA! campaign is a joint effort between AED and AEM to urge Congress and the President to make surface transportation and water infrastructure investment a priority. Asphalt industry members can get more information, and check on the impact of the construction industry’s current depression to their states, at www.startupusa.com/campaign_pledge.cfm. ASPHALT PRO 33
Tennessee crew
Takes Asphalt to the Rescue by Sandy Lender
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f a maintenance project calls for more than 1,000 tons of asphalt material in Tennessee, the Department of Transportation (TDOT) will typically let the project out for bid, according to Community Relations Officer Nichole Lawrence. But anyone watching the news back in May knows there were some special situations developing for the DOT and contractors in and around the Nashville area. If you had an interest anywhere along the Cumberland River during or after the weekend of May 1 and 2, you had an eye on the weather. The sad news is the Cumberland crested that Monday evening at 51.86 feet, which is 11.9 feet above normal. Two days of torrential rain that totaled 13.53 inches left a variety of sources calling the weather event “Biblical.” The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened dams to manage the water, but Wolf Creek Dam in Burkeville, Ky., didn’t open. It overflowed. When water washed over the immense structure (see sidebar), the trickle-down effect that news sources warned residents about took its toll on State Route 425. The creeks fed into the lakes and rivers, including Haberth, Stones and the Cumberland. When the dams meant to hold the creeks, lakes and rivers in check couldn’t keep the water back, homes and lives downstream were in danger. “During the May 1-2, 2010, floods, the Wolf Creek overflowed and caused an entire lane to wash away. This was about a half mile in length,” Lawrence explained. Once the rains stopped, waters receded and ground began to dry, it was time to make repairs. The DOT had crews on hand for that. “In June 2010, TDOT crews were in Gibson County on State Route 425 to repair the roadway from the flood damage in May,” Lawrence said. “The average daily traffic for State Route 425 is 850 to 900. There is a middle school on this road, so the repairs were being made before school started as so not to affect the school and bus traffic.” Fixing a washed-out road starts with the base. “The crew dug about 12 to 14 feet deep and about 2,000 feet in length,” she confirmed. “They filled with approximately 1,000 tons of rip rap, then 8 to 10 inches of grade D of lime stone. They began with a good sub base before filling back in.” As mentioned above, TDOT will let maintenance projects that are more than 1,000 tons in materials, but the crew typically handles the smaller maintenance projects and, as Lawrence explained, was readily available for this one. 34 October 2010
ABOVE: The Tennessee DOT crew was on hand to repair a washed-out lane of SR425 with their 10-foot, rubber-tired Roadtec paver. Although the RB190 is a highway-class paver with a CAT® engine (7.2 L, 6 cylinder, 225 horsepower, diesel at 1,800 rpm), the DOT typically performs maintenance projects that are under 1,000 tons and lets the larger projects to bid. The RB190 has a 12-ton capacity hopper with hydraulically movable wings. It features independently driven, variable-speed feeder conveyors with 3/8-inch-thick 400 BHN liners.
The DOT owns two pavers for such projects, one an Ingersoll-Rand; the other a Roadtec RB190, which they used on SR 425. Doug Gilbert is the paver operator who reported there were no unexpected challenges on the SR 425 maintenance job. His team placed a 3 ½-inch base course of binder mix and a 2-inch surface course of State D mix. The department purchased all the materials they needed for the job from Martin Paving Co., Inc., Medina, Tenn., which has been a Better Business Bureau Accredited Business since March 2008. In fact, the company has an A+ rating from the BBB. The company’s website proudly states that it was established in 1985 and performs asphalt work “from driveways to highways.” Nashville and the surrounding areas still clean and repair from the early May damage, but fast and competent crews with quality asphalt materials and machines make the infrastructure fixes positive stories to tell.
Wolf Creek Dam The dam is one of several structures that holds back the Cumberland River in Southern Kentucky. Here are some quick facts about the dam gathered from a variety of sources. • It’s operated and maintained by the Nashville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). • It provides more than area flood control: it also provides hydropower, water supply and recreation. (Lake Cumberland is reported to be the Corps’ largest reservoir east of the Mississippi River.) • It took workers nine years to build the dam in the 1940s. • It’s 5,735 feet long. • Its barrier wall has a total surface area of about 1 million square feet. • When USACE crews begin or suspend maintenance and repair work on the dam, greater Tennessee and Nashville area real estate agents take an interest, posting updates on their websites as diligently as news agencies do!
PRODUCER PROFILE Scalia Brothers Extends
Crushing Equipment, Season by Carl Emigh
LEFT: Grasan screening plant in operation since 1974. ABOVE: The Scalia Brothers team mounted the Grasan portable jaw crusher plant, which has been in operation since 1988, on a pad for stationary operation, and removed the wheels for ease of maintenance.
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rank and Anthony Scalia founded Scalia Brothers Sand & Gravel, Bristol, Conn., in 1948 on a 15-acre site on Terryville Road. Today the company’s several sites total 90 acres, with more in the offing. All the crushing is still done at the Terryville Road facility with a crushing, screening and conveying system based largely on decades-old Grasan equipment, and virtually all of the crushed material is granite. True to this month’s theme of extending the season, Scalia Brothers keeps the Terryville Road location operating all year ’round, as the weather permits. “Yes, we’re a small company, and our lifeblood depends on older—some people would call them ancient—pieces of equipment that we have kept in excellent running condition over a period of many years,” said General Manager Gabriel Russo. They’ve not just extended each season, they’ve extended the life of each piece of equipment with sound maintenance practices. “Some of the oldest pieces we have are a Grasan crushing plant with a Hewitt Robins 3042 jaw purchased new in 1988, a Grasan screening plant with a SECO screen purchased new in 1974, and a series of Grasan conveyors and stackers purchased new in the 1970s and ’80s. We have never had a major breakdown with our Grasan equipment. We’ve rebuilt the jaw plant electric motor once or twice. That’s about it. “The jaw crusher was purchased as a portable plant. Some years ago we started using it on a stationary basis,” Russo continued. “Based on the way the jaw crusher plant is performing and how well it’s holding up, I fully expect it to last another 15 years or so. “Incidentally this is and always has been a family company,” Russo said. “My mother-in-law, Mrs. Frank (Ann) Scalia is the owner and is involved in company management. I think there is an advantage for our customers in dealing with a family-run operation. Nobody works as hard as the owners of a company—especially a small company—and nobody tries harder to please the customers. It’s a matter of pride, reputation and our life’s blood. “We’ve had offers over the years to buy us out, including recently. But we’ve always declined. We like this business; we know this business; and this business knows us.” The type of crushed granite materials Scalia Brothers produces includes 3-inch bank run gravel (sub base), 1¼-inch process gravel (usually used on top of sub base), ¾-inch stone, ½-inch stone, and stone dust (used primarily by landscapers with pavers for patios and similar applications). Other products include screen sand, pipe bedding sand and screen topsoil. In addition, Scalia Brothers accumulates trucked-in asphalt rubble until there is enough to have an outside contract company come in and crush it for use as recycled asphalt pavement (RAP). 36 October 2010
Scalia Brothers General Manager Gabriel Russo
“We’ve had offers over the years to buy us out, including recently. But we’ve always declined. We like this business; we know this business; and this business knows us.”
The six trucks in the Scalia fleet include this Kenworth.
As part of their extended season work, the trucks are used also to deliver “ice control sand” to municipalities for use in a salt/sand mix for ice control on roads. This used to be a bigger business, Russo reported, but Connecticut has gone to using salt instead of sand.
Scalia’s fleet of trucks brings in materials from their other sites to be stockpiled and crushed at the Terryville Road facility. Area excavation and building contractors bring in additional materials. They have six trucks in their fleet, including Kenworth, Peterbilt, GMC and Mack. Russo reported that all have given them dependable service, but, in the near future they will need to switch to just one manufacturer to standardize service, parts, etc. Russo didn’t speculate on which brand they will choose, except to say that it will be the one that has had the lowest maintenance costs. The trucks are used primarily to bring in materials to their Terryville Road yard for crushing, as well as to deliver crushed materials to customers. As part of their extended season work, the trucks are used also to deliver “ice control sand” to municipalities for use in a salt/sand mix for ice control on roads. This used to be a bigger business, Russo reported, but Connecticut has gone to using salt instead of sand. There are still some municipalities that use a salt/sand mix. Scalia Brothers sells products to road builders, building contractors and others. Currently the company supplies road base for a major highway project, with some of it delivered to the site by Scalia trucks and some picked up by the customer. “We don’t have a dedicated maintenance staff; we have a small, do-everything staff, including me,” Russo said. “Maintenance performed on our equipment is fairly simple. We go by the manufacturer’s recommendations. We lubricate as needed and keep all the hydraulic and other oils and filters changed regularly. When the jaw dies wear down to about ½ inch at the bottom end, we invert them 180 degrees, and replace them when the bottom—formerly the top— is down to ½ inch. I can’t tell you how many million tons of granite we’ve run through our Grasan jaw and screen plants over the years; but it’s been a lot, and the equipment has held up beautifully.” Carl Emigh is a writer for Grasan, Mansfield, Ohio. For more information, contact Grasan at (419) 526-4440 or grasan@grasan.com, or visit www.grasan.com. ASPHALT PRO 37
EQUIPMENT gallery Gilson’s Permeameter Tests Pavement without Destruction
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o make sure in-place air voids fall within the normally accepted range of 3 and 8 percent, asphalt pavements require adequate compaction. Research shows that dense-graded pavements with low air voids exhibit problems with rutting and shoving; pavements with high air voids have an increased potential for water damage, oxidation, cracking and raveling. Thus testing during construction becomes vital to measure pavement success. While compacting the mat, the pavement’s air void level is typically estimated from field density testing. In many cases, in-place field density tests are verified by extracting asphalt cores from the compacted pavement and testing the cores in the lab. However, researchers believe that measuring density or air voids alone may not provide a complete picture of the asphalt pavement’s structure. They suggested an in-situ asphalt permeability test in part because of the good relationship between asphalt permeability and pavement density (or measured air voids). Determining the permeability of the pavement and air voids together provides a much clearer picture of the complete asphalt pavement’s structure in part because permeability is dependent on more than just the total volume of air voids in the pavement. It’s also dependent on the size and interconnectivity of the air voids themselves. Some factors that contribute to the interconnectivity and size of the air voids include nominal maximum aggregate size, particle size distribution, particle shape, pavement lift thickness and density. The AP-1B is based on a design and test protocol for in-situ testing of asphalt permeability developed by the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT). The four tiered, AP-1B clear plastic Asphalt Permeameter from Gilson Company, Inc., Lewis Center, Ohio, is now available to provide a straightforward method for determining the in-situ permeability of a pavement surface. The in-situ asphalt permeability test is based on the falling head principle of coarse grained soil permeability, using Darcy’s law* to calculate the permeability, or rate of flow. The estimation of water permeability is based upon several assumptions: (a) the sample thickness is equal to the asphalt layer thickness; (b) the area of the tested sample is equal to the area corresponding to the diameter of the largest tier in contact with the pavement surface (from which water is allowed to penetrate the pavement); and (c) there is one-dimensional flow of water into the pavement. The operator measures the rate of fall of the water level in the permeameter over a defined period of time. The length of time to perform the test is determined by the rate of flow through the pavement, but normally the test is completed, start-to-finish, in 10 to 15 minutes. To begin, a technician selects an area of approximately one square foot of unsealed asphalt mat of known thickness and brushes it clean of any loose material or debris. The technician inverts the bottom section of the permeameter base and applies a moldable sealant to the underside of the base. She places the bottom section on the asphalt mat and uses gentle foot pressure to temporarily attach and seal the permeameter
40 October 2010
ABOVE: The technician puts sealant around the base of the top section of the permeameter. LEFT: The tube running down the middle of this permeameter is designed to prevent bubbles from forming inside the device during filling. RIGHT: With weights and funnel in place, the permeameter is ready for the technician to fill it with water.
K = (aL / At) ln(h1 / h2) Where: a = inside cross-sectional area of standpipe, cm2 (varies depending on which tier is used for taking measurements for h1 and h2; see below for values) L = thickness of the asphalt mat (measured in cm). A = cross-sectional area of permeameter through which water can penetrate the pavement (test area) = 214 cm2 ln = Natural Logarithm Area values of “a” vary for each tier: Tier 1 (top) = area “a” = 2.85 cm2 Tier 2*2 = area “a” = 15.52 cm2 Tier 3 = area “a” = 38.32 cm2 Tier 4 (bottom) = area “a” = 167.53 cm2 * Darcy’s Law: Q = KIA (where Q = discharge; K = hydraulic conductivity; I = hydraulic gradient; and A = area of flow) Used to determine the ability of a particular material to allow water to pass through it (Source: Environmental Geology) *2This value also applies to the 1 3/4-inch (44.5-mm) id alternate top section if that is used for the more open graded or porous mixes.
to the asphalt pavement. She then affixes the top section to the bottom section with the same sealant. She places four 5-pound (2.3-kg) weights on the base section to counteract the head pressure developed when the permeameter is filled with water. To fill, the technician inserts a funnel in the top section of the assembled permeameter and slowly and steadily adds water, attempting to minimize the introduction of air bubbles. Once the permeameter is filled, she checks for leaks; assuming there are none, she proceeds with testing. Coarse or open graded asphalt mixes will take less time and will normally require the technician use the larger diameter tiers to determine volume of flow through the pavement, while fine graded mixes will take more time and the top, smaller diameter tiers can be used to measure the volume of flow. Ultimately, the testing time should be long enough that there is a measurable and steady rate of water-level-drop in the permeameter. The technician records the initial water level (h1, in centimeters) and start time at the beginning of the test, and a final water level (h2, in cm) and elapsed time (t) at the conclusion of the test. The elapsed time and total water volume (ln(h1/h2)) are used to calculate and report the coefficient of permeability (K), as seen in the equation on page 40.
ADM’s Warm Mix System
Asphalt Drum Mixers, Inc. (ADM), Huntertown, Ind., has added a warm-mix asphalt (WMA) system to its product line. The system delivers more versatility to the company’s various hot mix asphalt (HMA) plants. The plants now have the capability to introduce water or WMA additives into liquid asphalt entering production, thereby facilitating the lowering of temperatures to warm-mix ranges. The WMA system is also designed to work with other OEM plants. For information about ADM’s WMA system, contact ADM at 260-637-5729 or visit www.admasphaltplants.com.
Major Wire’s Double-Weave
Double-Weave™ woven wire from Major Wire Industries Ltd., Montreal, is constructed of two, sideby-side, lighter-gauge wires for optimum asphalt, concrete and demolition debris recycling. Woven with two smallerdiameter wires, Double-Weave screen media has lower wear points than larger, singlestrand wire; one wire helps preserve the life of the other as it wears. The manufacturer states that the combined tensile strength of the two finergauge wires withstands up to four times greater impact providing up to 40 percent greater wear life than that of one heavy-gauge wire, making Double-Weave ideal for top decks on recycle screens. Compared to perforated punch plate, Double-Weave has more open area, which increases throughput up to 50 percent. Recycle contractors can choose opening sizes from 1.25 inches (31.8 mm) to 5 inches (127 mm) and wire diameters from 0.243 inches (6.2 mm) to 0.5 inches (12.7 mm) for heavy-, medium- and light-duty screening.
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EQUIPMENT gallery Double-Weave is manufactured with Major Wire’s abrasion-resistant OptimumWire® high carbon and high manganese content wire, which is designed to offer ductility, hardness and tensile strength for optimum concrete and demolition debris recycling applications. It is also available in stainless steel, which helps eliminate blinding when screening recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) material. For more information on the Double-Weave woven wire, contact Major Wire at (450) 659-7681 or visit www.majorwire.cc.
Browning’s V-Belt Calculator App
Emerson Industrial Automation, St. Louis, Mo., a business of Emerson (NYSE: EMR), released in July the Browning® V-Belt Efficiency Calculator iPhone® Application. The application is designed to provide users with an improved mobile offering of Browning’s online V-Belt Efficiency Calculator, which allows users to calculate projected energy savings when upgrading from a wrapped V-Belt to a notched V-Belt. By entering key usage data points including geographic location, motor horsepower and days/hours per week, users have the ability to calculate energy savings on-site using the iPhone application. The V-Belt Efficiency Calculator iPhone Application also has a payback calculation feature that gives users the ability to estimate the amount of their return on investment or days to payback. The app is available for download on the iPhone and iPod touch® mobile digital devices at no charge through Apple’s iTunes store by searching for “Browning V-belt.” Users may also find the direct link to the application on Browning’s Facebook page. This application is functional in all of North America. For more information on the Browning V-Belt calculator or Browning belts, visit emerson-ept.com.
ECCO’s 6260 LED Beacon Redesign
With a new design, the 6260 LED beacon from ECCO, Boise, Idaho, features a lower profile lens measuring 4.9 inches high, three 3-watt LEDs and Pulse8 flash operation, which offers eight flashes per cycle or 70 fpm. The unit has a wide operating range of 12 to 80 volts and is available in amber with a choice of 2-bolt or ½-inch pipe mount. It comes with a five-year warranty. For more information, contact ECCO customer service at (800) 635-5900 or visit www.eccolink.com.
PHCo’s Electric Heaters
The Lo-Density® rigid tubular electric heaters from Process Heating Co., Seattle, are designed to provide heat to the cone of asphalt storage silos while eliminating hot spots and coking. The lo-density heat
42 October 2010
technology is designed to dissipate heat evenly over surface areas that are large enough to keep heater sheath temperatures low and to avoid damage to temperature-sensitive products. The heaters are mounted around the cone of the silo with a heater access cover and wiring box for accessibility on the outside of the silo. The heater tubes are then protected by a sheet metal cover and a layer of insulation. Silo gates are heated with durable metallic strip heaters. Multiple heater lengths spread the heat evenly across the cone. For drag heat, the 2-inch (50-mm) tubes are attached to the drag. The system is designed to accommodate any length of drag. The tubes include heater tubes of 2-inch (50-mm) schedule 40 black iron pipe, heavy nickel-chromium alloy coils, which are supported by ceramic insulators; and weather-proof terminal boxes. The heart of the electric heater is the three parallel heater coils that fill the length of the tube (shown here). The elements are covered by a 5-year replacement warranty. For more information about PHCo’s electric heaters, contact Rick Jay at (206) 682-3414 or visit www.processheating.com.
Did You Know? Drunk driving has increased around your work zones.
New numbers from a survey the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released in August show that as many as 8 percent of all drivers were drunk behind the wheel in 2008. More than 17 million drivers admitted to driving while intoxicated and the youngest respondents (16- to 20-year-olds) admitted to having as many as six drinks before getting behind the wheel. Contractors already know they see drowsy, drunk drivers during nighttime paving, but the survey confirmed the most dangerous time to be on the road is between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. The safest times for work zone set-up are Monday through Friday in the afternoon. Source: NHTSA
here's how it works
W.S. Tyler’s Hydro-Clean Washer
P
roducers in the mineral processing industry looking for an aggregate washing unit that uses less energy and water resources than machines of the past can turn to the Hydro-CleanTM from W.S. Tyler, St. Catharines, Ontario. This unit is designed to clean deleterious material from aggregate and industrial minerals at up to 400 tons per hour (depending on model size) while reducing water consumption by up to 75 percent over traditional washing technology. Here’s how it works: First, a conveyor belt continuously feeds material of a maximum size of 6 inches into the feed hopper. Small water jets mounted on the side walls of the hopper create a low pressure downstream current, which helps 46 October 2010
the material flow into the washing chamber. A laser level indicator constantly monitors the height of the material in the hopper and provides exact data to the PLC unit, which regulates the material flow accordingly. From the hopper, the material falls over a run-in floor into the washing chamber and forms a column of material. The HydroClean employs high-pressure nozzles on a washing head rotating at 90 rpm, to spray up to 90 percent recycled water on the material with pressures up to 2,900 psi (200 bars). The washing rotor and spray nozzle combination is located within the top third of the cylinder, and the nozzles are angled into the direction of rotation of the rotor, so that the water creates a shoveling effect spreading the material. Friction and shear
forces are generated to assist the cleaning process. The liberated fines material and process water are discharged through openings in the polyurethane panels lining the washing chamber. A waste water pipe located behind the chamber collects them in a chute beneath a variable speed discharge conveyor and the coarser washed material flows onto the discharge conveyor. All material is then sent to a washing screen for classification, and finally the dis-agglomerated contaminant material is rinsed off. For more information about the Hydro-Clean washing unit, contact W.S. Tyler at (800) 325-5993 or visit www.wstyler.ca.
the last cut EPA Proposes Change for Used Oil by AsphaltPro Staff
E
arly in 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM). Recently, the public comment period closed. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) proposed rule looks at non-hazardous secondary materials to be burned in combustion units and determines which are solid and which are not. Under the proposed rule, if a producer burns non-hazardous secondary material that is considered a solid waste, it will be regulated under section 129 CAA requirements. If the producer burns non-hazardous secondary material that’s not considered a solid waste, he’s operating under section 112 CAA requirements.
Diesel Fuel Retail Price (per gallon) Jul 19 2.899
Not all materials have already been classified. The proposal looks at scrap tire, on-spec and off-spec used oil, foundry sand and more. Asphalt producers have a vested interest in these classifications because when a material, such as recycled fuel oil, is classified as solid waste, the burner that incinerates it will have to meet emissions standards for “solid waste incineration units” issued under section 129 of the CAA. Tisha Petteway, press officer for the U.S. EPA, told us that the definition of what’s solid and what’s not is already in the proposed rule. “The June 4, 2010, rule includes the current proposed criteria for identifying what non-hazardous secondary materials are, or are not,
Liquid Asphalt Cement Prices Company, State
Jun 1, ’10 Avg/ton
Jul 1, ’10 Avg/ton
Aug 1, ’10 Avg/ton
Jul 26
2.919
Aug 2
2.928
ConocoPhillips, Tenn.
$480.00
$467.50
$450.00
Aug 9
2.991
NuStar Energy, Ga.
485.00
485.00
460.00
Aug 16
2.979
NuStar Energy, N.C.
485.00
485.00
460.00
Aug 23
2.957
NuStar Energy, S.C.
485.00
485.00
465.00
NuStar Energy, Va.
485.00
475.00
460.00
Associated Asphalt Inman, N.C.
490.00
480.00
465.00
Source: Energy Information Administration
Associated Asphalt Inman, S.C.
490.00
480.00
465.00
Associated Asphalt Inman, Va.
490.00
480.00
465.00
Marathon Petroleum, Tenn.
490.00
470.00
450.00
Marathon Petroleum, N.C.
480.00
470.00
445.00
Valero Petroleum, Va.
495.00
485.00
485.00
Massachusetts Average
532.50
505.00
495.00
California Average
360.80
372.30
417.20
Missouri Average
496.25
482.50
461.25
Data for Southeast region, Source: ncdot.org; Data for Massachusetts, Source: mass.gov Data for California, Source: dot.ca.gov; Data for Missouri, Source: modot.mo.gov Oil Price Report—July, August 2010 Jul 21, ’10
Mid Jul ’09
Jul 30, ’10
Late Jul ’09
Aug 13, ’10
Mid Aug ’09
Crude Oil (WTI)
$75.96/bbl
$84.76/bbl
$78.85/bbl
$69.26/bbl
$75.39/bbl
$67.51/bbl
Spot Price Gasoline (NY)
1.972/gal
1.720/gal
2.061/gal
1.967/gal
1.877/gal
1.867/gal
Spot Price Diesel Fuel (NY)
2.040/gal
1.661/gal
2.098/gal
1.838/gal
1.999/gal
1.859/gal
Spot Price Heating Oil (NY)
1.983/gal
1.619/gal
2.038/gal
1.793/gal
1.961/gal
1.818/gal
Spot Price Propane (GC)
0.990/gal
0.760/gal
1.083/gal
0.815/gal
103.9/gal
0.904/gal
Data for Oil Price Report July and August 2010 and 2009, Source: Energy Information Administration 48 October 2010
solid wastes when used as fuels or ingredients in combustion units,” she reported. According to the EPA website, if passed, the proposal will see more materials regulated by 129 CAA requirements. The site lists the following nonhazardous secondary materials as not a solid waste under the proposal: • Material used as a fuel that remains within the control of the generator (whether at the site of generation or another site the generator has control over) and it meets the legitimacy criteria; • Material used as an ingredient in a manufacturing process (whether by the generator or a third party) that meets the legitimacy criteria; • Material that has been sufficiently processed to produce a fuel or ingredient product that meets the legitimacy criteria; and
The proposal looks at scrap tire, on-spec and off-spec used oil, foundry sand and more. • Material that has been determined through a case-by-case petition process to not have been discarded and to be indistinguishable in all relevant aspects from a fuel product. The EPA is also considering rendering discarded non-hazardous secondary materials into fuel or ingredient products. Petteway reported that “The final rule is under development based on comments from the public hearings and written comments received during public comment period. The current schedule calls for the final rule to be signed by the Administrator by Dec. 16, 2010.” More information is available at regulations.com, EPA document HQ-RCRA-2008-0329-0534. Interested parties can also contact George Faison, in the Program Implementation and Information Division, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, Washington, at faison.george@epa.gov. In the meantime, asphalt producers around the country saw a slight dip in liquid asphalt cement prices per ton back in August and September. It appeared that California was the only state that didn’t get the “lower your price” memo before we went to press. Thanks to economic uncertainty, stockholders put their confidence in gold shares toward the end of August and the cost for a barrel of oil dropped a bit when the market found itself with a touch more
supply than demand. This gave asphalt purchasers a chance to catch their breath, even if only for a moment. Everyone in the Southeast is watching “the grid” where tropical depressions pick up warmth and wind speeds, which not only affect the weather, but also impact oil prices when they halt production on deep-water oil rigs. In other areas, retail diesel prices showed the typical summer rise, not just over previous weeks, but over last year’s figures as well.
resource directory ACE Group............................... 27 Contact: Carl McKenzie Tel: 888 878 0898 sales.enquiries@ashaltacesales.com
www.asphaltace.com AquaFoam LLC.......................... 7 Contact: Paul Schwan Tel: 513-874-0201 www.aquafoamllc.com Asphalt Drum Mixers ..................................... 10-11, 41 Contact: Steve Shawd or Jeff Dunne Tel: 260-637-5729 sales@admasphaltplants.com www.admasphaltplants.com B & S Light..........................28-29 Contact: Mike Young Tel: 918-342-1160 Sales@bslight.com www.bslight.com
Bullis Fabrication…................ 16 Contact: Greg Bullis Tel: 321-439-0349 gregbullis@bullisfabrication.com www.bullisfabrication.com CEI.............................................. 4 Contact: Andy Guth Tel: 800-545-4034 info@ceienterprises.com www.ceienterprises.com Clarence Richard..................... 37 Contact: Clarence Richard Tel: (800) 372-7731 www.clarencerichard.com ConExpo.................................. 44 Tel: (800) 867-6060 www.Retoolandwin/asphalt.com Eagle Crusher.......................... 15 Tel: 800-25-EAGLE Sales@eaglecrusher.com www.eaglecrusher.com
EZ Street.................................. 45 Tel: 800-734-1476 Info@ezstreet-miami.com www.ezstreetasphalt.com Hauck Manufacturing Company................................. 49 Contact: Michael Blantz Tel: 717-272-3051 mblantz@hauckburner.com www.hauckburner.com Heatec, Inc. ...................... Inside Front Cover Contact: Sharlene Burney Tel: 800-235-5200 sburney@heatec.com www.heatec.com Hotmix Parts/Stansteel.......... 21 Contact: Dawn Kochert Tel: 800-826-0223 dkochert@hotmixparts.com www.hotmixparts.com
AsphaltPro’s Resource Directory is designed for you to have quick access to the manufacturers that can get you the information you need to run your business efficiently.aPlease support the advertisers that support this magazine and tell them you saw them in AsphaltPro magazine.
Libra Systems.......................... 23 Contact: Ken Cardy Tel: 216-256-1700 Sales@librasystems.com www.hotmixparts.com
Rotochopper, Inc ....................... Inside Back Cover Tel: 320-548-3586 Info@rotochopper.com www.rotochopper.com
Maxam Equipment...........17, 47 Contact: Lonnie Greene Tel: 800-292-6070 lgreene@maxamequipment.com www.maxamequipment.com
Stansteel Asphalt Plant Products........................ 35 Contact: Tom McCune Tel: 800-826-0223 tmccune@stansteel.com www.stansteel.com
NAPA........................................ 38 2011 Annual Meeting www.hotmix.org Reliable Asphalt Products .................................. Back Cover Contact: Charles Grote Tel: 502-647-1782 cgrote@reliableasphalt.com www.reliableasphalt.com Roadtec...................................... 9 Contact: Sales Tel: 423-265-0600 Sales@roadtec.com www.roadtec.com
Systems Equipment................ 50 Contact: Dave Enyart Sr. Tel: 563-568-6387 Dlenyart@systemsequipment.com www.systemsequipment.com Tarmac International, Inc............. 39, 43 Contact: Ron Heap Tel 816-220-0700 info@tarmacinc.com www.tarmacinc.com
Baghouses
Heaters
In-Stock USED EQUIPMENT Reliable Asphalt Products stock more on-hand inventory than anyone in the industry.
Drag Slat Conveyors
Primary Collectors
Rotary Mixers
Check out these items!!!!! Reliable Asphalt Products, Inc., lists, buys and SELLS more used equipment than anyone else in the asphalt industry. Whether you are reducing inventory or trading up to better equipment, The Reliable Used Equipment Team can assist your every need. Our company’s personnel are experts in qualifying used equipment for market value and presenting it to thousands of potential buyers. If you’re looking to move your equipment fast and for a profit, call us. We can help!
Inc.
P.O. Box 519 Shelbyville, KY 40066 Call Us Toll Free 866.647.1782 Check out our other used equipment listings at www.reliableasphalt.com
Screen Decks