Asphalt Pro - August 2021

Aggregates Management and BMD

asphaltPRO PRODUCTION – PROFESSIONALS – PRODUCTS

Superior Asphalt Shares Tips for Contested Gravel Permits

CCUSA Update

• Pike Dynasty • Tilcon Barges In • MSHA’s Silica Rule • HWTT Results for BMD • Coffee County Balances Mix

AUGUST 2021 WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM

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CONTENTS

asphaltPRO August 2021

departments

30

Editor’s Letter

6 – The Weight of Water

SAFETY SPOTLIGHT

8 – North Dakota to Deploy Autonomous Attenuator Trucks

By Sarah Redohl

MIX IT UP

10 – How to Use the Hamburg Wheel Track Test for Balanced Mix Design

By Fan Yin

TRAINING

13 – How to Calculate Stockpile Density

By AsphaltPro Staff

PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE 14 – Coffee County Strikes a Smart Mix Balance

By Doug Carlson

PRODUCER PROFILE

18 – Colas USA Preps for Prime

By Sandy Lender

WOMEN OF ASPHALT

24

14

24 – Meet a Woman of Asphalt: All Suburbs Bitumen’s Gemma Forsythe

By Sandy Lender

INTERNATIONAL SNAPSHOT 28 – International Options From Terex MPS

34

PRODUCT GALLERY

52 – Track What You Pave

By AsphaltPro Staff

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS

56 – Kleemann’s Spective Control System

OFF THE MAT

58 – Get Ready for MSHA to Tackle Crystalline Silica

By Therese Dunphy

Feature articles 30 – Superior Offers Gravel Permit Tips

By Sandy Lender 34 – Tilcon Connecticut Barges Aggregate

By AsphaltPro Staff

NEW TECH

ONLINE UPDATE

46 – Kilian & Keeley Excel on Illinois Interstate Complete Closure

By Sarah Redohl

62 – AsphaltPro Online

asphaltPRO PRODUCTION – PROFESSIONALS – PRODUCTS

40 – How to Build a Paving Dynasty Pike Industries set the standard for quality paving in the Northeast from 1872 forward

By Sandy Lender

60 – EarthCam Delivers DOTS Visual Data

By Sarah Redohl

Aggregates Management and BMD

Superior Asphalt Shares Tips for Contested Gravel Permits

CCUSA Update

• Pike Dynasty • Tilcon Barges In • MSHA’s Silica Rule • HWTT Results for BMD • Coffee County Balances Mix

AUGUST 2021 WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM

on the cover Superior Asphalt Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan, opened its gravel pit after a three-year special use permit process. See related article on page 30. Photo courtesy of Superior Asphalt

editor’s Letter The Weight of Water

For this issue of AsphaltPro, we’re focusing on the largest portion by weight of the asphalt mix: aggregates. You’ll see there’s the requisite mention of stockpiles in the training department. Let me expand on the stockpile discussion here by reminding readers of the importance of keeping the stockpile as dry as possible.

Anyone in the asphalt industry will tell you water is the enemy. As of press time, water is being considered one of the bad actors in the horror that took place in Miami June 24.

Rain, water for dust-control, water for aggregate washing, and even water added for mix design purposes adds to drying time while subtracting from burner efficiency. While you want to keep dust down with “engineered” water droplets entrapping dust particles, you also want to keep fuel costs down with efficient drying times, temperatures and methods.

It’s a balancing act for more than fuel cost purposes. When your moisture levels fluctuate during production, your mix controls try to compensate by altering your liquid binder content. Read one way to fight that mess with the “Blackstone Measures Moisture” article at theasphaltpro.com.

All this leads to the notion of best stockpile management. You’ve heard some of this before, I’m sure. Pave under the stockpiles. Pave on a slope. Cover the stockpiles—when feasible—to protect them from the weather. Make sure loader operators consistently pull material from a few feet above the water line of the stockpile when feeding the plant. “Consistently” is the operative word there. Consistent moisture levels in the material hitting the drum will allow more consistent results from a consistent temperature, and so on.

Let’s take a closer look at the concept of paving the stockpile area on a slope.

The point is to direct stormwater runoff away from the base of the stockpiles. Make sure you plan this out to direct water where you want it to go. Personally, having a moat filled with piranha circling the perimeter sounds like a fabulous idea for preventing random visitors. But not everyone has the same violent streak I have. You may want to direct stormwater runoff to a man-made pond for migrating waterfowl, which is a better look for climate stewardship overall.

Luckily, we’re in the asphalt paving industry where designing a sloped pavement to direct stormwater runoff is second nature to our project engineers. We know how to do this for best, optimum, safest effect.

Combining your best stockpile management techniques will result in optimum clean air efficiencies and most reasonable costs. It’s the smart way to manage the weight of water.

Stay Safe,

Sandy Lender

August 2021 • Vol. 14 No.10

asphaltPRO

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

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

AsphaltPro is published 11 times per year.

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

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. For the international digital edition, visit theasphaltpro.com/subscribe/.

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Safety Spotlight

North Dakota to Deploy Autonomous Attenuator Trucks In 2019 there were 234 work zone related crashes on North Dakota highways, resulting in 64 injuries and two fatalities, according to the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT). That’s why NDDOT launched its autonomous impact protection vehicle program, which aims to protect construction crews from drivers on the road who may not be paying attention to the construction site or have lost control of their vehicle.

“Impact protection vehicles are typically human operated and are designed to protect road construction crews from distracted motorists in work zones,” said NDDOT Maintenance Coordinator Troy Gilbertson. “The problem is having humans in vehicles that are designed to be impacted by distracted drivers puts our operators in dangerous positions.”

Although it’s been several years since the last incident, there have been instances of motorists hitting crash attenuator trucks and snow plows in the past. “We’ve had employees talk about finding a safer job when they have had experiences like this,” Gilbertson said.

NDDOT first began its autonomous vehicle program in January 2020, when the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded NDDOT a $241,687 grant through its Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) program. Travis Lutman, with NDDOT’s maintenance office, applied for the grant to purchase the autonomous truck.

The autonomous attenuator truck wirelessly connects to a lead vehicle, which it will then follow while being monitored and controlled by an operator in the lead vehicle. “The system is designed to allow the autonomous truck to follow the lead vehicle at a distance which can be set by the lead vehicle,” Gilbertson said.

The spacing between the two units can vary depending on the needs of the job. “We set the distance between the vehicles so someone cannot sneak between, and have signage on the trucks identifying it as autonomous and warning motorists to stay clear,” Gilbertson said. The truck is programmed to safely come to a stop if anything comes between it and the lead vehicle.

The technology was developed by Kratos Defense in partnership with Royal Truck & Equipment, previously covered by AsphaltPro in 2015 (visit the article “This Truck Drives Itself” on theasphaltpro.com). The equipment was installed on one of NDDOT’s existing trucks in the fall of 2020 “During our 2021 construction season, we have been using the autonomous attenuator truck in work zones to provide increased safety to our workers in maintenance operations on roadways,” Gilbertson said. “To date, the equipment has worked very well for the NDDOT.” Earlier this year, the project was recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as one of 13 Infrastructure Gamechangers, each of which are infrastructure projects and programs representing the latest innovations in transportation, water and energy infrastructure.

Forty states are now represented by a Gamechanger, which must meet at least one of the following criteria: innovative technologies,

I

8 // AUGUST 2021

NDDOT’s autonomous attenuator truck wirelessly connects to a lead vehicle, which it will then follow while being monitored and controlled by an operator in the lead vehicle.

The technology behind the autonomous crash attenuator was developed

by Kratos Defense in partnership with Royal Truck & Equipment creative funding mechanisms, trend-setting standards, and unique collaborations between agencies or private firms.

“With resources stretched thin, finding solutions that can make the most of the tools afforded us can be a challenge, but is an essential component of improving the built environment,” said ASCE President Jean-Louis Briaud. “This year’s Gamechangers are a testament to the forward-thinking nature of the engineering community.”

Safety and advancing existing technology were the catalyst to begin the NDDOT’s project, Gilbertson said. “As the program is very new, we are constantly evaluating the benefits it brings to the NDDOT along with how well the equipment functions on our highways,” he added.

“This concept takes the operator out of the crash vehicle, increases safety and very possibly saves lives,” Gilbertson said. “The concept is new, but the benefits are huge and fairly obvious to contractors and road crews alike.”

– BY SARAH REDOHL

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mix it up

How to Use the Hamburg Wheel Track Test for Balanced Mix Design The Hamburg Wheel Tracking Test (HWTT) per AASHTO T 324 is widely used by asphalt researchers and pavement engineers to evaluate the rutting resistance and moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixes. According to a National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) survey of state highway agencies and the asphalt pavement industry, 14 states currently require the HWTT in their provisional or standard specs for asphalt mix design. Among these states, six use the HWTT as a pure rutting test while the rest use it as a combined rutting and moisture damage test. Additionally, there are seven states that have selected the HWTT as a performance test for balanced mix design (BMD) and are currently conducting research to benchmark existing mix designs or develop preliminary performance criteria for BMD pilot or shadow projects.

A typical HWTT rut depth curve consists of a post-compaction phase, a creep phase, and sometimes a stripping phase. Traditional HWTT parameters include total rut depth (TRD) at a certain number of wheel passes, creep slope (CS), stripping slope (SS), and stripping inflection point (SIP).

There is a consensus among the existing literature that TRD and CS are often used to evaluate the rutting resistance of asphalt mixes, while SS and SIP are mainly used for the assessment of moisture susceptibility.

Over the years, asphalt researchers have proposed alternative HWTT parameters to improve characterization of the rutting and moisture resistance of asphalt mixes. These alternative parameters include the corrected rut depth (CRD), rutting resistance index (RRI), and stripping number (SN). CRD

T

SIP represents the maximum number of wheel passes that the mix can resist in the HWTT before stripping occurs.

10 // AUGUST 2021

Use of Hamburg Wheel Track Test by State Highway Agencies in the United States represents the projected HWTT rut depth caused only by permanent deformation of the mix, which is isolated from the rut depth due to the stripping of asphalt binder from the aggregates. RRI is calculated based on the rut depth and number of wheel passes at completion of the test, which allows the direct comparison of HWTT results with different test termination points. A normalized RRI (NRRI) can also be used to account for different criteria dependent on binder grade.

SN, developed as an alternative moisture susceptibility parameter to SIP, is defined as the inflection point of the HWTT curve fitted with a three-parameter deformation model. It represents the maximum number of wheel passes that the mix can resist in the HWTT before stripping occurs.

Although most of the traditional and alternative parameters can identify asphalt mixes that are extremely susceptible to rutting and/ or moisture-related distresses, little information is available as to how they correlate to actual pavement field performance. In recognition of this limitation, researchers at NCAT and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) collaborated on a study where they compiled a HWTT database with test results of over 70 plant-produced mixes. These mixes were collected from 17 field projects eval-

uated in several NCHRP projects, an LTPP test section, and test sections on the NCAT Test Track. HWTT testing was conducted at NCAT and TTI laboratories over the last 10 years. The database was then analyzed to determine the correlation of various HWTT parameters to field performance data and to estimate the within-laboratory repeatability of HWTT rut depth measurements.

The correlation evaluation of HWTT rutting parameters was conducted using 17 mixes from the NCAT Test Track. The analysis results indicated that the RRI and CS parameters showed the best correlation to pavement rut depth measured after 10 million ESALs of heavy truck traffic (R 2 = 0.924 and 0.881, respectively), followed by CRD (R 2 = 0.586) and then TRD at 20,000 passes (R 2 = 0.283). The field correlation of HWTT moisture susceptibility parameters was evaluated based on a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, using all mixtures in the database. The ROC analysis, simply described, assesses the degree of correspondence between the HWTT results and field performance that is qualitatively categorized as either “with moisture distress” or “without moisture distress.”

The ROC analysis identified 9,000 and 2,000 passes as the best criterion for SIP

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mix it up and SN, respectively. However, these criteria should be used with caution because they were developed with a limited number of mixes with signs of moisture damage in the field and thus, warrant further verification with additional laboratory and field data.

Finally, the within-laboratory repeatability of HWTT rut depth measurements was determined largely in accordance with ASTM C670. The maximum allowable differences in rut depth measurements between two HWTT replicates (e.g., results of the left wheel versus right wheel from the same run, or results of the same wheel from two separate runs) were calculated to be 2.3, 3.9, 4.6, and 4.7 mm for TRD at 5,000, 10,000, 15,000, and 20,000 wheel passes, respectively. Therefore, it is recommended that the two sets of HWTT replicate results with a difference greater than these allowable differences should not be accepted.

In addition to these research findings of the NCAT/TTI study, another recommendation for consideration by states interested in

adopting HWTT for BMD is to use a standardized data analysis program (or software) for mix design approval and/or production acceptance. To ensure consistency between the contractor and agency results, specific instructions should be provided regarding the number and locations of deformation readings (along the track length) used for data analysis and the calculation of selected test parameters, among others.

A good example for reference is provided by the Iowa Department of Transportation in Matls IM 319 at iowadot.gov/erl/current/ IM/content/319.htm.

– BY FAN YIN

Fan Yin

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2020 NCAT eNewsletter and appears here with permission.

For more information, visit http://eng.auburn.edu/ research/centers/ncat/about/ index.html.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Details about the development of alternative HWTT parameters can be found in the following issues of Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board.

Yin, F., E. Arambula, R. Lytton, A. E. Martin, and L. G. Cucalon. Novel Method for Moisture Susceptibility and Rutting Evaluation Using Hamburg Wheel Tracking Test. No. 2446, 2014, pp. 1-7.

Wen, H. F., S. H. Wu, L. N. Mohammad, W. G. Zhang, S. H. Shen, and A. Faheem.

Long-Term Field Rutting and Moisture Susceptibility Performance of Warm Mix Asphalt Pavement. No. 2575, 2016, pp.

103-112.

Yin, F., C. Chen, R. West, A. E. Martin, and E. Arambula-Mercado. Determining the Relationship Among Hamburg WheelTracking Test Parameters and Correlation to Field Performance of Asphalt Pavements.

No. 2674(4), 2020, pp. 281-291.

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Training

How to Calculate Stockpile Density The team at Stockpile Reports uses a blend of knowledge and electronic platform to help aggregates managers measure the true size and volume of stockpiles.

As conical or radial stackers, loader operators, and haul truck drivers move material on any given day, the size and shape of a stockpile changes. As it must. To track what you have on hand reliably, the savvy aggregates manager can use a blend of knowledge and mobile apps to measure specifics. The team at Stockpile Reports offers the following steps to use an iPhone app, such as the Stockpile Reports iPhone App for On-Demand Measurement, to calculate the densities of your aggregates stockpiles.

T

FOR A STOCKPILE THAT IS 50 CUBIC YARDS OR GREATER: STEP 1.

Take three samples of material with the full capacity of the wheel loader bucket.

• Have the wheel loader approach the stockpile in line with the stacker to take the first sample.

• Have the wheel loader approach the stockpile at a 90-degree angle to the left of the stacker for the second sample.

• Have the wheel loader approach the stockpile at a 90-degree angle to the right of the stacker for the third sample.

STEP 2.

Weigh each bucket load with the wheel loader’s onboard loader scales. For example, Cat Payload with Assist from Caterpillar is designed to provide accurate weighing of bucket payloads as you work. With this “smart machine” technology, which is now standard on Cat wheel loaders, data is displayed in real time on a screen in the operator’s cab for the purpose of improving your productivity and loading accuracy, but you can, of course, use this technology when calculating your stockpile densities.

Web Extra: Watch a quick customer testimonial about the HCL-2000 wheel loader scale from MOBA https://vimeo.com/521451908

The display screen in the machine’s cab shows the Cat Payload with Assist tool for the operator. Photo courtesy of Caterpillar If you have an older model machine with no scale, you can place all three loader bucket loads in a haul truck whose current tare weight you know, and then weigh it at a truck scale when loaded.

Write down the weight of the three sample loads combined.

While most OEMs offer such weighing options with loaders these days, aftermarket options are available such as those offered

by MOBA Corp., Peachtree City, Georgia.

STEP 3.

Place the three loads in a “conical-shaped” pile away from any other material.

STEP 4.

Use an iPhone app or drone to determine the sample pile’s cubic yards.

STEP 5.

Divide the tonnage (weight of the three samples) by the cubic yards (volume).

The number you reach in Step 5 is your aggregates stockpile density at a given point in time. (You will use this number as your conversion factor for tons per cubic yard.)

You will want to measure multiple loads and stockpiles to calculate compaction changes as more material is added to the stockpile. If the stockpile you’re working with is less than 50 cubic yards, you can use the iPhone app exclusively to get your measurement, without creating a sample pile.

– BY ASPHALTPRO STAFF

For more information, contact the Stockpile Reports team at (425) 428-5266.

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 13

Pavement maintenance

Coffee County Strikes a Smart Mix Balance Faced with a market disruption in the county-owned tire recycling operation, a team from Coffee County led by Commission Chairman Dean Smith hit the road to learn more about rubberized asphalt. In September 2019, they went to Mobile, Alabama, to attend the 6th International Recycled Rubber & Plastic Products Technology Conference hosted by the University of Alabama. The conference has leading academia and businesses involved in the scrap tire and rubberized asphalt industries and provided the perfect opportunity to find some answers.

While attending the conference, representatives from Liberty Tire Recycling, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) from Auburn, Alabama, met with the county officials. A few years earlier, Liberty Tire Recycling had developed SmartMIX™, a rubberized asphalt technology designed to facilitate the use recycled tire rubber in asphalt. The group came up with a plan to develop rubberized asphalt markets and help implement the balanced mix design (BMD) specifications in Alabama through a demonstration project using SmartMIX rubber.

The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) began evaluating the BMD approach in 2015. More recently, it began implementation and field evaluations working with the local governments. In 2019, NCAT helped Geneva and Houston counties develop a higher quality purchase order mix via the BMD. The timing was right, and it was a good fit to use the new BMD specifications and SmartMIX on a Coffee County resurfacing project.

The county wrote a proposal to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to use the Scrap Tire Marketing Program to help fund the project and monitor the pavement performance over time. Coffee County and NCAT designed an experiment that would compare a standard ALDOT Superpave mix, a BMD mix,

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14 // AUGUST 2021

Devon Donnell, the Wiregrass construction project superintendent, said he liked the look of the balanced mix design material with SmartMIX coming out of the paver. “It laid a great mat and was easy on handwork.” Photo courtesy of Liberty Tire Recycling

Brian Stuckey, the QC manager at the Brantley plant, said he “felt comfortable working the rubber into the mix.” Photo courtesy of Liberty Tire Recycling

and a BMD with SmartMIX on a stretch of County Road 110 between Highway 125 and County Road 105 in October 2020. NCAT will evaluate the performance of the sections every year for six years as a requirement for the grant. The grant also included the development of a one-day BMD training course offered to the prospective contractors, county engineers and other representatives interested in the project prior to the project bidding.

The picturesque County Road 110 would receive the benefits of this asphalt technology.

“We were happy to have the opportunity to get involved in the project,” Dr. Carolina Rodezno said. She is the principal investigator leading the NCAT research project for the county. “The pre-bid training course was a good experience to have going into the project. There was a great dialogue that followed in the Q&A session. We [NCAT] had a question ourselves on how this rubber would behave in the lab, if the mix specimens would swell like other rub-

ber mixes do after being extracted from the mold. We found out that it would not and later confirmed it ourselves when the design phase began.”

“The SmartMIX modified mixtures handle just like regular asphalt,” Nathan Moore continued. He’s an assistant research engineer for NCAT. “That makes it easy to manage in a busy lab setting like ours and doesn’t tie up any molds if you don’t have to let the rubber mix cure under compression.”

Buzz Powell, the associate director at NCAT and a research professor at Auburn University, added, “The simplicity of sample preparation and the ability to use existing laboratory equipment allows the contractor to generate results quickly. Rapid turnaround of results is essential to BMD implementation. We want produced mix to resist both rutting and cracking. The preliminary BMD specification developed by ALDOT and used in this project requires a rutting test, (ALDOT 458 Hot Indirect Tensile Test), and a cracking test (modified IDEAL-CT, ALDOT

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NCAT’s Buzz Powell explained one of the requirements for the BMD specification is a Hot-IDT strength test result of not less than 20 psi. Photo courtesy of NCAT

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Pavement maintenance

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459 Alabama Cracking Test). ALDOT specifications also require a Tensile Strength Ratio (TSR) test to check for moisture damage susceptibility. The BMD specification requires a Hot-IDT strength not less than 20 psi and a CT-Index of 50 or higher. A contractor can have rutting and cracking data within four hours in their own labs, which saves time and money.”

Wiregrass Construction Co. Inc., headquartered in Dothan, Alabama, was the contractor for the project. Wiregrass, according to the website, uses “Alabama natural resources to produce asphalt and aggregates, which we then use in building the highest quality roads designed for the ultimate in safety and sustainability.” The company has 13 asphalt plants and five aggregate operations located throughout the state. For this project along County Road 110, they called on their Brantley team’s expertise.

“We used rubberized asphalt in the past, but it was from a terminal blend, where the rubber is added to the liquid,” said Steve VanDeventer, construction corporate/ QC & quarry manager for Wiregrass. “You need a dedicated asphalt tank at the mix plant to hold the rubberized binder.

“I was curious about this job and went out to take a look. This rubber was added dry, using a fiber blower, and went in easily. It would be good to be able to use the blower machines more frequently, give them more work to do, we have a couple around the state at some of our plants.”

Brian Stuckey, the QC manager at the Wiregrass Brantley, Alabama, plant added, “Our BMD mix is a 12.5 mm mix and has 35% RAP content by weight of the mix. The asphalt content was 5.7%; 3.95% was our standard PG67-22 binder and 1.75% from the RAP. We used this same mix and added the SmartMIX.” When asked how he developed the BMD for Wiregrass, Stuckey shared some insights. “I spent about a month and half learning about the BMD. I started with a 20% RAP blend that I was happy with the best crack and rut test results, then I mimicked that blend at a 35% RAP content. I found that mixes with high RAP contents and low virgin liquid contents need a soft grade of binder to get better results. Mixes with about 4% or better virgin liquid con-

tents worked best. This was our third certified BMD since ALDOT decided to go ahead with it in about 2018. We used the BMD on plenty of the county P.O. mixes and commercial paving and parking lots.

I felt comfortable working the rubber into the mix. We are seeing good quality mix and can use more recycled materials.”

LAB PRACTICES

Stuckey shared some advice on preparing the mix specimens for testing. “I proportion enough dry aggregate for two pills at a time and put it in the oven for about two hours at 325oF to dry the aggregate. Then I add the RAP and rubber, mix it in until it is evenly blended and put it back in the oven at 325oF until the temperature in the mix stabilizes, which takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Then I put it in our bucket mixer and add the liquid binder until the aggregate is well coated with no salt and pepper.

“One thing I learned is that I dry my RAP before mixing it to make the pills a little differently than NCAT does,” Stuckey continued. “NCAT spreads it all out on a table and fan dries for up to 24 hours, stirring it every hour, where I put it in the oven and stir and turn the mix over every 15 minutes until I don’t see any steam. I don’t have as much lab space as NCAT. That’s a nice lab.”

In the conversation about how RAP is handled in mix design and sample prep, Moore shared his thoughts. “I prefer to fan dry the RAP material for as long as it takes. There are some concerns that excess oven aging of RAP, which is already an aged material, could have detrimental effects on the performance of the mix in BMD testing. We follow the AASHTO standard procedure that requires a fourhour oven aging of the mix to simulate the short-term aging the mix will go through during production, storage, hauling and laydown. I know there has been a national discussion on aging procedures on RAP that needs to be resolved.”

PAVING PRACTICES

Devon Donnell, the Wiregrass construction project superintendent commented, “I liked how the mix looked coming out of the paver. It laid a great mat and was easy on handwork, it blended in real good. This mix

This beautiful mat is made with the balanced mix design of a 12.5 mm mix with 35% RAP and SmartMIX additive. The asphalt content is 5.7% with 1.75 coming from the RAP and 3.95 virgin PG67-22 binder. Photo courtesy of Liberty Tire Recycling

worked just as good or better than the regular mix. With the three different mixes on this job, I’m excited to see how the rubber mix will hold up long term, that will tell the tale.”

Chris Huner, ALDOT Troy area operations engineer visited the site and shared, “We are looking forward to seeing the performance of these mixes and test sections to help validate and implement the balanced mix design in our state system. I rode through the project a couple weeks ago and it looks good so far.”

After watching over the project for almost a year, Coffee County Engineer Marty Lentz and Chairman Smith recalled how the project came together.

“Since NCAT had just developed a simple BMD for the counties, we took advantage of an opportunity to use rubberized asphalt,” Lentz said. “The project was funded through the $1 fee that people pay on each replacement tire sold in Alabama. I think it put the tire money to good use to give our county a chance to evaluate the new BMD spec and SmartMIX rubber.”

“We wanted to see what it would take to diversify the recycling plant into the finer grinds of rubber for asphalt mixes,” Smith said. “I would like to see it go into roads.

It makes sense. We are grateful to ADEM and the Scrap Tire Fund committee for funding our proposal to give the tire rubber a try and to help make the project happen. I heard at that recycling conference that one scrap tire is generated per person each year. In Coffee County, that would be about 50,000 scrap tires a year. We used about 1,750 tons of rubberized mix and 18,000 pounds of the SmartMIX additive, reusing over 1,500 scrap tires and over 600 tons of RAP. That is a decent amount of recycling.”

– BY DOUG CARLSON

Doug Carlson is the vice president of asphalt products for Liberty Tire Recycling, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more information, contact Carlson at (412) 5621700 or visit www.libertytire.com.

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Producer Profile

Colas USA Preps for Prime I

In the 1960s, the French company Colas started operations in the North American asphalt marketplace in Canada. Starting with the acquisition of Barrett Paving Materials in 1979, Colas USA, with headquarters based in New Jersey, became a part of the worldwide leader in transportation infrastructure construction and maintenance. Over the years, Colas USA has welcomed a number of infrastructure professionals into the family (See sidebar on page xx).

With the formation in 2021 of a new U.S. subsidiary—Colas Construction USA Inc. (CCUSA)—Colas USA is now comprised of 37 companies throughout the United States. Brian White, vice president of human resources for Colas USA, shared: “During the peak of our construction season, we employ approximately 5,500 people in the areas in which we operate, while in our off season we employ approximately 4,000.”

Those areas are, as Vice President of Operations Dustin Darby put it, everywhere. This, he explained, keeps the overall company from being pigeon-holed as a regional contractor. Instead, CCUSA can be seen as the large, national-level prime contractor that the depth of companies allows it to be. “We’re already one of the largest materials suppliers in the country,” Darby said. “We’re highly vertically integrated already.

We have the horsepower, manpower and expertise to take on national-level projects.”

Curtis Weltz, president of CCUSA, said, “The Colas USA family is comprised of 37 companies regionalized under seven subsidiaries; however, our organization operates as one large entity as well. By combining the resources, experience and vertical integration of our seven regional subsidiaries, CCUSA allows Colas to better serve our clients and increase our overall market share within the group.”

Taking on national-level projects takes teamwork, which the Colas template has in place. “CCUSA was developed to serve as the prime contracting vehicle for large projects, federal projects, and the expansion of both our mining support and construction activities within the United States,” said Thierry Le Roch’, president and CEO of Colas USA. “It is our vision that CCUSA will work directly with each regional subsidiary to develop proposals and execute contracts. Through CCUSA, we are confident that our companies will work in a more collective way and provide the best product possible for our current and future clients.”

SAFETY CULTURE

The vision Le Roch’ references above includes communication among the subsidiaries and headquarters. Let’s use the company’s safety goals as an example.

“To communicate and effectively manage safety across our organization, we train our employees to be effective safety leaders and equip them with the right tools. Two examples of the tools that we use at Colas USA are Goal Zero and a web-based safety management system.” (See sidebar on page xx.)

“Safety is at the core of everything we do within the Colas Group—not just within the United States, but throughout our global organization.

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Sully-Miller Contracting Co. (A Colas Company) performs paving operations on the Los Angeles World Airport (LAX) Runway 25L project.

Through our Goal Zero program—the Colas USA safety culture—we continuously improve our health and safety performance. Although our companies are in geographically diverse markets, we inherently have the same risks and operational hazards. By standardizing our safety training, we see continuous improvement through safe work practices.”

INNOVATIVE CULTURE

Entrepreneurship is one of Colas Group’s core values and leadership encourages its employees to come up with new products and efficient methods of getting the job done.

“Colas is an innovative company by nature,” Darby said. “In fact, the name Colas is derived from combining the words cold and asphalt. Colas pioneered and developed the formula for cold asphalt more than 100 years ago, and since has developed hundreds more innovative products and processes to improve the safety and longevity of infrastructure on a global scale. Colas encourages free thought and innovation, and rewards personal initiative.”

Cold + asphalt = Colas Although Colas consists of seven decentralized, regional entities, the corporate entity offers centralized support. “Through strong leadership at the corporate level and the tremendous expertise of Colas Solutions (quality and technical support), Colas ISS (technology), and now the support of CCUSA at the national level, Colas ensures consistent performance across each of our business units.”

Through the decentralization, Colas USA gets to use the expertise of unique companies. “When you travel through our regional subsidiaries, you will notice that each company fosters its own company culture, which is something that we encourage and has allowed us to maintain a high level of success. Encouraging entrepreneurship within Colas USA has encouraged our employees to understand that they are our greatest resource—in turn, allows our teams to learn from and encourage one another in order to grow together.”

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Producer Profile

Thierry Le Roch’ is the president and CEO of Colas USA.

Curtis Weltz is the president of CCUSA.

GROWTH CULTURE

As CCUSA grows, Weltz sees the partnerships among the regions as vital. “One of the most important things our executives can do is continuously support the vision as it’s developed and ensure that the synergies between CCUSA and our regional operations are continuously identified and applied. Additionally, it’s important that we position CCUSA to add value to the Colas Group and operate as the preferred partner for our regional subsidiaries by being naturally in line with Colas’ reputation for quality and ethics.”

Weltz sees that synergy as exciting with the 2021 construction season. “The most exciting aspect is the synergy that we hope to create amongst our subsidiaries,” Weltz said. “As we develop this entity ‘off the heels’ of our already successful subsidiaries, we hope to garner our fair share of a market that we do not compete in today.”

“The creation of CCUSA allows the Colas Group to better serve our clients by combining the experience, expertise and capabilities of our existing regional companies and applying them at a national level,” Darby said. “We take great pride in the companies that operate under the Colas USA banner. Each regional subsidiary is a leader in their markets, and the collective experience of the group has allowed us to continue to strengthen. Historically, our company has grown through acquisitions and as we continue to grow, we will work to replicate the model that has led to the success and stability that Colas is known for.”

– BY SANDY LENDER

Be Safe Out There Goal Zero is Colas’ signature initiative—branded to communicate our ongoing commitment to actions that improve safety. Top management follows a prescribed safety culture improvement process to engage the entire workforce in the prevention of all workplace injuries. The process empowers Continuous Improvement Teams to develop procedures that integrate responsibility for safety procedures at all levels of the organization.

Leaders actively and visibly cultivate safety as a core value.

Colas uses a web-based safety management system. This program shares data with HR and asset management systems, and is used for tracking incidents and near misses, training, and regular safety activities like inspections, meetings, and new hire orientations. Additionally, it allows safety and loss prevention information to be shared across the entire organization in real time.

20 // AUGUST 2021

Dustin Darby is the vice president of operations for Colas USA.

Brian White is the vice president of human resources for Colas USA.

Colas USA, New Jersey, founded in 1979, has eight U.S. subsidiaries as of press time.

Barrett Industries Corporation, a Colas company, Roseland, New Jersey, founded by Samuel E. Barrett, serves the airport, contractors, government, municipalities and private companies. Reach them at (973) 533-1001 or info@barrettindustriescorp.com.

Branscome Inc., a Colas company, Williamsburg, Virginia, has been building Virginia’s infrastructure since 1956. They offer services from excavation and site work to underground utilities and asphalt paving, as well as construction materials supply. Reach them at (757) 229-2504.

Colaska, Anchorage, was known as South East Alaska Construction when it joined the Colas USA family of companies in 1999. Additional companies have joined to grow Colaska into a robust roadbuilder in the state, but it includes well-known subsidiaries Quality Asphalt Paving, Emulsion Products, Exclusive Paving, and more. Reach them at (907) 273-1000 or info@colaska.com.

Delta Companies Inc., a Colas company, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, began in 1920 when Edward F. Regenhardt and William H. Harrison formed a partnership to build roads and crush rock. Today Delta Companies is a heavy highway contractor, paving contractor and construction materials producer with locations in Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas. Reach them at (573) 334-5261 or hr@deltacos.com.

Reeves Construction Co., a Colas company, Duncan, South Carolina, began as a small contractor in Americus, Georgia. Now it includes Sloan Construction in South Carolina, RB Baker in Georgia and Florida, and Reeves Construction in Georgia for heavy construction, underground utilities, asphalt paving, and materials supply. Reach them at (864) 416-0200.

Simon, a Colas company, Cheyenne, Wyoming, was founded by James E. Simon in 1954. He grew the company to include asphalt work and an asphalt plant in North Platte, Nebraska, among other divisions. Reach them at (307) 635-9005.

Sully-Miller Contracting Co., a Colas company, Brea, California, started with quality paving and grading operations clear back in 1923 when G.W. Sully and Earl B. Miller started it up. Their crews perform work in the industries of airports, energy and mining, military and federal, rail and intermodal, roads and highways, seaports, and specialty projects.

Reach them at (714) 578-9600 or info@sully-miller.com.

Colas Construction USA Inc., headquartered in New Jersey, is strategically staffed to provide clients with the expertise of seven regional U.S. subsidiaries listed above. It performs work in the industries of private, public, federal and mining. Reach them at (973) 290-9082 or colasconstructionusa@colasinc.com.

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women of asphalt

Women of Asphalt: All Suburbs Bitumen’s Gemma Forsythe Even when she was a child, Gemma Forsythe would assist with her father’s asphalt paving company chores, going so far as to run the plate compactor at age 9. The asphalt industry is in her blood and as she moved through school, she planned to not only stay in the industry, but to be more than an assistant for the company based in Adelaide, Australia. Over the years, she’s seen the role women have in this industry grow and she’s seen the way the industry has adapted to accept and use women’s skills. We’re grateful Forsythe was willing to sit down and share her story with others.

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AsphaltPro: What year did you officially join the asphalt industry?

Gemma Forsythe: As a full-time employee, I joined the asphalt industry in 2008. I was both a truck driver and labourer with the patch crew. However, I was first introduced to asphalt in 1997 when my dad purchased the company and completed my first job in the year 2000 when I was 9 years old.

AsphaltPro: What is your official title currently and what responsibilities does your job require of you?

Gemma Forsythe: My official title in our company is the office manager where I do the invoicing, quoting, accounts, human resources administration, etc. However, I’m on site three days a week where I complete all of the compaction both with vibrating plates and rollers, raking of asphalt, first aid, and all labouring. We pride ourselves on working as a team in our company and swap and rotate roles to keep it fresh, fun, and keep our skills up to date.

I’m a huge believer in having everyone know how to do each other’s jobs.

AsphaltPro: What advice can you offer for bringing new technologies or practices to a crew or company as a female leader?

Gemma Forsythe: Know your stuff! I’m a strong believer in the fact that it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, if you’re introducing a new practice, or something that others aren’t familiar with yet, they won’t be on board unless they trust what you’re talking about. This means you have to do the research, network with the people who know what they’re selling to you and have those answers ready for when your team asks you directly.

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Gemma Forsythe completed her first paving job at age 9.

AsphaltPro: Your video showed some of the challenges you’re overcome as a woman in the roadbuilding industry in Australia. Could you highlight for the North American readers which challenge you think might surprise them and how you worked to solve it?

Gemma Forsythe: Of course, there are a few challenges of being a female in an asphalt crew. Obviously one of the main obstacles for myself is the lack of toilet facilities, especially after having a baby.

Often, we are working in remote areas where the closest toilet is 30 minutes to an hour away, so I’ve become an absolute pro at learning to hold it in.

Gemma Forsythe is proud to work in an industry where she can work hard and use her mind.

All grown up and still running the plate compactor, Gemma Forsythe spends at least three days a week in the field.

Another is traffic control, which is personally the least favorite part of my job. Truckies don’t particularly like having to follow a detour when a road is blocked off, so I’ve been spat at, driven at, had cars and trucks stop a mere millimetre away from me at a stop sign, something which I don’t think would happen if I was a male, and has certainly never happened to my male colleagues.

weren’t going anywhere, it pushed for male colleagues to be more open-minded and accepting than they were in previous years.

AsphaltPro: You’ve talked about safety and the PPE available when you started versus what’s available now. Could you give an example of a time when the lack of safe PPE for women could have caused a problem, in your experience?

Gemma Forsythe: In the past, the only PPE available to me was men’s shirts, boots, gloves, and pants, etc., which could easily catch on any machinery/trucks as they used to be so large and ill-fitting. In a day and age now where we have women’s workwear readily available to use, it has made for a much safe worksite for women.

In our company, we absolutely do not allow the use of polyester micromesh shirts, as I’ve personally seen on another asphalt crew when hot rubber crack seal was spilled onto the shirt and caused burns to their team member with the polyester sticking to the skin.

We only allow the use of 100% cotton shirts, which also act as SPF 50+ in the Australian summer.

AsphaltPro: Could you share your philosophy on how the acceptance of women in construction has given rise to safe conditions for women, and for both men and women?

Gemma Forsythe: Women feel safer in our community because of the acceptance of women in construction. When a person (male or female) feels accepted, it automatically helps them to feel safer, trusted and gives them a sense of belonging. I think that because women in construction pushed against all of the gender barriers that were being presented to us and showed our peers that we

AsphaltPro: Would you be willing to share with our readers at what point in your pregnancy you felt the need to curb any of your activities? And which activities you felt the need to limit?

Gemma Forsythe: I did worry about the asphalt steam I was inhaling and the loud sounds of the machinery; however, it was easy to wear a mask and get reassurance from medical professionals that I wasn’t harming my daughter or potentially affecting her hearing.

I did limit myself in regard to the asphalt saw and removed myself where I could to keep the noise level down.

As we are in an era where we are all aware of manual handling and the effects it can have on our bodies, I was able to easily modify my actions at work to ensure I could keep the risk of potentially harming myself low. I worked on site until 37 weeks pregnant and suffered severe Hyperemesis Gravidarium for the entirety of my pregnancy, so at that point I was just so sick that I knew my body was begging for a rest.

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

Gemma Forsythe: I’ve always had the saying “Just because it’s a male-dominated industry doesn’t mean that it’s a male-only industry.” That’s something I try and remind anyone of, especially women who may be struggling with acceptance from male co-workers or perhaps are wanting to enter the industry and are feeling a bit daunted. Absolutely, as a woman, it might take me a little while longer to do something, purely because of my strength and size (I weigh 52 kg), but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to give it 100%, give it my all and get that job done.

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 25

women of asphalt AsphaltPro: What do you think is the most important skill you’ve brought to your position in the asphalt industry?

Gemma Forsythe: Gender equality! I strongly feel that by being with and working alongside men, I’ve been able to also boost their morale.

Let’s face it, everyone needs a boost sometimes, regardless of what their gender is. By being an active member of our team, I’ve been able to instill in them that women can do the job, too. Although I’m never too proud to admit that sometimes I need a little extra help.

AsphaltPro: What is your favorite piece of equipment to operate on the paving crew?

Gemma Forsythe: I love every piece of equipment that we own and have two absolute favorites. I love the roller. Being able to see an unfinished road ahead of me and looking back a second later and seeing the start of the finished product behind me gives me so much satisfaction. I’m also a huge fan of the excavator, being able to dig up existing asphalt and reinstating it is honestly the best feeling.

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

Gemma Forsythe: At the end of the day, the most rewarding feeling is knowing that my body is sore from pure hard work and my mind is sharp from having to really use it. I also love that I’m able to inspire other women, especially young women and girls. My daughter is two and a half and tells anyone who will listen, “my mummy uses a roller and a digger at work,” and I love that she’s so proud of that.

AsphaltPro: Will you tell us about a person who served as a mentor for you and what advice you’d like to pass along from that person?

Gemma Forsythe: My dad, Ian Carter, has always been a huge mentor for me. He’s now 59 years old and still works like he’s 30. He’s a huge believer in teamwork and making work fun. He has encouraged me from day one to pursue whatever I wanted, but since joining his crew, when I was younger especially, he has guided me to work as hard as any male team member he employs and to carry myself in a way that I would one day be respected in our industry and to “be a sponge, take everything in and keep learning.” The best piece of business advice he ever gave me was to “trust my gut.” If a job doesn’t feel right, or potential client is giving off negative vibes, then pass on it.

AsphaltPro: As a leader in your company, would you like to share any differences in Australian paving practices with the North American audience?

Gemma Forsythe: Unfortunately, I feel like in Australia we are a fair bit behind when it comes to new and innovative products. In Adelaide, we are only now being introduced to seal coating, which Dad and I first discovered on YouTube. At present, there is only one other company in our state that practices it, and I know it’s been active for a while in the USA. In Australia with asphalt, we tend to do a few layers of “scrub coat” if the asphalt is more than 80 mm deep, whereas in the USA particularly, we have noticed that they will lay the asphalt 100 mm deep in one straight run, roll it and be done with it. I’d love to be able to travel the world and learn different practices of asphalt worldwide.

For this project, Gemma grabbed mix to perform patching.

26 // AUGUST 2021

– BY SANDY LENDER

International snapshot

International Options A joint venture of Italy’s Cooperativa Muratori e Cementisti (CMC) di Ravenna, Thai company Ital Thai, and Vietnam’s Song Da Corporation is using a 1,500-mtph ICM—Terex MPS plant to produce aggregates in Bolikhamsay Province, Laos. The plant is now being operated by Sinohydro, with works expected to be completed in 2023. While the current use is to produce 1,500 mtph of concrete aggregates, the setup includes jaw crushers and vertical shaft impactors (VSIs) that can produce the flat and elongated particles necessary for asphalt mix design.

The plant is made up of two Simplicity 5220 vibrating grizzly feeders, two Cedarapids JS4552 jaw crushers, four cone crushers (two Cedarapids MVP550X and two Cedarapids MVP450X), three VSIs, two Cedarapids TSV6202 horizontal screens, and six Cedarapids TSV8203 horizontal screens. Additionally, the setup includes 45 conveyors with a total length of 1,400 meters, and the installation of 5,000 kW of power.

The plant is being fed blasted sandstone rock with a high abrasion index. Due to the abrasiveness of the sandstone, distributor ICM srl, Italy, designed the plant to use jaw crushers and cone crushers in the first instance to get the rock to the required size without worrying about the shape of the aggregate yet. Once sized, the shape is improved using the VSIs. Icilio Guicciardi of ICM explained, “This is a philosophy that always gives good results in terms of the quality of the aggregates and the reduction of wear costs. Having a solution that satisfies our customer’s strict requirements was of utmost importance to us and we knew that this plant setup would produce the output required.”

Guicciardi shared that selecting between concrete and asphalt aggregates is based, first and foremost, on the physical property of the rock.

“The asphalt rock must have a low Los Angeles index, and crushing has a low influence on that. Then round aggregate is accepted by concrete, but not by asphalt. For asphalt at least two faces of the aggregate must be crushed.”

The next factor to consider is the flakiness index, and Guicciardi spoke to that as well. He shared while a 30% flakiness index value is acceptable for concrete, the specification for asphalt aggregates is typically only 5%.

“While with a cone crusher of top quality (i.e. Terex Cedarapids MVP) you can achieve a 30% flakiness index, to achieve the 5%, the aggregate must be processed by a vertical shaft impactor. Because of that, we recommend to use a jaw crusher and a cone crusher as primary and secondary station.” This allows the producer spend as little time and energy as possible to reduce the aggregate to the required size, then pass the aggregate through a VSI to achieve the needed shape and flakiness index. “We have many references of plants following this philosophy and satisfying these specifications.”

Paul Lilley, sales director, Terex MPS for the ERA said, “The plant installation at Laos Dam demonstrates how our equipment can be seamlessly combined to provide a tailored solution that consistently delivers aggregates that meet customer requirements—even in complex, extensive projects such as this. We have no doubt this plant designed by ICM will continue achieving ultimate efficiency and production output through to project completion.”

A

– FROM TEREX MPS

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This plant in Laos is being operated by Sinohydro. The setup includes jaw crushers and vertical shaft impactors (VSIs) that can produce the flat and elongated particles necessary for asphalt mix design. Photo courtesy of Terex

ICM recommends processing with a vertical shaft impactor to achieve the 5% flakiness index required of asphalt aggregates. Photo courtesy of Terex

The setup includes 45 conveyors with a total length of 1,400 meters.

Photo courtesy of ICM

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Superior Offers Gravel Permit Tips

BY SANDY LENDER

30 // AUGUST 2021

J

Jeff Kresnak’s three-year trial ended successfully May 5, 2015, when the Danby Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve his company’s special use permit request. That’s not an everyday occurrence for would-be stone, sand and gravel providers. Here’s how the president of Superior Asphalt Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan, garnered a special use permit to operate a gravel pit on a 243-acre site south of Portland, Michigan.

First, Kresnak shared that the planning commission spent over 14 months reviewing and studying the proposal his team had submitted. Of course, there were opponents, and Kresnak said one fellow in Portland

ABOVE: The beauty of the Portland Gravel Pit site matters to Superior Asphalt’s Jeff Kresnak. He stated, “We’re here to leave a gorgeous product when we’re done.” Here you can see one of the windmills Kresnak installs for more than aesthetics. “When we get to a clay vein or reach our allowed depth of 40 feet of water, I install a windmill.” The air from the windmill keeps trout in the pond healthy and water clean. RIGHT TOP & MIDDLE: The pit produces topsoil, sand and gravel for both Superior Asphalt projects and for customers, who can be loaded directly from piles.

RIGHT BOTTOM: Only 25% of the 243-acre site will be mined at a time.

The rest remains farmland for crops and cattle, and 13 acres of trees planted to form a natural, permanent barrier between operations and a nearby subdivision. All photos courtesy of Superior Asphalt www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 31

Kresnak has displayed a roller from 1931 and a scraper from 1910 near the entrance to the Portland Gravel Pit. The pieces give the sense of history and cleanliness from the get-go.

LEFT: Notice that alongside the gravel pit scale, you can see the corn crop growing on a portion of the 243-acre site. RIGHT: The McCloskey screen used at the Portland site is an S190, 5 by 20 screen deck with a 100-foot stacker, and a 621, 4 by 4 trommel, all used to screen topsoil.

A Cat excavator loads sand into a haul truck near the retaining pond. had done much research to learn the talking points for preventing the opening of a new gravel pit. Luckily for the local economy, Kresnak and team are not only familiar with those talking points but are also well-versed in how to counteract fear and communicate reality.

Kresnak put a positive spin on the ordeal, telling the Lansing State Journal, “The residents of Danby Township should feel fortunate to have the people on this planning commission because

32 // AUGUST 2021

they have worked harder on this than any other planning commission that I have seen.”

But Kresnak’s modus operandi is more than positive spin. He believes in protecting the planet. He wants to learn more about using recycled plastics in asphalt mix designs, wants to plan ahead to help the neighbors in his community, and wants to share his experience to help members of the industry engage in best climate stewardship practices.

For example, Kresnak encouraged paving the site. Pave the driveway, highly trafficked roadways and the scale area. This not only keeps dust down to help satisfy your Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) permit, but it also keeps the neighbors from experiencing large amounts of drifting dust.

He also recommended looking into the aesthetics of the site, saying, “Have it nice.” For the Portland gravel pit, he purchased a 10-ton roller manufactured in 1931 and a 1910 grader to display near the entrance.

“For about five grand, I made the entrance look like a museum.”

The clean look begins before operations do with planning for the end of operations. “There’s never a ‘right’ time to be a good neighbor,” Kresnak said. “You should always be a good neighbor. Build a better track record each day. Do your reclamation right for all our sakes. We’re here to leave a gorgeous product when we’re done.”

The pictures of the Portland gravel pit, now in operation, tell the story.

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TILCON CONNECTICUT BARGES AGGREGATE

BY ASPHALTPRO STAFF

T

Tilcon's Pine Orchard Dock has been in continuous operation since 1914 and accommodates large quantity deliveries to customers along the Connecticut coast, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey, and occasionally elsewhere.

Tucked on-shore near the Thimble Islands, a group of small islands southeast of Branford, Connecticut, is a crushed stone aggregate transshipping facility. Known as Pine Orchard Marine Terminal or Pine Orchard Dock, the railroad and marine barge facility is owned by Tilcon Connecticut, New Britain, Connecticut, a CRH Company.

Tilcon's Pine Orchard Dock has been in continuous operation since 1914 and accommodates large quantity deliveries to customers along the Connecticut coast, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey, and occasionally elsewhere. Although the company

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operates a large fleet of specialized trucks for delivering its products, their transport by marine barge offers many benefits to Tilcon and its customers.

According to the National Waterways Foundation, transport by marine barge has the smallest carbon footprint among transport modes. For an equal tonnage of cargo, a tugboat with barge(s) emits 30 percent fewer emissions than rail and 10 times fewer emissions than truck transport. Barging also offers reduced rates of spillage, fewer injuries and fatalities and the ability to move large volumes of materials.

One of the benefits of using transport by marine barge is that this type of transportation can load 1,800 to 2,000 tons of crushed stone aggregate on a single marine barge. That is equivalent to roughly 78-tri-axle truck loads or 20 railroad carloads. Additionally, tugboats aren’t impacted by traffic patterns and don’t face the same problems truck drivers often encounter on roadways.

Large tugboat availability, wind, weather, tidal timing and occasional bridge opening schedules can be challenging when delivering aggregate to the barge customer’s

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The crushed and screened aggregate shipped by barge is sourced from Tilcon's North Branford trap rock (igneous basalt) quarry. receiving dock facility. Tilcon’s affiliate company, Buchanan Marine LP, New Haven, Connecticut, operates the tugboats.

Ultimately, it’s up to the tugboat captains to decide what’s moving and when. Tilcon’s scheduling and Buchanan Marine’s tugboat captains have to occasionally contend with bridge openings and/or customers located in shallow canals and rivers. In those cases, they must schedule deliveries near high-tide or ensure a restrictive low bridge is open for passage.

Fortunately, many of their customers have deep-water docks where they can deliver at any time and without bridge openings.

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One of the benefits of using transport by marine barge is that this type of transportation can load 1,800 to 2,000 tons of crushed stone aggregate on a single marine barge.

Tilcon’s long-serving Superintendent of Marine and Rail Transportation James “Jim” Laske coordinates the deliveries with customers, tugboat and rail service dispatchers. According to Laske, the crushed and screened aggregate shipped by barge is sourced from Tilcon’s North Branford trap rock (igneous basalt) quarry. The material is transported to the Pine Orchard Dock by Tilcon’s Branford Steam Railroad. The railroad is approximately six miles long, and operates with several diesel-electric locomotives sized for their tasks.

Those tasks consist of moving dedicated Branford Steam Railroad 100-ton hopper

Barges offer several benefits, including the ability to carry greater quantities of material and they aren’t impacted by traffic patterns. cars for loading at the quarry and transporting the fully loaded train approximately six miles to a marshalling yard at Pleasant Point Road in Branford, Connecticut. The BSRR hopper cars are finally pushed up a steep grade onto Pine Orchard Dock’s enclosed unloading trestle. The cars are spotted over pockets or bins below the trestle specific to the aggregate size to be unloaded. The cars are pneumatically operated bottom-dump hoppers and can discharge a full 100-ton load in less than a minute.

These types of operations can potentially cause noise and dust that could impact the surrounding areas. According to Laske, Tilcon enclosed the entire unloading and conveying operation in a 600-foot-long concrete and metal building equipped with sound-proofing, roof-mounted exhaust fans and LED lighting.

Beneath the building is a tunnel. Every pocket or bin for each aggregate size has a discharge opening in its floor controlled by a gate that feeds onto a large, long convey-

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or. The conveyor runs the entire length of the enclosed building and then up to an enclosed transfer conveyor, which feeds the movable barge loading conveyor. The final loading conveyor is equipped with HPLV (high pressure, low-volume) water sprays to eliminate any dust generated during the loading process. Additionally, the final

“These flat-bottomed water vehicles relieve traffic congestion, help the environment, and are considered a safe method to efficiently deliver large quantities of crushed stone aggregate material.” — Jim Laske

loading conveyor swivels to allow the barges to be fully loaded side to side while being moved laterally along the dock by a cable and winch system.

Since much of the barges’ delivery and empty return movements are affected by wind, weather and tide height or bridge openings, Tilcon and Buchanan Marine also maintain some U.S. Coast Guard-approved heavy moorings at the most active and/ or challenging harbors. This allows some pre-staging of high-demand aggregate-size loaded barges or empty barges awaiting return to improve the efficiency of the available tugboat movements.

Tilcon’s barge transportation division delivers more than 6 million tons of stone by water each year to asphalt and concrete customers in the northeast region. Laske added, “These flat-bottomed water vehicles relieve traffic congestion, help the environment, and are considered a safe method to efficiently deliver large quantities of crushed stone aggregate material.”

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“Our blue and gold uniforms were recognizable to all passers-by,” Milo L. Pike said. “And all our equipment was in those colors as well. We all wore them proudly and felt they played a part in our safety initiatives, which were exemplary.” All photos courtesy of John Ball and Milo L. Pike

HOW TO BUILD A PAVING DYNASTY

T

BY SANDY LENDER

The preamble to the 1971 L.M. Pike & Son Inc. employee manual states it is written “to stabilize policies and eliminate confusion in our method of operation.” The family-oriented company had already been in operation for 90 years and this second revision of the manual went on to give a history of the company that begins with asphalt itself.

“As early as 3800 B.C., asphalt was being used as mortar for building stones and paving blocks. The streets of ancient Babylon are said to have been paved with asphalt...the same material mentioned in the Bible was used to caulk Noah’s Ark and seal the basket in which the infant Moses was set adrift on the Nile.”

From the callback to biblical times, the manual’s author moves to modern day, saying, “The use of asphalt for street paving in the United States began in 1870 with the laying of a stretch of pavement in front of the city hall in Newark, New Jersey. The asphalt used was made of rock asphalt from the Rhone Valley in France. Two years later, Luther M. Pike of New Hampton, New Hampshire, founded Pike’s Improved Concrete Company, specializing in the paving of streets and sidewalks.”

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From that early company of about 30 employees and 12 teams of horses, his son Milo L. Pike (1872-1947) developed L.M. Pike and Son Inc. in 1886. His son, Randolph K. Pike joined in the family business around 1923 and, in 1972, it became Pike Industries Inc. under the leadership of the current Milo L. Pike, great grandson of Luther.

“My son Randy worked for us from his high school years throughout college, learning from the ground up the asphalt business,” Milo Pike said. “In 1988 we sold Pike Industries Inc. Randy, who is an MIT graduate in economics, took over as president for the new owners, CRH Holdings. Randy stayed with them around 23 years, later changing careers to do private counseling for various companies mostly in New England.”

Other Pike family members could have been candidates for today’s Women of Asphalt.

“My daughter Cynthia, Cindy, as she is known, is a college graduate of UNH with a major in business,” Milo Pike said. “She’s a math whiz like her brother. She worked for the company in various capacities and later attained the position of CFO of Pike Industries. A lofty

position which she fully deserved. We were lucky to have her and proud of her work ethic. Cindy also worked under the new owners and retired several years later.

“My daughter Miki joined the company following graduation from Colby-Sawyer College, and worked for us in human resources, later becoming the head of that most important department. Miki was great working with our people and a quick study learning and keeping up with government regulations and all the yearly changes and updates. She stayed with us several years until she retired to raise her family.”

In 1971, doubling down on the importance of family and industry, Pike Industries Inc. developed a scholarship for employees’ children in honor of Cindy, Miki and Randy’s grandfather. The Randolph K. Pike Scholarship was designed to help defray a portion of a family’s expenses for college or trade school education.

“In our growing society, there are continuous demands upon parents, one of which is to see that our children have the chance to further their education,” the company shared in 1996. “This award is presented annually to a member of an employee’s family who is a full-time student and whom the scholarship committee determines as most deserving.”

Applicants for scholarship funds were accepted annually at the human resources department by a June 1 deadline.

The scholarship award is still in effect to this day but is now called simply “The Pike Scholarship.” A spokesperson explained it’s handled much the same way with a scholarship going to an employee’s son or daughter toward college expenses.

Baseball’s loss is the asphalt industry’s gain. In 1949, Milo Pike tried out for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. “When I was in prep school, there were several athletes in the area,” he said. “I was only 5 foot 7.” The New Hampshire Highways magazine reported he won 30 games, only losing 6, as a pitcher in high school and prep school. Luckily for the asphalt industry, and the Northeast in particular, Milo Pike chose a career that would give jobs to thousands and build quality highways for a nation.

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

More than a family’s commitment to paving the Northeast helped build the legacy that Pike Industries Inc. represented. The company turned its employees into family and turned its projects into works of art to stand the test of time.

Pike’s successes included the purchase of a 500-pound-capacity Warren Bros. crumb rubber batch plant after World War 1, which got them away from mixing asphalt by hand. They used that batch plant for nearly 20 years before purchasing a 75-TPH Hetherington and Berner (H&B) plant in 1954, which they located about a quarter mile from the old batch plant.

And that’s when things really picked up.

“We added two to three H&B plants per year for several more years,” Milo Pike said. “In early 1960, we bought two, 6,000-pound H&B plants.

These were portable, which we could move and re-set in 24 hours. They had portable lights and we used our own cranes.”

The New Hampshire Highways October 1972 magazine featured the company and gave tribute for its overwhelming growth during the 20th Century to father-and-son team Randolph and Milo: “Randolph K. Pike who modernized the firm, and the man most responsible for making L.M. Pike and Son Inc. one of the largest and most respected paving contractors in the nation, Milo L. Pike,” the editor wrote.

Keep in mind the 1956 Eisenhower Highway Program kicked in as L.M. Pike and Son Inc. was hitting its stride. “Our crews were willing to work 16 and 18 hours a day and we paid them double and triple time,” Milo Pike said. “And the work was there.”

For example, they took on what their 1971 employee manual calls 1958’s “biggest resurfacing project” in New England, paving a 14mile stretch of the New Hampshire Turnpike with three pavers in echelon to place a 34-foot-wide mat in one pass. They used tandem rollers close behind the pavers to get compaction. Of the 36,000

For this State Highway 41 project in the 1970s, Pike Industries Inc. paved four lifts with a Blaw-Knox 220 paver extended to 28 feet and a BarberGreen 10-foot paver in echelon. “We had 50 trucks hauling to us,” Ball said.

“We put down 4,000 to 5,000 tons everyday paving 38 feet in one pass.” tons of asphalt used on the project, 32,000 of it was produced in two portable mixing plants that L.M. Pike and Son Inc. strategically located in the area. Daily asphalt production ran as high as 2,850 tons for a 10-hour day, six days a week.

Strategically placing plants became a standard, according to former employee and paving consultant John S. Ball the Third. He remembered stories from before his tenure and examples during his time with the company when asphalt plants were purchased and placed on an almost-yearly basis to complete specific highway or special projects.

Bringing on more plants meant more production and more workers.

The 1971 employee manual stated: “Today, L.M. Pike & Son Inc. employs between 300 and 450 men in work crews and 22 plants in New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York during the construction season.”

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 41

Here a Pike Industries Inc. crew paves the Lebanon Airport runway with a Blaw-Knox 220 paver extended 24 feet with joint matcher. Notice the heating apparatus for the screed.

For highway work on Route 93, Pike Industries Inc. used the Blaw-Knox 220, which was the largest paver the company made at the time. Here, the 24-foot-wide main screed has shoulder attachments of 4 feet. Notice the 20-foot drag ski with automation attached.

Milo Pike has retired with a vacation home in Florida. Here his former director of training, John Ball, joins him to reminisce about paving the Eisenhower Highway System in the Northeast.

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“I always believed my employees were my most valuable asset,” Milo Pike said. “My employees built that company. I was just the quarterback. I had people that blocked for me and people down the field who caught the passes.”

He estimated that, by the time they sold to CRH in 1988, Pike Industries Inc. employed around 900 people, operated 22 asphalt plants, 6 quarries, and 16 paving crews, and produced about 1.5 million tons of hot mix and 3.2 million tons of stone and aggregate per year.

“Things were starting to get tough with the government rules and regulations,” he said. “The energy of our workforce was very strong.

Even though government regulations made running a business more difficult, we were blessed with an excellent workforce who came to work ready to do battle each day. And they were rewarded with excellent benefits and lots of overtime. We worked hard to stay between the lines with all labor related regulations.”

He reiterated: “The operators, truck drivers, laborers, mechanics, salespeople, office staffs, and so on were our most valuable assets.

If I was the quarterback, those folks were always there to catch my ideas and make things happen. Plus, they never hesitated to block some of those ideas, which, in retrospect, was probably instrumental in leading to the success of Pike Industries.”

A few employees who were instrumental to the company’s growth last century include Bruce Homer, Paul Swenson, Alphonse “Buster” Maheux and Walter Smith. He reminisced about these specific workers and some of the accomplishments they helped the company achieve.

“Bruce Homer was on our team of executives and had the highest degree of education. He was a graduate from Syracuse College with a master’s in civil engineering. As our chief engineer, he was instrumental in our job bidding and respected for his expertise in crunching the numbers.”

One of the executives who demonstrated promotion-from-within was Swenson.

“Paul Swenson came into the company in 1955, after a year of accounting school in Boston, followed by a stint in the Coast Guard,” Milo Pike said. “He started in the garage gassing up vehicles and chasing parts for us.”

When Milo Pike learned that Swenson had attended accounting school, he added Swenson to the office staff. “His family was well known in the Laconia area as his father was a detective with the Laconia Police Department,” Milo Pike recalled. “After learning our accounting system, he was promoted to treasurer of the company, which at that time was L.M. Pike and Son. His job grew along with the company; we got into more states. We were qualified to bid in 27 states along with Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York.

“We landed a job in Alabama, but soon decided the four New England states were where we belonged. Paul was a personable guy, great golfer and very savvy and smart. Through his expertise, we were able to considerably raise our borrowing limit at the Bank of Boston.”

One of Milo Pike’s employee stories had him laughing.

“Alphonse ‘Buster’ Maheux was our chief dispatcher and truck manager for over 100 trucks. He was on our radio at 5 a.m. and stayed there until 7 p.m. or as needed. No matter where I was at any given time, Buster could give me the tonnage at any of our 27 plants throughout the day.

“As dispatcher, Buster knew where every piece of our equipment was at all times except once. I needed a paver at a job in Franconia. Buster was unable to locate it and got very frustrated. As it happened, I was flying over a job we had completed earlier, and I spotted the paver still

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“We needed more tonnage when we got into interstate work,” Ball said. This 6-ton batch plant was set up across the street from a gravel pit in Tilton.

Pike Industries Inc. had the first milling machine in New England, a BarberGreene machine that Ball described as “wicked loud.”

sitting there. So, I radioed Buster the location and he sent a vehicle to move it to Franconia. I can’t recall that happening ever again, but the story was always good for a laugh. He was another hard working, loyal individual, respected by all.”

That’s right; he said he was flying. Both Milo Pike and Smith attained their pilot’s licenses.

“Walter Smith was a classmate of mine in high school. He was one of 12 other classmates ranging from executive levels to supervisors, foremen and mechanics. Walter began as a grader operator who came to us from the town of Gilford; the salary was better at $2 per hour!

“As time went on Walter was buying our equipment, got a pilot’s license (before I did a year later). He became our pilot and as such traveled all over the states checking on jobs and equipment needs.

He was a wonderful and loyal employee, and great family man.”

Keeping tabs on equipment and jobsites is everyone’s job, though, and back in the days before fleet management software made that easy, mistakes could pop up.

“Once again, on the humorous side, one of our trucks was supposed to drive from a plant over to Rt. 31, and he mistakenly went to Rt. 13,” Milo Pike shared. “Unknowingly, he dumped into a paver owned by the Lane Corp. Luckily, it was the same mix we were laying on Rt. 31. Lane did eventually pay us, but it was a lot of red tape.”

As stated above, employees became part of the Pike family. Ball got his start at Pike Industries Inc. in 1967. He recalled standing in line to fill out an application, proud to get hired on and receive his uniform to start as a laborer.

“Everyone wanted to work for Pike,” Ball said. “They treated you right and did anything they could to help us to stay together as family. Back in the ’70s, if you needed help with gas, you could fill up your tank at work and they’d deduct that from your paycheck for you.” He worked his way up to equipment operator, operations manager, area manager, and, in his final years with the company, as the director of training.

Ball said one of the programs in place to assist workers was a pooled fund from which employees could borrow.

“They put money into a fund every week to help each other out,” Milo Pike explained. “It was a local Pike company program, not union. We would pay for meetings so they wouldn’t lose any time.”

CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE

Here we see a 10-ton Buffalo Springfield roller, used for breakdown rolling, in front of an old Hyster, on the lowbed for transport to the jobsite. Ball shared that Clayton More, the employee pictured here, was a tall fellow who “hauled all the equipment in the beginning.”

44 // AUGUST 2021

The expectation was one of working together to grow not just a company, but also to grow one another. And expectations were high.

The 1996 employee manual stated what it expected of workers in terms of environmental excellence. “We recognize that we are stewards of our environment, and only through proper and positive actions can we preserve the potential for a quality life for future generations....Our employees must act in a manner that is sensitive to the environment, and any behavior which subordinates correct environmental procedures to operating expediency is unacceptable.”

The manual directs workers to pick up a Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) department manual from their district office and encourages workers to raise any questions they have after reviewing it.

“My most memorable, proudest memory is the paving of the New York Northway (I-87) in the early ’60s,” Milo Pike said. “This was in preparation of the Montreal World’s Fair. Along with that, portions of both I-87 (from Lake George and north) and (from Plymouth to Franconia north) on I-93, both were awarded ‘the most picturesque sections’ of Interstate highways.”

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1-255 KILIAN & KEELEY EXCEL ON ILLINOIS INTERSTATE COMPLETE CLOSURE

BY SARAH REDOHL

I

Interstate 255 was among the first Rebuild Illinois projects. It was completed in October 2020.

In June 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law the state’s first capital plan in nearly a decade - and the largest in state history. The historic, bipartisan bill, Rebuild Illinois, aims to make $45 billion worth of investments in roads, bridges, railroads, state facilities and more by 2025.

A $67 million project on Interstate 255 was among the first Rebuild Illinois projects. The Kilian Corporation, Mascoutah, Illinois, and its partner on the joint venture, Keeley & Sons, East St. Louis, Illinois, bid the job in November 2019 and completed it Oct. 28, 2020.

I-255 is a six-lane interstate that loops around the St. Louis Metro East area on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River. The concrete road had badly deteriorated over the years. “There were a tremendous amount of potholes everywhere,” said Steve Williams, operations manager at Kilian.

This particular section of I-255 has an average annual daily traffic of 50,000. “There’s a tremendous amount of truck traffic on this portion of the interstate, because there are quite a few quarries along the Mississippi River,” Williams said, adding that there are four quarries

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within 10 miles of the project. There’s also a lot of north-south truck traffic that uses I-255 to avoid traveling through downtown St. Louis. “St. Louis isn’t very conducive to truck traffic, and this is a major route to sidestep that.”

Because the road experiences such heavy use, closing any lanes for construction was likely to create major problems. The complete closure enabled cheaper, faster and safer construction, reducing the completion time from 4 years to 10 months while saving $14 million and increasing safety both for workers and drivers.

Although Kilian wasn’t involved in the decision to close 255 during construction, Williams said it was a smart move. “If IDOT elected to do periodic lane closures, the traffic snarls would have been so bad that our trucks wouldn’t be able to get to us,” Williams said. And, he added, Kilian’s crews prefer the complete closure to what would have been the most likely alternative of completing the job at night.

“So much work in the Metro-East area these days is happening at night, and it really begins to wear out families and affects the ability to retain employees.”

“Being able to work in the day and having 24 hours a day available to us took the handcuffs off and allowed us to be creative with scheduling and methods,” Williams said.

COMPLETE CLOSURE, COMPLETE CONTROL

The work zone extended from I-55/70 to Illinois 15, and was divided by I-64 into two construction phases, north of I-64 and south of I-64. In addition to paving the 7.7-mile section of interstate, the job also required new underdrainage, a large quantity of pavement patching, guardrail replacement, and 20 bridge decks requiring a wide range of rehabilitation work.

The north section was closed from Feb. 1 to June 13, 2020, and the south section, June 13 to Oct. 28, 2020. Despite the safety and efficiency benefits of completely closing the interstate, this also presented unique challenges.

“We had to establish our own rules for working on a closed interstate,” Williams said. They posted 30 mile-per-hour speed limit signs throughout the work zone. They also posted directional signs to ensure everyone drove in the correct lanes within the job site, just as if it were an open interstate.

Williams recalled one of the owners at Keeley & Sons questioned the need for such a low speed limit in a closed work zone.

"But then he drove through the work zone at 15 miles per hour and felt like even that was too fast because there was so much activity going on."

The key to working at a tremendous speed was establishing specific areas for each crew and subcontractor, and everyone was expected to honor the designated areas and stick to their individual schedules. “We made a rule that no one from one group could go into another group’s area without their permission,” Williams said.

Another consideration they had to make was at the entrances to the work zones. “We used flashing arrow boards and large signs telling the public not to follow a truck into the work zones,” Williams said, adding that trucks could only enter near one of those signs. “Once they pulled in, they were required to come to a complete stop to ensure no one followed them in.” Thankfully, Williams said, it was very rare that anyone unauthorized entered the work zone. The few times it did happen, he said, “we’d run them off really fast. Everyone could tell when someone who did not belong there has entered the job site.”

Once these safety protocols were established, Kilian was able to get to work - and quickly. “With the interstate being closed, a lot of the obstacles we’d normally face weren’t there,” Williams said.

“It allowed us to really accelerate our work.”

And pace was paramount for this particular job, with a $50,000 per day penalty for running over schedule. They could also earn a bonus of $50,000 per day for up to 20 days for a total bonus of $1 million for early completion.

Over the years, Kilian has built a niche for itself performing large, fast-paced projects, “the kinds of projects that intimidate others,” Williams said. “We’ve assembled an amazing team that can look at a large project and know that we’re prepared to take it on.” The type and pace of work was similar to previous Kilian jobs, except this one “went on and on for months instead of weeks,” Williams said. The company had to make sure its workforce didn’t get exhausted by the work and risk creating safety issues by rotating various employees out to other projects to get a break.

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 47

LEFT: This particular section of I-255 has an average annual daily traffic of 50,000, with heavy truck traffic due to area quarries and north-south truck traffic that uses I-255 to avoid traveling through downtown St. Louis. RIGHT: The complete closure of I-255 enabled cheaper, faster and safer construction, reducing the completion time from 4 years to 10 months.

Choosing subcontractors who could also work at that pace and scale was key, as was working with a partner they could trust. Kilian and Keeley & Sons have worked together on several joint ventures over the years. “Working that fast and at that large of scale, we needed a lot of trust in each other,” Williams said.

NEED FOR SPEED

Kilian and Keeley & Sons bid the job in November 2019 and started at the end of December with prep work in advance of the shutdown on I-255. This included 23,000 square yards of patching, performed

by Keeley & Sons, along detour routes as well as on the second phase section of I-255, “to make sure it didn’t fall apart in the meantime,”

48 // AUGUST 2021

Williams said. They also widened small intersections along the detour routes in advance of increased traffic.

On Feb. 1, they closed the northern section of I-255 and began work on the underdrainage. “Our rule was we couldn’t take any bridge out of action until the underdrains came across,” Williams said. “But as soon as they did, we shut that bridge down.” The bridge work was shared by Kilian and Keeley & Sons.

After the bridge work was complete, milling and paving could begin. The milling subcontractor, Kaskaskia Engineering Group (KEG), Belleville, Illinois, milled off 1 inch of concrete in the driving lanes with their Wirtgen milling machines. The job originally called for milling half an inch off the shoulders and driving lanes, but Kilian

suggested milling the shoulders might not be necessary. “The shoulders were almost new,” he said. Meanwhile, the driving lanes had a lot of surface cracking. Killian suggested milling 1 inch off the driving lanes for increased longevity and smoothness and leaving the shoulders as is. This change would save the DOT $500,000.

The IDOT liked the idea of leaving the shoulders as is.

They spent the $500,000 they'd be saving, plus an additional $500,000, to pave thicker lifts on the mainline portions of the job. The original bid was two 2-inch lifts of SMA asphalt, but this was changed to one 2.5-inch lift followed by a 2-inch lift.

The interstate is three lanes in each direction, plus 10-foot shoulders, for a total of 56 feet wide on each bound along with 22 interchange on/off ramps. At 7.7 miles long, Kilian paved roughly 55 lane miles plus ramps over the course of 45 days of paving with its Caterpillar AP1000 pavers and Weiler material transfer device.

In total, the job required 150,000 tons of asphalt, 81,500 of which was SMA, made at two asphalt plants belonging to Kilian’s sister company Asphalt Sales and Products. They had two plants equidistant from the project, and equipped both with cellulose blowers to add cellulose fibers into the SMA mix, as well as dust run-a-round systems. “We wanted to make sure both plants were prepared to make SMA at all times,” Williams said. “SMA doesn’t have a lot of fines, so it likes to drain down if you don’t have the cellulose fibers in it.”

The company predominantly relied on its plant north of the job, in Roxana, Illinois, because its staff had more experience with SMA. “We were confident they’d be able to run that mix at high efficiency and quality,” Williams said. The plant south of the project, in O’Fallon, Illinois, also produced mix when needed, though it tends to be the busier of the two.

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In addition to the unique challenges of a complete closure, the I-255 job had other quirks. For example, mainline bridges required 28,000 square yards of waterproof membrane system.

IDOT usually uses coal tar emulsion and fiberglass sheets, Williams said, “but it’s an extremely labor-intensive process.”

Plus, coal tar was not in production during the time of year they were performing the bridge work. “Usually you can’t get it until mid-April at the earliest.”

Kilian got creative about how they could overcome those twin challenges, proposing an alternative waterproof membrane system: full lane sealant. They could apply the same longitudinal joint sealant material on the bridge decks, but applied in full-width passes versus in 18-inch wide passes and then overlay it.

“We did a project in 2018 using this material as a waterproof membrane and it took a lot of unpredictability out of the job.”

They conversed with IDOT, conveying how using FLS would bypass labor and material availability issues to ultimately speed up the project, while saving quite a bit of money. “IDOT thought it was a good idea,” Williams said.

“Without that change, we could have easily finished 15 days late because the other process is so laborious and unpredictable. Now, IDOT has a new process they feel comfortable doing that they can use on future projects.”

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“If IDOT elected to do periodic lane closures, the traffic snarls would have been so bad that our trucks wouldn’t be able to get to us.” — Steve Williams In addition to a large quantity of pavement patching, bridge deck rehabilitation, milling and paving, the project also included replacing more than 29,000 feet of guardrail. They also removed more than 33,000 feet of single-faced concrete barrier wall and replaced it with more than 19,000 feet of new double-faced barrier.

Another hurdle was the weather. Because they were starting in February, they were still experiencing occasional snow. Kilian ended up hiring a snow removal crew to be on standby just in case of snowfall so their employees could get to work. Ultimately, this was only necessary for two days. “But if we’d had the same weather we had in February 2019, there’s no way we’d have gotten any bonus for early completion.”

Covid presented yet another challenge. “When the first shutdown started Feb. 1, we hadn’t even heard of Covid yet,” Williams said. The pandemic, and accompanying fear, quickly escalated. “Even though we were deemed essential employees, and that helped tremendously, we were having to convince people to come to work. We had to do a lot to alleviate peoples’ fear in those early days.” That included social distancing, wearing masks, setting up hand washing units throughout the job, and additional toolbox talks and safety instructions to ensure employees were working safely and also to alleviate fears.

“It's amazing we were able to get done as early as we did with what we were facing,” Williams said. “I’m proud of the fact that our company is somewhat fearless. A job like this requires confidence that you’ll be able to figure out a way around any obstacles that arise.”

With a deadline of Nov. 24, Kilian was able to get the job open on Oct. 28 and received the maximum bonus. Kilian earned an additional $345,000 in pay for performance (PFP) bonuses for various HMA mixtures.

For its performance on I-255, Kilian was recognized as IDOT’s Contractor of the Year. Although they’d won the award in 2011 for a similarly large, fast-paced project, Williams was as proud as if it had been the company’s first.

He attributes the project’s overall success to teamwork. “Everyone has to buy into the mission of not only constructing at a fast pace, but at high quality,” Williams said. “Our team borders on being a family, and that’s required to do something at this size, speed, quality and safety. We’re very proud of that and of our team.”

Living just 15 minutes from this section of I-255, and traveling it often, Williams is also proud of the pavement he and his crews so expertly paved. “Motorcycles scarcely used to ride on this section of interstate for fear of hitting one of the many potholes,” he recalled. “Now, they just love it. It’s a source of pride in this area.”

Furthermore, the project is a source of pride for the state as a symbol of early success in its effort to Rebuild Illinois.

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Product Gallery

Track What You Pave M

Many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) offer telematics and tracking systems to assist with everything from fleet management to material delivery. The article “Asphalt Industry OEMs Target What Each Operator Needs” is a touch dated but contains a baseline for you to check out at theasphaltpro.com. Definitely peruse any of the more recent New Tech department articles that dive into predictive maintenance technologies for a litany of options available these days. Most recently, freelance writer Del Williams, Torrance, California, submitted the following piece on how real-time, 24/7 tracking helps to optimize turnaround of your rented equipment, and how that continuous tracking can deter theft and reckless use by encouraging user accountability. He used Advanced Tracking Technologies, Houston, Texas, to illustrate his points.

Construction contractors frequently rent heavy equipment for big jobs, Williams wrote.

When renting equipment, job profitability depends on efficiently renting out equipment, keeping it in good working order and returning it on time, whether that involves lowboys, cranes or scissor lifts, haul trucks, and so on.

To maximize profitability, contractors need to keep track of the equipment to ensure timely return when the job is complete especially when multiple equipment is being leased with multiple jobs occurring in a variety of locations.

To protect and preserve these rented assets, contractors also must deter theft and reckless use as ultimately the responsibility for the equipment rests on their shoulders.

On top of this, if the contractor’s name or logo is emblazoned on vehicles for the public to see, it is vital to prevent any dangerous actions, such as speeding, that could hurt their brand or even invite liability in the case of serious accidents.

As a proactive response, a growing number of contractors are turning to real-time, 24/7 GPS tracking of their heavy equipment rentals to ensure better fleet management and faster rental turnaround. In addition, the same approach provides clear driver and operator accountability, which helps to reduce asset damage and prolong its usable life.

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“Continuous GPS tracking enables contractors to instantly see where all of their heavy equipment assets are at any given moment, so they can know as soon as possible which will be ready to return with minimal downtime,” said Ben VanAvery, director of sales and marketing at Advanced Tracking Technologies, a designer and manufacturer of GPS tracking products.

Compared with typical GPS tracking devices that may only update every few minutes, a system like ATTI’s Shadow Tracker provides real-time location updates every 10 seconds, as well as location, speed and idle time alerts if something is amiss. This data is transmitted via satellite and cellular networks to a smartphone or PC on a 24/7 basis.

The system has access to nationwide speed limits in its database.

According to VanAvery, via a PC or smartphone app dealers can display the real-time location of the entire fleet on a map and zoom in on any specific vehicle. At a glance, they can see if a vehicle is moving (displays green) or stopped (displays red). If they touch a vehicle icon, the app will display where the vehicle has been, where it stopped, and how long it has idled.

Such GPS tracking helps not only to prevent the theft of heavy vehicles and equipment, but also aids in its swift recovery, if it is ever necessary. Law enforcement, for instance, could be provided a relatively precise location of anything stolen.

Because supervisors can be notified when posted speed limits are exceeded, this capability can also serve as deterrent to speeding and help to minimize the risk of accidents, damage, and excess wear and tear. This facilitates extending the equipment’s usable life, while minimizing pre-mature repair and maintenance.

With better renter driving encouraged by active monitoring, this approach could also reduce tickets and potential liability, and may even help to lower the cost of insurance.

Advanced GPS tracking dramatically streamlines the process of returning rental equipment. It does so by making the entire fleet’s location and availability instantly visible, so no equipment is sitting idle and not in

use. This, in conjunction with the ability to encourage greater user accountability, can significantly enhance profitability, while prolonging the usable life of the fleet.

For more information, contact Advanced Tracking Technologies at (800) 279-0035.

Additional OEMs who offer data tracking and monitoring services alongside their proven iron can be found on the next few pages.

These companies have shared their newest offerings to enhance your bottom line. Let them know you saw them in AsphaltPro magazine.

AMMANN

ServiceLink from Ammann Group, Langenthal, Switzerland, has been updated to simplify customer access to machine data that makes jobsites more transparent, productive and profitable. ServiceLink is available for light equipment, including plate compactors, and for heavy machines, such as rollers and pavers.

ServiceLink for light equipment uses a new generation of hardware to ensure the most crucial machine data is consistently available to customers. “This is all about reducing downtimes and opportunity costs,” said Bernd Holz, vice president of light compaction at Ammann. “This simplifies logistics and distribution of machines to jobsites.” ServiceLink also provides customers with machine data so they can spot trends and adjust accordingly.

Key information includes battery charge.

“It’s not a problem if you have to charge a battery before using the machine, as long as you know it,” Holz said. “It is, however, a bad situation if you arrive at a jobsite and only then discover you can’t start the machine—for example, a light compactor. This is particularly important if other facets of the job depend on completing the compaction.”

A one-time fee covers the cost of the light equipment hardware (also known as the TCU), portal access and data transmission.

Customers say machine location is the most important information. “They also want to know if the battery voltage is sufficient,” Holz said. “They want information about how many hours the machine has worked, too. Those

The ARX 26-2 light tandem roller can be equipped with ServiceLink from Ammann. three—location, battery, hours—that’s what they need.”

That information requires little bandwidth.

That led the ServiceLink development team to use a specialized data transmission technology called narrowband IoT, or NB-IoT. First, it requires little power. NB-IoT also has a strong penetration signal, meaning it can connect in rural areas and for long distances. Data transmission is also secure.

“The data transfer is automatic,” said Wladimir Drisner, product manager—light equipment at Ammann. “There is absolutely no manual interaction required of the user. This is a breakthrough for a small, light and affordable device.”

Crucial to data transfer, and ServiceLink in general, is the revamped hardware. It is compact, fully enclosed to prevent penetration from dust and water, and rugged to withstand harsh jobsite environments. The TCU housing contains all the electronics: a microchip, GPS module, NB-IoT module and sensors. It comes factory-mounted or can be added later as a retrofit. It can be installed on all current and older Ammann light equipment machines. Installation is extremely easy. After the installation, ServiceLink is ready to work.

“You activate the TCU by simply plugging in the dedicated TCU battery or the machine’s starter battery,” Drisner said.

Light equipment that is not equipped with starter batteries, such as small plate compactors, will be powered exclusively from the TCU battery. It lasts between two and four years, depending on the transmission frequency and various external factors, and is easily replaced. “You just unplug the old one and plug in the new one,” Drisner said.

Accessing ServiceLink is simple, according to the manufacturer. ServiceLink users first register the machine. “Customers can log onto the platform through myAmmannn.com,”

Holz said. “Once there, they register their machines and TCUs.” The process is fast. “You can access telematics data within seconds of a registration,” Holz said.

Subsequent visits are even easier. “All customers have to do is click on ServiceLink. All Ammann applications are a single sign-on.

It’s one click, and you’re on the portal. There’s your information.” Also available is a ServiceLink mobile app for iOS/Android.

From start to finish, Ammann made simplicity a priority. Drisner said, “Customers expect that telematics is not complicated.” Knowing a machine’s location removes guesswork for the customer. “If you have to manage multiple jobsites at once, it makes it much easier to track where all the machines are,” he said.

ServiceLink provides anti-theft protection, too. A “geofence,” or a virtual perimeter, can be defined within the portal, Drisner said. An alert can be sent if the machine leaves the perimeter. If the equipment is being relocated during a routine time of the day, the customer will assume an operator is moving it. “But if it’s Friday night at 11 p.m., you would have a different reaction,” Drisner said.

Recovery of stolen equipment is more likely because the GPS will continue to send the machine’s location after the theft.

The data on a machine’s working hours can be used to schedule maintenance. Customers can make their own evaluations based on that information or rely on alerts from Ammann that a machine is due for service.

“Grouping the light equipment is essential to ensuring proper maintenance,” said Heiko Graber, global aftersales and service director.

“It can be inconvenient to bring in a single machine for maintenance, so there is a logistical element. In addition, customers are more likely to see the importance of maintenance when they see how many machines are impacted. In the end, that maintenance extends the life of the machines.”

ServiceLink for heavy equipment, such as rollers and pavers, offers additional functionalities, including fuel consumption data. “The customer can evaluate fuel usage on an ongoing basis and also evaluate specific time periods to spot trends,” Holz said.

Heavy equipment users use myAmmann. com the same way as light equipment users.

“There is one consolidated telematics portal for all machines,” Holz said.

All heavy machines from Ammann come equipped with the necessary wiring and linkages. Customers can have ServiceLink installed at the factory or add it later.

For more information, visit https://www. ammann.com/en/.

ASV

ASV Holdings Inc., Grand Rapids, Minnesota, has grown its presence in the United States with the introduction of 21 new dealer locations across six dealers. They include ROMCO Equipment Co., Carrollton, Texas; Volvo Construction Equipment and Services, Corona, California; Stone Equipment Co., Montgomery, Alabama; J.W. Turf, Chicago, Illinois; Sherlock Equipment Sales, Bremerton, Washington; and Rowe’s Tractor, Wenatchee, Washington. The dealers will offer ASV’s full line of Posi-Track® compact track loaders.

ASTEC

The Astec Industries RP-250 is a heavy-duty 10-foot (3-meter) asphalt paver that combines the advantages of rubber tires with the tractive effort of a crawler paver. This large footprint 250-horsepower machine has increased traction and flotation with a smooth ride, according to the manufacturer.

The RP-250’s unique augmented steering is assisted by the rear wheels and operators have precise control, especially in turning, according to the manufacturer. The paver’s unique frame-raise ability allows the operator to control and adjust the frame position as needed.

The RP-250 features Astec’s exclusive anti-segregation design of the feed tunnel, the feed tunnel discharge and the rear augers.

• Delta Plate defines the front wall of the material tunnel, preventing mix from rolling forward under the paver.

• Augers are kept close to the discharge of the conveyors, so material is always kept

The RP-250 from Astec Industries features a 252-cubic-foot hopper capacity. www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 53

Product Gallery moving. The auger assembly pavers can be hydraulically raised, lowered and tilted.

• Electric flow gates are designed to be simple to operate and to give precise control over the head of material.

• Features include: • Cummins QSB 6.7, Tier 4F engine • 250 hp @ 1,900 rpm • Up to 233 fpm paving speed • 252 cu ft hopper capacity • Frame raise capability For more information visit https://www. astecindustries.com/products/details/roadtecrp-250-highway-class-asphalt-paver.

CATERPILLAR

Caterpillar Inc. announced the availability of “The Fundamentals of Equipment Economics” web-based training course, designed to help construction business owners and fleet managers reduce equipment costs, extend and optimize machine life, and improve profitability through proven, data-driven principles. Built on over 50 years of experience, Caterpillar has partnered with industry expert Mike Vorster to develop an equipment economics curriculum.

An eight-part online program offered by Caterpillar University, “The Fundamentals of Equipment Economics,” is designed for a wide range of businesses, from large contractors that manage diverse fleets with hundreds of machines to small construction and landscaping firms using a single piece of equipment. It uses a pragmatic, step-by-step approach to teach essential skills and best practices for: • Predicting and managing owning and operating costs; • Determining when to repair, rebuild or replace a machine; • Measuring the value of reliability and utilization; and • Mastering quantitative tools and advanced economic concepts.

In other news, Caterpillar received gold for its Cat® Command for Construction system during the 2021 Edison Awards program. It was recognized as being the best of the best for the Smart Productivity Tools–Living & Working Environment category. Named after Thomas Alva Edison, the Edison Awards have recognized some of the most innovative

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products, services and business leaders in the world since 1987.

Cat Command removes the operator from the machine, offering safe operation in hazardous areas. The Command console and station delivers remote-control operation from the comfort of an air-conditioned office, thousands of miles away from the project site. Eliminating shift-long machine vibration feedback, the system reduces the chances for operating injuries and fatigue-related accidents as well as increases productivity.

“We’re honored the Edison Awards panel of judges, comprising of more than 3,000 senior business executives and academics, chose Cat Command as a gold recipient. I’m extremely proud of how talent from the entire enterprise coalesced around the vision for Cat Command, and I commend them for their dedication to innovation and hard work on a solution that adds significant customer value,” commented Construction Digital & Technology Worldwide Product Manager Fred Rio. “We were very impressed by the level of collaboration and discovery in this year’s entries,” said Edison Universe Executive Director Frank Bonafilia. “Somehow, while facing the unprecedented challenges of this global pandemic, companies around the world figured out how to work safely and smartly and still innovate at an award-winning level.”

For more information, visit the Caterpillar website.

CHEMTEK

Chemtek Inc., Morrisville, North Carolina, now offers a new disposable tote option for 275-gallon and 330-gallon quantities of its biodegradable asphalt cleaner, PavePro Green. The company stated one of its main objectives is to achieve maximum sustainability in its manufacturing processes and product offerings. The company now extends its sustainability efforts to include product packaging. The new disposable EarthWise totes are not only environmentally friendly, but are designed to provide space, time and disposal savings.

For more information, contact (888) 389-3189.

HAMPTON PRODUCTS

Hampton Products International Corp., Foothill Ranch, California, has announced that its Keeper® Combat™ ratchet tie downs

are now available at The Home Depot. Keeper Combat ratchets feature a strong steel ratchet with “No Slip Grip” handles and vinyl-coated S-hooks to prevent scratching and marring. Leading the family of products is the 16-foot Combat ratchet tie down, which has a patent-pending, 1.25-inch webbing design to absorb shock and resist cut, rot and abrasion with a half-ton working limit. The 16-foot Combat ratchet has a 1,000-pound load limit and overall dimensions of 2.8 x 11 x 13.9 inches (D x H x W).

JOHN DEERE

John Deere, Moline, Illinois, introduced in May its construction equipment service program, John Deere Protect™ Service Plan.

Through this program, routine maintenance is performed at every 500-hour interval by an experienced John Deere dealer. The program is designed to decrease long-term ownership costs and reduce customer risk.

LUTEC

Lutec of Germany offers the Comicat 140 machine for grinding asphalt, concrete and terrazzo. The company stated it’s used regularly to prepare floors in retail centers, industrial buildings, hospitals, and parking garages, as well as to prepare bridge, concrete road, and asphalt road surfaces for resurfacing.

Without a conveyor, it mills surfaces up to 3 inches deep and 14 inches wide in a single pass and leaves the millings for a skid steer to collect. It does this with a 31-piece milling tool. This allows for a production rate of up to 1,200 square feet per hour, according to the manufacturer. The low-impact, high-production Comicat 140 is small and maneuverable, according to the manufacturer; it also comes equipped with a Hepa filter and vacuum attachment for indoor use. It is available in North America via the dealer in Mississauga, Canada.

For more information, visit the Lutec website.

SAKAI

Sakai America Inc., Adairsville, Georgia, announced Frost Machines, Powell, Wyoming, as a new authorized dealer with areas of responsibility including Northern and Western Wyoming, Eastern Idaho and all of Montana.

The dealership includes sales, parts, and service of the heavy equipment product lines of

asphalt rollers and soil compactors, as well as all light equipment lines. Their fleet also includes the model GW754, the only vibratory pneumatic tire roller in the market.

Owners Michael and Stuart Frost have over 40 years combined highway construction experience with Mountain Construction. That experience led them to create AXENOX Construction Solutions®, which manufactures and sells paving construction equipment and tools.

For more information, contact Kim Wilson at (307) 272-1011.

Sakai America also celebrated 20 years of assembling asphalt and soil rollers in Adairsville, Georgia, in May. “Sakai America has experienced exceptional growth over the past 20 years in the United States,” said Yasunori Azumi, president of Sakai America. “We have proudly assembled over 3,500 machines here in our Adairsville, Georgia, facility, and look forward to being part of this community for many years to come.”

Fifty employees work at the Sakai America facility in Adairsville. The location serves as the North American headquarters, has a 175-foot-long assembly line, 97,000 square feet of office and warehouse space within two buildings, and over 40 acres of land for testing and machine storage. This summer, the company brings the SW774 series to the Adairsville facility for assembly as well.

SPEEDBINDERS

The Crosby Group, a lifting, rigging and load securement hardware manufacturer headquartered in Richardson, Texas, has acquired Speedbinders, which is a manufacturer of load binders for heavy duty load securement.

Robert Desel, CEO of The Crosby Group, said, “We are thrilled to expand our best-inclass load securement portfolio with Speedbinders. The torque drive technology’s dual focus on enhancing worker safety and improving productivity for drivers is a winning combination for the industry.”

STACOOL

StaCool Industries, Lecanto, Florida, maker of the StaCool Vest™ core body cooling system, unveiled its new website to allow users to search for cooling vests for personal use or industrial applications, compare

models available, find and replicate past orders, purchase online, track shipments, and even manage payments. Packed with information, the online home to the originator of the Cool Vest educates users about heat stress and includes details about cooling vests worn under- or over-clothing, fire retardant vests, and more.

Whether elevated ambient temperatures are due to the summer heat or to manufacturing processes like welding, working near furnaces, boilers, or other heat process equipment, maintaining a consistent core body temperature is vital to user safety. According to the manufacturer, supplying cooling technology, like cool vests, is safer than exposing workers to possible heat related illnesses, and because wearers do not require cooling breaks, they are considerably more productive.

For more information, check out the StaCool website.

TAKEUCHI

Takeuchi-US, Atlanta, Georgia, has hired Shann Cooke as its new Midwest regional product manager. Cooke will now be responsible for supporting all the company’s dealers and national rental accounts in the Midwest region, which includes the states of Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Tennessee and Wisconsin. He will also train the region’s salesforce on product features, benefits, applications and how to perform effective machine demonstrations.

“Shann has a long and proven track record in sales,” said Shay Klusmeyer, divisional sales manager for Takeuchi-US. “He also understands the heavy equipment market, having owned and operated his own machines for more than 20 years. His knowledge of the entire sales process, from managing teams and logistics to closing the deal will help us develop our salesforce throughout the Midwest. We’re very pleased to have Shann on board.”

WEILER

The SE10F front-mounted screed from Weiler Inc., Knoxville, Iowa, offers a rigid frame to prevent flexing and in-line extension cylinders with full wrap-around slider bearings to reduce extension deflection. Trailing edge screed plate adjusters are easily ac-

cessible for quick leveling, according to the manufacturer. 675-volt, U-shaped heating elements provide 20-minute heat up time and reduce cold spots. Zone monitoring allows heating to continue in the event of a sensor failure.

Cat® F-Series controls are conveniently located and monitor screed heat, adjust feeder system ratios, and are integrated with Cat Grade and Slope control system.

The platform features an 18.5-inch-wide folding walkway with extensions, dual side 4-foot level holders, built-in cup holders and lockable toolbox.

For more information, contact (641) 8282334.

WILEY

Protecting eyes at the workplace or jobsite is of critical importance. Wiley X®, Livermore, California, offers an assortment of ANSI-rated protective eyewear for 2021.

Founded in 1987 by Myles R. Freeman Sr., a proud U.S. veteran with a simple idea: provide superior protective eyewear to the brave men and women who defend our country. Wiley X got its start producing protective, premium eyewear for the U.S. Military.

While Wiley X hasn’t lost sight of its original goal, their mission has evolved.

The same technologies that continue to keep the military and elite special forces safe, also protect those who seek safety on the job.

Key features of Wiley X eyewear include ANSI Z87.1 safety ratings that are OSHA approved for maximum protection, high-wrap frames to prevent unwanted light from obstructing peripheral vision, and models with removable Facial Cavity™ seals that block dust, debris, and harmful substances, according to the manufacturer. Some models come in expanded rim system options, allowing wearers with prescriptions from -7.00 to +5.00 to have premium safety rated eyewear as well. The Worksight™ Series styles come with removable side shields to protect when on-the-job or be removed when wearing in the office or at home.

Top new styles for 2021 include the CCS Breach, AS Peak and WS Epic.

For more information, visit the Wileyx website.

– BY ASPHALTPRO STAFF

www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 55

here’s how it works

Step 4 The display will show the operator on a visual representation of the plant where any fault may be occurring. Then he can select the “information” button to access troubleshooting tips to correct and clear the fault.

Step 3 The Spective display shows the operator his plantʼs efficiency in real time.

Step 2 Spective walks the operator through start-up with a step by step sequence on-screen.

Step 1 The operator presses the blue and white start buttons under the 12-inch touchscreen display.

Kleemann’s Spective Control System New mobile crushing plant operators can face a daunting task at the jobsite as crushing technology and plants increase in complexity. The engineering team at Kleemann, a division of Wirtgen Group, Antioch, Tennessee, has designed the Spective user interface system to make crushing plant controls easier to manage from day one. Here’s how it works: In automatic mode, the Spective display guides the operator through the process of starting up the plant. First, the operator presses the blue and white start buttons under the 12-inch touchscreen display. The system then shows the operator, step by step, how to engage each additional function. Because the system is sequential, the

N

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operator can learn the process for startup merely by performing his job.

Next, the impact crusher or cone crusher has the ability to “zero” the crusher closed side setting/gap. This allows the operator to adjust for the previous day’s wear in seconds to maintain a consistent end product.

Along the bottom of the 12-inch Spective screen, important information such as production utilization, gap setting and fuel consumption are displayed during operation. Other relevant data can be accessed as needed because the logical menu navigation is designed with clear operating instructions.

For example, in the event of a machine caution, the Spective display will show the operator on a visual representation of the

plant where the fault is occurring. If the operator needs further assistance, he can select the “information” button and a list of trouble-shooting steps will appear. This will expedite the resolution of the fault and get the machine back up and running.

If the plant operator so chooses, he can use the Spective Connect App on his phone or tablet to monitor the information on the Spective display from the safety of his wheel loader or excavator cab. This allows one operator to manage the crushing operation from raw material to final product while staying connected to the operation of each machine.

For more information, contact Matthew Graves at (629) 395-5314 or visit www.kleemann.com.

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GTB-5477 Bituma® 400TPH Portable Parallel Flow Drum Plant

1-800-826-0223 stansteelused.com GT-5470 CMI® PTD400 Partial Portable Counterflow Drum Plant

GTB-5280 ALmix® Nominal 250TPH Stationary Double Drum Plant

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GTB-5489 Astec® 400TPH Partial Portable Counterflow Drum Plant

For more information on the items above and more, call or visit our website.

Availability, price and condition subject to change by Stansteel®. Specifications are accurate to our knowledge, however; they are not guaranteed. All prices are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. Equipment is sold on the basis of as is, where is, therefore, Stansteel® recommends inspection by buyer of any used equipment to determine suitability to their requirements. Gencor® and Bituma® are trademarks of Gencor® Industries, Inc. and Stansteel® is not related to or licensed by Gencor® Industries, Inc.

off the mat

Get Ready for MSHA to Tackle Crystalline Silica was in the proposed rule, but eliminated from the final rule without comment. Garland directed OSHA to reopen the rule and reconsider medical removal. While the agency is not required to include it, it must articulate support for its stance on the issue.

“This medical removal issue is kind of a ticking time bomb over in the corner that nobody’s really talking about,” said Adele Abrams, president, Law Office of Adele L. Abrams P.C., explaining that there is no bio marker to determine a level to trigger medical removal.

“Lung damage is not reversible,” she also noted. “There’s no going back to a point where it would be safe to resume work in that silica-exposing position. That person is never going back to mining again; they’re probably going to be out on permanent partial disability. That’s huge from a worker’s compensation perspective.”

Equipment manufacturers have taken worker exposure into consideration in newer equipment updates which, if properly maintained and included in a Table 1-like control method, could streamline implementation of a new MSHA crystalline silica rule. Photo courtesy of Caterpillar Asphalt pros and others under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) jurisdiction have had several years to learn how that agency’s crystalline silica rulemaking affects their operations. Now, their counterparts in the aggregates industry are watching and waiting for Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to release its own rule, which seems likely to parallel OSHA’s more stringent permissible exposure limits.

“The OSHA rule is really already out there and it’s kind of a blueprint,” said Libby Pritchard, construction materials safety director, National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA). “We assume that there will be some similarities between the two rules, but that doesn’t mean the MSHA rule will be a copy/paste version of the OSHA rule.” Provisions likely to carry over include the lower permissible exposure limit and the inclusion of medical surveillance, she said.

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SETTING THE PRECEDENT

In 2016, OSHA published a final rule on crystalline silica requiring worker protection over the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 micrograms per cubic meter, averaged over an 8-hour day, which is half the current MSHA standard PEL of 100 micrograms per cubic meter. Other provisions include measuring worker silica exposure, limiting access to high-exposure areas, using effective methods for reducing exposure, providing medical exams to workers with high silica exposures, training workers about the hazards and how to limit their exposure, and, of course, recordkeeping.

During the Trump administration, the rule was challenged in a number of court cases, including one in the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit. There, Merrick Garland, now the U.S. Attorney General under the Biden administration, upheld challenges to the rule. He also ruled in favor of union objections to the absence of medical removal provision, which

LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES

As both OSHA and MSHA consider crystalline silica, asphalt and aggregate producers have an opportunity to argue for facets of their operations to be addressed like construction industry jobs regulated in Table One of OSHA’s rule. The table specifies exposure control methods for various equipment uses and tasks. If the control methods are used for those tasks, the operator is not required to measure the worker’s silica exposure and is not subject to the PEL. Abrams explained that the construction materials industry would like to see those exposure control methods applied across the board. Currently, she said, an asphalt producer could be using the same protective measures outlined in Table One, but would technically still be required to perform periodic sampling, which is more complicated and expensive.

“We think there is a place for (Table One) in an MSHA crystalline silica standard,” added John Ulizio, director of NSSGA’s Industrial Sand Division. “We have a lot of jobs that have control booths. If you work in a control booth and you have adequate door seals, ade-

quate filtration for incoming air, practice good housekeeping, and the booth is under positive pressure, it really doesn’t make sense for the operator to spend money and time and effort on sampling. It’s better for the operator to spend the sampling efforts on other jobs.”

GEARING UP FOR A NEW STANDARD

If they have not already done so, aggregate producers should benchmark their silica programs to OSHA’s current standard, Abrams advised. California producers should adhere to the CalOSHA standard, which includes an additional injury and illness prevention program.

With many operations that share workers between asphalt and aggregate operations, it’s best to ensure that all worker exposure falls under the OSHA threshold, she said. “From a moral perspective, how do you justify affording your people on the asphalt side of the road under OSHA twice the protection you’re giving your miners

on the quarry side of the road who are making raw materials for the asphalt plant,” Abrams added, noting that it could be inviting litigation to maintain different standards for asphalt and aggregate operations.

Operators should also implement the hierarchy of controls to reduce worker exposure. Begin using all feasible engineering controls such as ventilation, dust suppression, and enclosures. Then move on to administrative controls and work practices such as worker rotation. Use of personal protective equipment should be the last resort to minimizing worker exposure. Finally, equipment maintenance is essential.

“Employers need to upgrade their tools,” Abrams said. “Don’t nurse the old stuff because, in the end, you’re going to spend a lot more energy trying to use alternative engineering methods rather than replacing it with one that has been designed to help you achieve the standard.”

As MSHA collects data and formulates its approach to crystalline silica, industry

leaders are engaged in ongoing dialogue with the agency.

“We have a substantial interest in what MSHA does with respect to crystalline silica,” Ulizio said. “We want to be a partner with MSHA...and share the experience and insights our members may have learned over the course of their operations and work toward getting a good rule that’s going to enhance worker protection and allow us to continue to provide our essential materials.”

“We support a silica standard that improves worker health and safety and works for operators,” Pritchard added.

– BY THERESE DUNPHY

Therese Dunphy has covered the aggregates industry for 30 years. As owner of Stone Age Communications, she provides communications consulting services to help producers build strong relationships within the communities they serve. She can be reached at therese@ stoneagecommunications.com.

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new tech

EarthCam Delivers DOTS Visual Data The suite of live streaming webcams and related services from EarthCam, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, have been used on thousands of infrastructure construction projects around the globe.

Within the United States alone, more than 40 state departments of transportation (DOTs) and numerous towns, municipalities, engineers and contractors have used EarthCam technology for project documentation, security, traffic monitoring and real-time live streaming to keep the public informed about their infrastructure projects.

“From time-lapse documentation of the country’s largest projects, to temporary mobile trailer cams for work zone safety monitoring, EarthCam provides webcam solutions that increase productivity and efficiency for the toughest jobsite applications,” said Bill Sharp, EarthCam’s senior vice president of product development and strategy.

In the spring of 2021, EarthCam announced a new partnership with Infotech, Gainesville, Florida, that aims to deliver critical visual data directly into DOT workflows, streamlining the ability to use visual data in project management. This integration creates a visual timeline from the project site, offering documentation for inspections and daily reporting while enhancing the audit trail.

Images can automatically be pushed to specific contracts in Infotech’s construction administration solution, such as compliance reports. For efficient data visualization, image upload frequency can be set according to activity levels and includes metadata such as time, date and weather conditions.

“Visual data is the way of the future to increase productivity and efficiency for infrastructure construction projects,” said Ron Perkins, Infotech senior manager of strategic partnerships. “By integrating EarthCam cameras with our contract management solution, we are helping DOTs and engineering firms create a more informed jobsite with real-time visual assets that add key value for the overall success of the project.”

EarthCam has been working to develop integrations with partners like Procore and Autodesk to allow the company to bring powerful visual data into many more aspects of infrastructure construction management.

T

MONITOR THE JOB SITE REMOTELY

Remote job site monitoring has been particularly useful during the COVID-19 pandemic, but is also a valuable capability in its own right, Sharp said. Monitoring the job site via live streaming cameras is beneficial to the public, owner/agencies, and to the safety of construction workers themselves, he said.

60 // AUGUST 2021

This screenshot was taken from the live feed of one of EarthCam’s work zone cameras.

EarthCam offers web based, responsive and mobile applications on iOS and Android, as well as drone, photogrammetry and mapping integration.

When building the Vrooman Road Bridge, the Ohio DOT relied on EarthCam to document progress of the project. Alan Exley, chief design engineer at the Lake County, Ohio, engineer’s office, said capturing the project’s construction enabled them to use time lapse movies during project presentations. When EarthCam was used to document the I-74 Mississippi River Bridge project, the live cameras kept the community informed and was a key component of the public outreach for the project. One resident said that watching the project being built made him feel a sense of ownership and pride in the project, as well as appreciation for the construction workers’ hard work. “Live streaming and time-lapse videos clearly demonstrate the complexity and planning involved with these unique construction projects,” Sharp said.

Additionally, archived imagery captured with EarthCam can serve as a historic record of how construction processes were completed, allowing detailed forensic visual analysis in the future. “Users can share images and site telemetry such as local weather, onsite sensor data, etc. via email or even with direct API integration into project management platforms,” Sharp said, referring to the new Infocore integration and other upcoming integrations.

Another recently added feature useful on construction job sites is the use of visual artificial intelligence to detect and identify more than 30 different classes of construction vehicles onsite, automating visual inspections and providing visual verification of vehicle locations.

The company also has experience mounting cameras on moving construction equipment, using high speed cellular internet and live streaming IP video cameras. “In the case of rapidly progressing roadway projects, we most often use self-contained autonomous solar powered trailer systems with 30-foot masts that can be quickly moved from one phase to the next,” Sharp said.

EarthCam is also interested in seeing how its thermal camera solutions could apply to paver-mounted thermal profiling (PMTP) activities in the future. They currently offer fixed-position thermal cameras and can schedule drone flyovers with thermal imaging cameras.

“We love to solve complex problems with elegant technology solutions and could envision working on [PMTP technology] with an interested party in the future for sure,” Sharp added.

– BY SARAH REDOHL

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OSHA COVID safety rules give workplace flexibility to transportation construction firms ARTBA Foundation Announces Financial Assistance to 10 Children of Fallen Highway Workers Top 10 Tools Roller Operators Should Have on Them

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