PRODUCTION – PROFESSIONALS – PRODUCTS
Get Density on a Thick Base Lift • Pave over a gravel road • Pave the multi-purpose path • Train your next six-figure worker • Sunland shines on a desert project • Robot plotter marks transverse joints
NOVEMBER 2026 THEASPHALTPRO.COM
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INDUSTRIES INC.
CONTENTS
asphaltPRO November 2026
DEPARTMENTS
34
EDITOR’S LETTER
6 – Pave with What’s Behind the Technology By Sandy Lender
SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
8 – Protecting Paving Crews Starts Before Drivers Enter the Work Zone By Lori Diaz, CFRE
STREET SMARTS
12 – What Does It Take to Be a Six-Figure Employee? By Bill Stanley
TRAINING
18 – How to Get Density on a 7-inch Lift Curran placed about 70,000 tons for a Goodyear parking lot, starting with a 5.5-inch compacted lift on a soil-cement base By John Ball
PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE
24 – Maintenance Before Winter Damage ASI Paving tells contractors how to walk the parking lot with property managers ahead of winter weather By Marc Navetta
26
40
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
26 – D.E. Gemmill Deploys Robotic Tracking for Pavement Marking Incorporating the Tyker Robot Plotter in its pavement marking plan, a Northeast contractor becomes the first in the United States to deploy the tech for transverse-joint layout By The Asphalt Pro Staff
WOMEN OF ASPHALT
30 – Women of Asphalt Branch Feeds Community The Maryland WofA raise funds and build up the next generation of women in the industry By Sandy Lender
INTERNATIONAL SNAPSHOT
PRODUCTION – PROFESSIONALS – PRODUCTS
Get Density on a Thick Base Lift
52 – International Workforce Attracting and building the workforce of the future is a common challenge around the globe. Here’s how Skills Ontario engenders interest in skilled trades like roadbuilding. From Enterprise Canada
PRODUCT GALLERY
54 – First Large Loaders Built in the United States for Volvo CE Open the Production Gallery From The Asphalt Pro Staff
OFF THE MAT
65 – Use Job Site Data for Stronger Margins By Jon Fingland
NEW TECH
66 – See Density in Real Time Roller-mounted sensing system gives operators a live reading on compaction with continuous, GPS-referenced record of every pass By Garrett Winkelmaier
• Pave over a gravel road • Pave the multi-purpose path • Train your next six-figure worker • Sunland shines on a desert project • Robot plotter marks transverse joints
FEATURES NOVEMBER 2026 THEASPHALTPRO.COM
34 – Sunland Lights Up Desert Project By Sandy Lender 40 – How to Pave a Walking Trail Asphalt contractors can get in on environmentally positive, multi-purpose path paving By Sandy Lender 48 – How to Pave a Gravel Road Using moisture and best practices, place HMA over a solid gravel base By Sandy Lender
ON THE COVER Curran Contracting, Crystal Lake, Illinois, supplied around 70,000 tons of asphalt for a distribution center project from its continuous drum plant. The paving began with a 7-inch loose base course. See related article on page 18. Photo courtesy of Top Quality Paving & Training
E D I TO R ' S L E T T E R Pave with What’s Behind the Technology
O
ver the past decade, the construction industry has seen an influx of online calculators and cloudbased reporting services that facilitate real-time decision-making. Everyone from the superintendent who pulled up to the work zone two minutes ago to the plant manager who’s sitting down to a meeting with a materials supplier have instant access to connected information that tells them which truck is stuck in traffic with cooling mix and which AC tank will run low by the end of the shift. One of the many things we can be thankful for, as we turn our attention to gratitude for the Thanksgiving holiday, is the instant access these systems give us to answers that might have slowed production in the past. For example, if you read between the lines of this month’s training department, “How to Get Density on a 7-inch Lift,” you’ll see Curran Construction’s quality control manager mention the instant readings from the nuclear density gauge. Rather than cutting cores and correlating numbers, he received instant results on the project’s base course. While the gauges themselves are obviously not new technology, it’s that kind of in-realtime data that asphalt professionals are tapping into on a regular basis these days with new technologies, services and systems. But let’s not forget the importance of basic knowledge behind the answers. Just because an LLM, an app, a cloudbased database or an online calculator gave your worker an answer in 30 seconds or less doesn’t mean your worker knows what he’s doing in the field. It doesn’t mean the laborer staring at the touch screen on the screed pedestal understands that the line resembling a stretched-out spring needs to be adjusted to accommodate the upcoming flare. The workers may have automation and intelligent compaction and a host of other technology tools to assist in executing flawless jobs, but they still need to know and understand the fundamentals of asphalt paving. They need to know what questions to ask. And why. Consider a modern-day compaction assistant installed on the breakdown roll-
6 | NOVEMBER 2026
er. It may flash red for “stop” at the operator, but the operator needs to understand what’s going on behind that flashing light. He needs to understand why there’s no way the mat went from 82% behind the screed to 94% under his drum in one pass. He needs to understand time and temperature and what’s in the mix he’s rolling. If he hits the traditional HMA mat that has cooled to 160°F with the vibe turned to max, he’s going to damage the product, no matter what the screen in front of him says about number of passes. The workers who lean on technology are wise to employ new tools that can help them achieve bonus-worthy results. They are wise to access online calculators to figure yield and double-check fluff factor settings and ask a few questions of an asphalt-centric chatbot (I’m pointing to The Pro at ask.theasphaltpro.com), but they are also wise to learn the fundamentals behind those calculators and questions. Each and every member of your crew should grasp the basics of asphalt production, asphalt hauling, asphalt paving and asphalt compaction. Without a rudimentary understanding of how the asphalt paving train works, the technology tools become shortcuts that will get the worker into a mess one of these days. While the tools can help train and enhance the skill set for any worker, they can’t replace good old-fashioned knowledge and know-how. I’m thankful to be a part of such a robust and resilient industry as this one. And I’m grateful to the experts who share their knowledge in the pages of The Asphalt Pro to help educate the workers who make this industry as robust and resilient as it is. As we count partnership within this industry among our blessings, everyone here at The Asphalt Pro wants to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! Stay Safe,
Sandy Lender
November 2026 • Vol. 20 No. 2
asphaltPRO 602 W. Morrison, Box 6a Fayette, MO 65248 (660) 728-5007 • www.theasphaltpro.com GROUP PUBLISHER Chris Harrison chris@theasphaltpro.com EDITOR Sandy Lender sandy@theasphaltpro.com (239) 272-8613 DIGITAL 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 OPERATIONS Natasha Nivens natasha@theasphaltpro.com The Asphalt Pro is published 11 times per year. Writers expressing views in The Asphalt Pro or on the website are professionals with sound, professional advice. Views expressed herein are not necessarily the same as the views of The Asphalt Pro, 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 States, 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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S A F E T Y S P OT L I G H T
Protecting Paving Crews Starts Before Drivers Enter the Work Zone
For more than 50 years, ATSSA has provided training to equip roadway workers to perform their jobs safely. The association’s training covers temporary traffic control, flagging and worker protection, providing roadway safety professionals with the knowledge and skills they need to navigate the risks of working in close proximity to traffic.
Understanding why speeds have been reduced, why additional space is needed around construction equipment and other elements of how to drive near active work zones is essential to helping young and student drivers become safer drivers who make better and intentional decisions. All photos courtesy of ATSS Foundation BY LORI DIAZ, CFRE
F
or the crews who build and maintain America’s roadways, safety is a daily concern. Asphalt paving workers operate near heavy equipment, in ever-changing conditions and next to live traffic. Training, proper traffic control and protective measures are essential to keeping these roadway workers safe. And with the proximity to traffic, one of the greatest work zone dangers is the motorists passing by. Work zone safety is a shared responsibility. Road workers have a responsibility to follow established safety practices and use the tools and training available to them. 8 | NOVEMBER 2026
Simultaneously, drivers need to recognize that their actions could be the difference between life and death for the men and women working just feet away from them. That shared responsibility is at the heart of the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) and the ATSS Foundation. For more than 50 years, ATSSA has provided training to equip roadway workers to perform their jobs safely. The association’s training covers temporary traffic control, flagging and worker protection, providing roadway safety professionals with the knowledge and skills they need to navigate the risks of working in close proximity to traffic.
ATSSA also provides resources for roadway worker injury prevention. Its Worker Protection Toolkit offers guidance intended to help employers and workers identify risks, strengthen prevention efforts and respond appropriately when serious incidents occur. These efforts recognize an important reality. Protecting the people who build and maintain our roadways requires preparation, training and a commitment to safety across the board. It also requires looking beyond the work zone itself. A well-designed work zone can provide appropriate signs, channeling devices, traffic control and other protections, but those measures depend on motorists recognizing them and responding appropriately. Speeding, distracted driving, failure to follow a flagger’s instructions, or simply not paying attention can put workers and other road users at risk, which is why education is such an important component of roadway safety.
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S A F E T Y S P OT L I G H T The ATSS Foundation, ATSSA’s charitable arm, works to advance roadway safety through public awareness and education. This starts by reaching drivers well before they have years of habits built behind the wheel.
YOU CAN PARTNER FOR EDUCATION
For the past four years, the Foundation has partnered in providing free online education to help young drivers ages 15-19 learn how to safely navigate work zones. In addition, ATSSA’s Government Relations Team has been working with association members and legislators across the country to encourage their states to require such training for new drivers. To date, at least eight states have mandated some form of this training. The Foundation also reaches out to young children to start work zone education at the elementary level through the Work Zone Activity Book, a fun way to learn.
The Work Zone Activity Book from the ATSS Foundation offers a fun way for elementary level children to learn about paving operations and how their parents, school bus drivers and other guardians could and should react to a flagger or construction equipment.
Consider a young driver encountering a paving operation for the first time. Understanding why traffic has shifted, why a flagger is directing vehicles, why speeds have been reduced or why additional space is needed around construction equipment can help that driver make better and intentional decisions. Those decisions take only seconds, but for a worker on the roadway, those few seconds can mean everything. 10 | NOVEMBER 2026
The most recent data as of fall 2026 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that of 850 work zone fatalities in 2024, 673 were drivers and their passengers.
This education is especially valuable when it happens early. New drivers are developing habits that can influence how they approach work zones throughout their lives. Teaching them that work zones are places they need to slow down, pay attention and follow directions can help establish safer behavior from the beginning of their driving journey. For the people providing the critical service of safer roads, this is an important step to protect crews. Employers and workers can continue investing in training, planning and safety practices. Industry organizations can continue developing innovative ways to protect workers and sharing best practices. Public agencies can continue improving the design and management of work zones. But none of those efforts can fully eliminate the risk created by an inattentive or unsafe driver. For a driver, a work zone may be seen as a delay in their day. But it is much more. For the person operating a paver, setting traffic control, or performing another job in that space, it is a vulnerable workplace. But for motorists and their passengers, failing to heed work zone warnings puts their lives at risk as well. The most recent national statistics show that the largest number of people killed in a work zone crash are the people in the vehicles attempting to navigate the work zone. The most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that of 850 work zone fatalities in 2024, 673 were drivers and their passengers. That means that changing motorists’ perspectives is a key component to creating a stronger culture of roadway safety.
The ATSS Foundation’s work with young drivers is one way to give teens practical information about how to make work zones safer for themselves and others. Their actions can affect the workers who are building and maintaining the infrastructure they rely on every day as they travel the nation’s roadways. And the opportunity to make a difference goes beyond individual drivers. Parents, driving instructors, schools, employers and roadway professionals all have a role to play in reinforcing safe behaviors. When work zone awareness becomes part of driver education from the start, safer decisions can become habits rather than reactions. Every worker deserves to return home safely at the end of the day. Reaching that goal requires continued attention to the practices and protections that keep crews safe, but it also requires drivers to recognize their role in protecting the people around them. Through ATSSA’s industry-focused training and advocacy, and the ATSS Foundation’s public education efforts, roadway safety professionals can approach that challenge from both sides of the work zone: preparing the people who build and maintain our roadways while educating the people who travel through them. Safer work zones do not begin when a driver reaches the first cone. It begins by understanding that there are people behind the project, and that every driver has a role in ensuring all road users get home without incident. Lori Diaz, CFRE, is the director of ATSS Foundation.
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STREET SMARTS Hard-won know-how for the next generation
What Does It Take to Be a Six-Figure Employee? The difference between a good employee and a six-figure employee might be as simple as whether they stop to move the traffic cone. BY BILL STANLEY
I
could probably double the size of American Pavement Specialists tomorrow. We have the work. We have the equipment. What I don’t have is another 25 people I can send out on a job and know it’s going to get done right. I can find bodies. I can find somebody who will show up, punch in, do the one thing I tell them to do and go home. What’s hard to find is somebody I can give a task to and not have to worry about it. Somebody who notices the little things—like the traffic cone that needs to be moved—but also sees the big picture. They need to understand how the whole operation works, how their job affects the next person in the paving train and where they need to jump in to keep the job moving. Those are the people I’m looking for. And as a business owner, I’d rather have one employee making $150,000 a year who can help me get the job done than three employees making $50,000 whom I have to babysit all day. Now, six figures means something different depending on where you live. We’re in Connecticut, an hour outside New York City, and our pay scale and cost of living are different than other parts of the country. So, I’m not telling you that everybody who does these things is automatically going to make $100,000 a year. What I am telling you is what makes somebody worth that kind of money to me.
BE THE UTILITY PLAYER
If you want to be a six-figure employee in this business, the more you can do, the more valuable you are. Period. You might be a great roller operator. That’s great when we’re running the roller. But what happens if we’re not? Do I send you home? Do you stand around and cost me money? Or can you jump out of that seat and do something else that helps us get the job done? 12 | NOVEMBER 2026
A six-figure crew member understands more than one seat. The more you know about every part of the paving train, the more valuable you become when the crew needs somebody to step in.
I always talk about a paving crew like an assembly line. Everybody has their job, but everybody needs to have some knowledge of the other guy’s job. You don’t have to be a master at every position. But if the roller guy doesn’t show up Monday morning, somebody better be able to get in that seat. Most companies don’t have spare guys standing around waiting for that to happen. It’s the same thing with an in-house truck driver. I’m not looking for somebody who can only drive a truck. I’m looking for somebody with a CDL who can drive the truck and be something else. When the hauling is done at 1 o’clock Wednesday afternoon, can you load topsoil? Can you move equipment around the yard? Can you go pick up a part? Can you jump in and help the crew? The more you can do, the more you’re worth.
We had a job recently where we had about a mile of road protected with signs, cones and stands. By the time we got back out there the next day, cones were gone and signs had been knocked down or damaged. I went to buy replacements. Three dozen cones, four signs and six stands cost me about $3,800. I didn’t have another $4,000 sitting in that job for traffic control we had already bought once.
Now think about the employee who drives down that same road, sees the signs knocked over and stops. They pick them up. They straighten them out. They replace the cone that’s missing. Nobody had to call. Nobody had to tell them it was their job. They just saw something that needed to be done and took care of it. That’s my kind of employee.
Kenco Engineering, Inc
PAY ATTENTION
One of the biggest differences I see in a six-figure employee is simple: they pay attention. If you’re on one of our jobs and you hear a backup alarm, your head should come up. Automatically. What’s that machine backing toward? Is there a manhole sticking up? Is there somebody behind it? Is there something sitting there that we’re about to run over? I’ve seen the same thing with traffic control. You can have somebody out there who does nothing but turn the paddle from STOP to SLOW all day. Then you’ve got another guy who sees that a roller is sticking 3 feet out into the road with a car coming and starts blowing the whistle. That’s the one I want. You have to know your surroundings. You have to know what’s happening around you, not just what’s happening directly in front of you. It’s more than safety. It’s protecting the equipment, protecting the job and protecting the people you’re working with. The employee who sees something before it becomes a problem is very valuable to me.
JUST MOVE THE CONE!
What does a single traffic cone have to do with a six-figure employee? A hell of a lot. A traffic cone is a very small part of what we do. But those cones cost $30 or $40 apiece now, and we’re buying them by the dozen. If you see that cone and move it before somebody runs it over, you just protected something that belongs to the company. It might only be $40, but it matters.
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WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM | 13
STREET SMARTS Hard-won know-how for the next generation Because if you’re protecting my traffic cones, you’re probably protecting everything else, too. You’re watching the customer’s lawn. You’re watching the curb. You’re watching the fence, the light pole and the equipment. You’re thinking about what it costs when we have to go back and fix something that never should have been damaged in the first place. Everything matters in this business. Six-figure employees understand that the little things aren’t little when you’re the one paying for them.
DON’T WAIT TO BE TOLD
There are two ways you can come to work Monday morning. One employee punches in and waits for the orders to come out. Tell them what to do, and they’ll go do it. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that. The other employee punches in and starts looking around. The trash is full, so they take it out. The windshield on the utility truck is dirty, so they wipe it down. They see something loose on the back of the truck, so they tighten it before we go down the road and lose it. They’ve already done three things, and I haven’t had to say a word. It’s the same thing out on the paving crew. We’re waiting on trucks and there’s a little downtime. One person sits down and waits for the next load. Another notices a bolt working loose on the roller and tightens it up. Who do you think is more valuable to me? I’m the owner of the company, and if the bathroom needs cleaning, I’ll clean the bathroom. I take out the trash. I make sure my truck has fuel in it. When it’s time for an oil change, I get the oil changed. If something needs doing, you do it. That’s the attitude I’m looking for. Don’t walk past something because it’s “not my job.” If you can take care of it, take care of it. That’s how you become somebody I don’t have to manage every minute of the day.
WE BUILD THEM
I’ve never hired a six-figure employee right out of the box. We always brag that we built them. Somebody can walk into my office and tell me they’re a rock star and they’re going to change my world. That’s fine. But, I don’t live on promises. We work off performance. Show me what you can do. 14 | NOVEMBER 2026
The most valuable crew members don’t need someone looking over their shoulder. They know the job, pay attention and take care of what needs to be done.
Six-figure employees don’t stand around waiting for the next assignment. When something needs doing, they see it and get to work.
One of my best employees came to us about six years ago with landscaping experience and a new CDL. They had never driven a heavy-duty truck. We gave them a shot. Today, they’re one of my highest-paid employees and get some of the most hours because they were willing to learn. If there are 30 different tasks involved in what we do, they’ve probably mastered 25 of them. If somebody came to me after their first season and said, “Bill, I want to become a six-figure employee,” I’d put them with one of my six-figure employees and say, “Stay with them. Watch what they do.”
Don’t just watch what they do when the paver is moving and everybody is busy. Watch what they do when the trucks aren’t there. Watch what they do when something breaks. Watch what they do when everybody else thinks there’s nothing to do. If you’re all in, I think you can get there in two or three seasons in our market. But you’ve got to put the time in the seat. You’ve got to learn the operation. And you’ve got to prove that when I give you a job, I don’t have to worry about it. That’s how we at American Pavement Specialists build six-figure employees.
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TRAINING
How to Get Density on a 7-inch Lift Curran placed about 70,000 tons for a Goodyear distribution center, starting with a 5.5-inch compacted lift on a soil-cement base BY JOHN BALL
A
cool and misty day in DeKalb, Illinois, made the perfect conditions for one day of a warehouse paving project. While asphalt professionals don’t usually like to pave in the rain, the light sprinkles here and there served us perfectly on this one because the moisture helped set and tighten the soil-cement base (or cement-treated base (CBT)) we were paving on. Typically, when paving on this type of base, we spray a light misting of water to tighten everything up, as I recommend for treating a gravel base. (See the article “How to Pave a Gravel Road” on page 48.) For this project, the weather provided just enough moisture, because the drizzle was off-n-on, to solidify the base and make it as hard as a blackboard. Even when executing a U-turn with the tracked paver at the end of a pass, we left no ruts in the surface. It offered a great surface for paving. The team from Curran Contracting, headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois, received mix from the plant about 5 miles away, keeping temperatures predictable as we placed pulls of 7 inches loose at 17.5 feet wide with the Cat 1055 paver. We extended the 10-foot screed by 3.5 feet and a few inches on each side to balance it and set the augers at 7 inches off the mat to keep from overfilling the head of material and to control volume. Three large rollers followed the paver: two Volvos and a Cat 15. All three had 84-inch drum widths to get compaction of the thick, wide lift and leave us with a 5.5-inch depth and smooth results. Because this was a private job, density wasn’t a pay factor, but it was necessary to ensure quality.
The 10-foot screed is extended equally on each side for a 17.5-foot paving width and the augers have no trouble keeping material fed to the endgates. Also notice the guide bar on the paver includes a chain that is painted to help the paver operator see it.
DENSITY GAUGE PROVES TWICE IS NICE
Curran’s QC Manager Dave Rushford has been in the asphalt industry for 30 years and explained the rolling team knew how to get compaction with this mix. Base course = PG58-22 with NMAS of 19.0mm, 5.5 inches compacted Intermediate course = SBS 70-28 plus polymer with NMAS of 19.0mm, 2.25 inches compacted Surface course = SBS 70-28 plus polymer with NMAS of 9.5mm, 2.5 inches compacted
“With the mix itself, it’s an N70 binder, and we’ve already done a test strip for my jobs,” Rushford said. “We already had data on that to begin with.” He explained that for the N70 binder, it takes anywhere from 9 to 11 passes with the rollers to achieve the minimum densities you want at 2.25 inches. “We started off with the three rollers doing 5-5-5, and we just kind of augmented it as the mix progressed and how it looked for what we were doing.” 18 | NOVEMBER 2026
The crew placed the mix at 7 inches loose, 5.5 inches compacted, leaving a fluff factor of 1 1/2-inch. To ensure you maintain the right depth and compaction across your project, get out a straightedge and a tape measure and check. Place the straightedge across the joint prior to compacting the second lift and measure the difference. If the difference is the amount of fluff you’re building into each pull, then you’re on target.
Curran Contracting used their continuous drum plant to produce the PG58-22 mix for the Goodyear distribution center lot. The plant, located in Dekalb, is about 5 miles from the project.
The plant located about 5 miles from the project produced the N70 binder mix for the base course at 320 to 330°F and at a rate of about 280 tph. The same plant handled the intermediate and surface courses, which both added a polymer to the mix.
One of the challenges Rushford’s team came up against was temperature. “We had days where ambient temperatures were up in the 100s. The mix was taking a long time to cool down. We had to kind of lay back.” The production temperature at the plant was around 320-325°F and because the job site is so close to the plant, there wasn’t time for the mix to cool during transport. “We were actually lowering the mix temp and we were running the trucks untarped just to kind of cool everything off.” Getting compaction began with density off the screed of about 79 to 82% and then rolling what I call a double-hit. To cover a pull that’s 17.5-feet wide—or 210 inches—the 84-inch breakdown roller needed to make three coverages—or six passes—to roll the complete width. Then a seventh pass brought the roller back to his start position to begin the six passes again.
The Curran crew had 12 tractor trailers delivering mix on the Goodyear distribution center project. WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM | 19
TRAINING
The Curran crew had 2 Etnyre live bottom trailers delivering mix on the Goodyear distribution center project. These trailers use a conveyor along the floor of the truck body to move the mass of material in a continuous unit to the hopper. Notice how the doors of the tailgate open as if guiding the material into the hopper.
The paver was only traveling about 24 feet per minute on this project and the rollers traveled between 150 and 200 feet per pass. Keep in mind, for a thick-lift project in cooler weather, the roller passes may need to tighten up. “When it was hotter out, we were actually making longer passes because we could,” Rushford said. “But it’s getting a little cooler now here in Illinois.” Keep these back-to-basics tips in mind when going for density on thicker lifts: • Use wider rollers to cover more of the mat at once. • Make sure you have enough rollers to keep up with the paver. • Don’t let the paver outrun your rolling train. • Keep the breakdown roller at least a foot off the unconfined edge to keep from pushing out. The second and third rollers will cover this area. • Doublecheck density with a gauge before the mat cools so there’s time to make adjustments to the rolling pattern, if needed.
To double-check that the rolling train was giving us a good mat, Rushford used the 3440+ nuclear density gauge from Troxler. The device offers density measurement capability in backscatter or direct transmission mode and moisture measurement in backscatter mode for nondestructive testing of soil, asphalt and concrete. It gives a direct readout of the following test results: wet density, dry density, moisture, percent moisture, percent voids and percent compaction. 20 | NOVEMBER 2026
The 3440+ nuclear density gauge from Troxler Electronic Labs, Inc., Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, gave the team instant readings of the densities achieved on the base course.
“Checking the base course density with a gauge is a quick and nondestructive step that helps identify if additional compaction is needed while the area is still accessible,” Troxler President and CEO Finch Troxler said. “For a distribution center, addressing density helps ensure the pavement will hold up as designed under all that stress from constant truck traffic.” As you can see in the pictures, Rushford was getting readings on the base course of 93 to 96%. Rushford said they were averaging 94%. All the members of Rushford’s team are certified to use the gauge, and he talked about some of the reasons he prefers it to other devic-
drum MIXERS
Dave Rushford has been in the asphalt industry for 30 years and with Curran Contracting since 2024.
es on the market. Even with the certification and paperwork to complete, he doesn’t see those steps as a hassle. “If you keep up on your paperwork, everything’s generally fine,” Rushford said. “I’ve used non-nuclear ones. I’ve had them. The problem with the non-nuclear ones, they’re just so way off. If you’re doing what we’re doing here…you’d have to come up with some sort of correlation to density. So, you’d have to cut cores to match the core reading or gauge reading like you would do in a test strip, which is a lot more work than if you just have a standard gauge like we’re dealing with.” Certification isn’t a burden for Rushford, either; it’s part of quality control training. “Every year we go through a safety course to be safe with the gauge, and then we have a transportation [training] to move the gauge. There’s an online course that you can take….There are a couple different companies [offering training] out there, but Troxler does have one. I like Troxler’s. It’s the best. They’ve been doing it for a really long time. They’re up on everything.”
PAVE FOR QUALITY
Before the crew could achieve their good compaction numbers, they had to get the mix on the ground. And the paving relied on mix delivery. The plant was only 5 miles away in Dekalb and produced the PG58-22 mix at about 280 tph. We had 14 trucks bringing the mix: 2 Etnyre live bottoms and 12 tractor trailers. They were averaging 20 and a half tons per load. For the tractor trailers, everything was business as usual. The trucks would back to the paver, stop, allow the paver operator to bring the tractor gently in contact with the back tires at the push
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TRAINING LEARN MORE Getting Density on a Thick Lift
To get compaction of a lift that’s 7 inches thick and 17.5 feet wide, the Curran crew used three heavy rollers with 84-inch drums.
Here we see the breakdown roller performing its second coverage. The operator executed the rolling pattern by rolling up and back for coverage one, setting over; rolling up and back for coverage two, setting over; then rolling up and back for coverage three, all while staying 1 foot off the unconfined edge.
Here we see the roller finishing his third coverage. He was corrected to roll out the stop marks, but this picture lets you see where passes one, three and five stop behind the paver. Notice that you can clearly see how he’s staying off the unconfined edge. This is vital when working on a thick lift to keep from bending the joint and creating a V shape in the overall mat.
22 | NOVEMBER 2026
During normal use throughout the shift, the density gauge plate will pick up material, which will affect readings if left to build up. Curran’s QC Manager Dave Rushford recommends cleaning the plate two or three times a day, which is easy enough to do when the plate is retaining the pavement’s heat. Use a biodegradable release agent on a shop rag to wipe down the plate and return to work. Don’t spray the release agent directly on the plate, but spray it directly on the rag.
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Here we can see the PG58-22 mix moving smoothly out of the live bottom trailer. The live-bottom’s conveyor facilitates this movement.
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Designate an area off to the side of the project where trucks can clean out. Make sure all drivers know that’s the safe and appropriate place to knock cooling chunks out of the bed before heading back to the plant. You don’t want cooled chunks ending up all over the base where you’ll be paving or remaining in the truck to become a segregated portion of the next load.
rollers, then apply the brake and lift the bed to begin charging the hopper. For the Etnyre live bottoms, the process allowed a smoother transfer of material. The truck still backed to the paver, stopped, and allowed the paver operator to bring the tractor gently in contact with the back tires at the push rollers. But instead of lifting the truck bed, the driver released the tailgate to open like a pair of barn doors securing the truck end in the hopper and allowing the mix to flow in. The live bottom conveyor then moved the mix from the truck body to the hopper in a smooth, continuous mass as the truck and paver drove forward. Each pass required about 800 tons and attention to detail. The crew from Curran marked their lines; the paver operator followed his guidebar; the team used joint matching automation; and everyone worked as a cohesive unit to pave a gorgeous distribution center lot for Goodyear in Dekalb, Illinois. John Ball is the proprietor of Top Quality Paving & Training, Manchester, New Hampshire. For more information, contact him at (603) 493-1458 or tqpaving@yahoo.com.
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PAV E M E N T M A I N T E N A N C E
Maintenance Before Winter Damage ASI Paving tells contractors how to walk the parking lot with property managers ahead of winter weather BY MARC NAVETTA
W
inter weather often exposes problems hiding in the pavement system: small cracks near an entrance, a pothole that slipped down the maintenance list or standing water collecting in the same low spot after every rainfall. Once temperatures fluctuate above and below freezing, minor issues can quickly turn into larger, more expensive repairs. Water finds its way into cracks, freezes, expands and puts additional stress on the pavement structure. That is why winter preparation should begin well before the first freeze. Property and facility managers don’t need to repair every section of pavement at once, but they do need to understand where the lot is vulnerable and where preventive maintenance can help avoid more significant damage in the months ahead. As a paving contractor, you can help them.
WALK AROUND THE LOT
The first step is pretty simple: walk the parking lot looking for cracks, potholes, deteriorated patches, open joints along curbs. or alligator cracking. If possible, walk around the pavement after it rains. See where the water collects and pay attention to where water has more of an opportunity to find its way into the pavement. Those conditions don’t necessarily mean the pavement needs to be completely replaced, but what they do mean is that it is time to figure out what is happening and what can be done before winter makes it worse. The goal of a pre-winter inspection isn’t to make sure every square foot looks perfect. It’s to find the areas where water can get into the pavement and identify the problems that have the potential to grow.
FREEZE-THAW CYCLES DO THE REST
Once water gets through cracks or failed patches, it can reach the materials below the surface. When water freezes, it expands by approximately 9% and can create movement and stress within the pavement structure. Once temperatures rise, that expansion disappears and what remains is a weakened area or void. Depending on the climate, the process can repeat many times. By spring, when a vehicle drives over a void created by that repeated movement, the pavement may no longer be fully supported. That can lead to larger cracks, potholes and differential settlement between pavement surfaces. This is why a pavement defect that doesn’t look like much in October can become a very different problem by spring.
DON’T JUST FIX WHAT LOOKS THE WORST
When budgets are limited, there is always a question of where to spend the money. The natural answer is usually to fix the worst-looking pavement first. It’s wise to guide your property manager client to move anything that creates a safety or liability concern to the front of the line, such as a pavement failure along an ADA path or a pothole near the main entrance. 24 | NOVEMBER 2026
Once those issues are accounted for, property and facility managers should also look at the pavement that is still in relatively good condition. Those are the areas where maintenance dollars can be best spent. Pavement that appears to be in fair but still good condition can be preserved for much less money than it would cost to rebuild the area after it fails. Planning for the maintenance budget should involve putting some money into pavement that is still performing.
CRACK SEALING BEFORE WINTER
After identifying the cracks, one of the most important preventive maintenance steps to do before winter is crack sealing, which is what helps keep water out of the pavement in the first place. Timing is critical here. Crack sealing materials need the proper conditions to bond and perform correctly. The cracks and pavement surface also need to be properly prepared. Waiting until temperatures have already dropped can make it more difficult to get the work completed under the conditions needed for the treatment to be effective. The same mentality applies to sealcoating and restriping. Those treatments can be important parts of a pavement maintenance program, but they also have temperature and curing requirements. It is better for a property owner to get that work done earlier in the season and plan ahead for any preventive maintenance, rather than gamble on a warm stretch in November.
PUT THE PARKING LOT ON A MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE
The other part of preparing for winter is having a plan that goes beyond this year. Too often, pavement maintenance becomes reactive, when it should be a proactive partnership between the contractor and client. Having a consistent two- or three-year maintenance plan can give property and facility managers a clearer picture of what needs immediate attention, what can be preserved and what may require larger capital improvements in the future. Having that information documented makes it much easier to build a budget and to prioritize maintenance.
GET AHEAD OF THE DAMAGE
Winter is going to put pavement to the test, but it doesn’t have to be the moment that determines when a parking lot needs major repairs. The pavement weaknesses are usually there before the first freeze. The challenge is to find those issues while there is still something relatively simple and affordable that can be done about them. Once spring arrives and that small crack has become a pothole, the maintenance decision has already been made for you. Marc Navetta, P.E., is ASI Paving’s vice president of customer engagement with more than 26 years of civil engineering, asphalt standards and project management experience.
P R OJ E C T M A N AG E M E N T
D.E. Gemmill Deploys Robotic Tracking for Pavement Marking Incorporating the Tyker Robot Plotter in its pavement marking plan, a Northeast contractor becomes the first in the United States to deploy the tech for transverse-joint layout BY THE ASPHALT PRO STAFF
F
inding and marking transverse joints for sawcut and seal becomes more precise and efficient when D.E. Gemmill, Inc., Red Lion, Pennsylvania, combines LiDAR mapping and robotic layout technology. The pavement marking contractor and sign manufacturer has provided Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware with marking and maintenance services for 40 years, and now is the first U.S. company to deploy robotic plotter technology for transverse-joint layout. Since 1986, D.E. Gemmill, Inc., has provided professional, highquality marking and maintenance services to clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. The company specializes in a range of services, including providing pavement marking and maintenance, hydro blasting and marking removal, Auto Layout with LiDAR technology, robotic layout, in-house traffic sign manufacturing, sign installation, and roadway safety services.
D.E. Gemmill recently added the Tyker Robot Plotter, which combines LiDAR mapping with automated robotic layout, making it one of only 10 companies nationwide currently using this autonomous layout technology. D.E. Gemmill put the equipment to work in September 2026 on US15 in Adams County, Pennsylvania, giving its team the opportunity to evaluate the technology in an active roadway environment. David Gemmill, owner of D.E. Gemmill Contracting, shared with The Asphalt Pro some particulars of the project. “This was a Penn DOT project however we were performing the work for the prime contractor, The JVI Group. The project was approximately 4.1 miles long and encompassed the two southbound lanes of a four-lane 26 | NOVEMBER 2026
A member of the D.E. Gemmill crew uses remote control to work with the Tyker Robot Plotter along US15 in Adams County, Pennsylvania.
The addition of the Tyker Robot Plotter is part of D.E. Gemmill’s continued investment in technology and automation designed to improve roadway safety and field operations for the company.
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P R OJ E C T M A N AG E M E N T highway. Each lane required a closure of one shift to perform the layout marking for the transverse joints.”
HERE’S HOW THE PROCESS WORKS.
STEP 1. A milling subcontractor removes the existing pavement to expose the underlying concrete roadway. STEP 2. D.E. Gemmill uses its Auto Layout truck with LiDAR technology to scan the exposed concrete. This captures the locations of joints. This information is processed into precise positioning data and the data is uploaded to the robotic plotter. STEP 3. The prime contractor paves the roadway. STEP 4. D.E. Gemmill uses the robotic plotter to travel the new pavement surface and mark the transverse joint locations. STEP 5. A subcontractor saw cuts and seals the joints. The result is a more automated approach to a process that traditionally requires considerable time and physical labor on the roadway. “The reason for sawing and sealing the joints is for the expansion and contraction during the freeze and thaw cycles in cold weather climates,” Gemmill shared. “Without the joint for expansion and contraction, asphalt placed over concrete road bases can cause the concrete to buckle or crack. This is a process that PennDOT has as part of its construction process.” Now D.E. Gemmill has the Tyker Robot Plotter to facilitate automation. Company management first learned about the technology at the American Traffic Safety Services Association’s annual Convention & Traffic Expo in early 2026. Seeing an opportunity to reduce employees’ roadway exposure while making the layout process more efficient, the company added the system to its pavement marking division for field use. “Over our 40 years in business, we’ve seen our industry change significantly and continue to move toward new technology and automation,” Gemmill said. “We believe it’s important to embrace the technologies that can position us for the future, especially when they can improve safety for our employees…These investments also give us the opportunity to expand our ca28 | NOVEMBER 2026
David Gemmill (at right) discusses incorporating the Tyker Robot Plotter technology for transverse-joint layout.
After the prime contractor has paved over the concrete, D.E. Gemmill uses the robotic plotter to travel the new pavement surface and mark the transverse joint locations.
pabilities and provide services that may not currently be widely available throughout our service area. “D.E. Gemmill Inc. is a pavement marking contractor that is utilizing equipment that is used for pavement marking capture and layout, by expanding into another area of the construction process,” he continued. “It is just another form of marking that
needs to be performed in the highway construction process.” The addition is part of D.E. Gemmill’s continued investment in technology and automation designed to improve roadway safety and field operations as the company completes pavement marking projects throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware.
WO M E N O F A S P H A LT
Women of Asphalt Branch Feeds Community The Maryland WofA raise funds and build up the next generation of women in the industry BY SANDY LENDER
S
ince 2021, the Maryland Women of Asphalt (MD WofA) has hosted an annual Christmas in July event to raise funds and collect non-perishable pantry items for the Maryland Food Bank. On July 9, 2026, the five-year anniversary event not only saw a great turnout at its new Kurtz’s Beach location in Pasadena, but also celebrated the presentation of the branch’s first scholarship.
OUTREACH IN THE COMMUNITY
At the start of the 2020s, the MD WofA group wanted to reach out to do something positive for the community at large and sought an organization they could connect with. They found a charity that is present in all the counties the various Maryland Asphalt Association Inc. (MAA) producer members represent and selected the ideal time of year to assist that group. “We were trying to find an organization that touched multiple parts of Maryland, and Maryland Food Bank spread throughout all the communities we work and live in,” MD WofA Chairwoman Amy Eckert said. “The food bank is hardest hit during the summer when kids are out of school and no longer receiving school lunches. Families are in a bigger need during the summer. This outreach gets right in the middle of that time, and the food bank encompasses Maryland as a whole.” Not only did MD WofA pick a time when families are most in need, the group also picked a time for its fundraiser and food drive when the asphalt industry has fewer special events vying for its attention. “July and August are the quietest for events in our industry,” Eckert pointed out. With MAA on board, the WofA branch has seen more vendors and producers joining for the event each year. “It’s definitely growing each year,” Eckert said. The entities participating include producer members, equipment companies, subcontractors and materials suppliers. It’s truly an effort that brings the entire asphalt community together for a good cause, showcasing how the industry cares for its neighbors. For 2026, the organizers moved the celebration to Kurtz’s Beach, which is an event venue on the water that allowed them to keep the tropical feel they wanted. “This gives us more space to expand,” Eckert said. “It has an open pavilion with Adirondack chairs, big Jenga and Yahtzee games, cornhole for the mix-n-mingle, networking side of things.” 30 | NOVEMBER 2026
The Maryland Women of Asphalt board of directors took a moment during the 2026 Christmas in July festivities to hang out with Santa Claus.
During the July 9 event, Arianna Johnson was announced as the inaugural recipient of the Educational Trust Scholarship from the Maryland Women of Asphalt.
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WO M E N O F A S P H A LT
Lauren Webb Tolstoi from the Maryland Food Bank joined the party for the 2026 Christmas in July fundraiser, where 626 pounds of food was donated. As attendees arrived for the July 9 event, non-perishable food items started to stack up.
Each person who attends the Christmas in July event is encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item and P. Flanigan & Sons donates a box truck for collecting and delivering all the food to the food bank. For the fundraising side of the event, MAA Chairman Paul Bramble continued the tradition of the Chairman’s Challenge. For this campaign, his David A. Bramble company pledged a $1,000 dona-
The organizers raised $500 through a 50/50 raffle at the event.
tion to the food bank and challenged other organizations to do the same. Anyone can contribute any amount, of course, and there was a link on MAA website to make that easy. During the 2025 event, Eckert explained, the organizers added a 50/50 raffle to the fundraising, which they continued in 2026. At the conclusion of the 2025 fundraising, the MD WofA had raised $33,643 for the food bank and collected 3,880 pounds of food. With 2026 in the books, those numbers are even more impressive, with 4,506 pounds of food donated. “This year we raised $6,726.97 for a grand total of $40,369,” Eckert shared.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SCHOLARSHIP
Another aspect of this year’s Christmas in July was the presentation of the first Educational Trust Scholarship to Arianna Johnson, a civil engineering student at Morgan State University. The MD WofA’s Educational Trust—Scholarship Program is a new initiative for 2026. The branch strives to empower women pursuing careers in the asphalt industry by increasing awareness of opportunities, elevating knowledge through education and research, and creating a strong support network. In alignment with these core values, MD WofA now offers a scholarship program that awards financial assistance to women seeking to begin or advance careers in the asphalt industry. Female applicants can be Maryland high school seniors entering a field-related trade school or enrolling in a university program related to civil engineering, construction management, or a similar field; or they can be females currently enrolled in a Maryland higher education institution in a field related to the asphalt industry; or they can be females currently employed in the asphalt industry in Maryland, returning to school or taking classes to further her career. As Eckert explained it, “We wanted to keep it female-only and located in Maryland but there are three different ways for a candidate to qualify.” Johnson was in attendance to receive her scholarship and speak to the crowd. Afterward, she shared, “Thank you to everyone that was able to make this scholarship possible. I am truly grateful and look forward to continuing to strive for excellence in my future endeavors.” From encouraging students to choose a career in construction to feeding neighbors, the MD WofA is shining a positive light in the Old Line State to share the asphalt industry with a new generation and to bring more people to our table. 32 | NOVEMBER 2026
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SUNLAND LIGHTS UP DESERT PROJECT BY SANDY LENDER 34 | NOVEMBER 2026
A paving crew for Sunland Asphalt & Construction, LLC, Phoenix, Arizona, accomplished a 3-inch mill-and-fill for the Arizona Department of Transportation over the course of two nights in July, using a pair of lights from Boom Light, Wichita, Kansas, to help illuminate the screed and mat. All photos courtesy of Sunland
A
This overhead look at the SR-238 project vividly illustrates how the work zone at night is only as large as your illuminated area. The truck in front of the Weiler material transfer vehicle practically blends into the milled surface whereas the screed and mat immediately behind the paver are bright and well delineated.
Arizona State Route 238 (SR-238) starts in Maricopa and offers motorists access to the Sonoran Desert National Monument. For a paving crew of Sunland Asphalt & Construction, LLC, Phoenix, Arizona, it also offered a chance to accomplish a smooth rehabilitation project in two nights July 21-22. Ryan Smith, general superintendent-public works for Sunland, shared details of the mill-and-fill. Sunland’s sister company, Solterra Materials, produced the ADOT 409 ¾-inch mix with PG70-10 and 20% reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) at its Coolidge asphalt facility, which is an ALmix continuous drum plant located approximately 35 miles from the project. Ambient temperatures during the job averaged 95°F and the mix left the plant at 330°F. The conditions allowed for minimal temperature loss. At the job site, the crew saw mix temperatures of approximately 300°F coming off the screed. “The crew averaged approximately 225 tons per hour,” Smith shared. “The mix performed as expected and did not present any unusual challenges. It performed as expected throughout the project.” The project was a 2-lane-mile rehabilitation of a section of SR-238 between MP 41 and MP 42. Before the crew began, the roadway had some cracking and potholes, according to Smith. The 3-inch mill-andfill took out the minor signs of aging, replaced approximately 3,300 tons of asphalt
Here, Fernando Bacerra signals to the haul truck feeding the material transfer vehicle. Behind him, you can see the boom pole of the boom light system. WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM | 35
The Sunland Asphalt crew began by setting up the paving train after the mill. 36 | NOVEMBER 2026
at varying widths over two nights, and restored the driving surface for Arizona Department of Transportation. To perform the work, the Sunland milling crew used a Wirtgen 210 cold planer at a pace of about 50 feet per minute to remove 3 inches of pavement. The millings were returned to the Coolidge facility for future screening and projects. Behind the mill, the Sunland paving crew replaced the pavement in a single 3-inch lift with a Weiler E-2850 material transfer vehicle (MTV) feeding a Caterpillar AP1055F paver with electronic averaging skis. The crew affixed a 2-foot-wide steel roller to the righthand side of the screed to build a safety edge during paving as well. To achieve density on the mainline, they used a Caterpillar CB66 in the breakdown position. Even though ADOT wasn’t offering a bonus on the project, the team achieved average densities of 94% behind the breakdown roller and brought the DOT a smooth finish. “This ADOT project achieved compaction through the specified rolling equipment and required roller coverage in accordance with ADOT specifications,” Smith shared. The whole crew worked as a seamless unit to bring the night paving project to completion early. “The project was scheduled for three nights, but our crews completed the work in just two nights without sacrificing quality,” Smith shared. While this took all members of both milling and paving crews to stay on task, Smith spoke highly of the team leader. “The project was led by Superintendent Trey Bless, who has been with the company for five years. Trey is known for being reliable, passionate and committed to delivering a quality product.” One of the elements that made this project challenging was working next to live traffic at night. The project had a work window from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. “There were no significant specification concerns beyond executing the work safely and efficiently within the nightly closure window,” Smith said. “Night work alongside live traffic requires constant awareness and communication. Maintaining a safe work zone and keeping crews alert around moving traffic was a top priority throughout the project.” To that end, the paving crew affixed additional lighting to the paver for both safety and illumination of work areas. “Two
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Solterra Materials produced the ADOT 409 ¾-inch mix at its Coolidge facility about 35 miles from the job site. At the plant, the mix temperature averaged 330°F; behind the screed, it averaged 300°F and smoothed into this gorgeous surface.
LEFT: The Weiler E-2850 material transfer vehicle fed an insert in the Caterpillar AP1055F hopper to facilitate nonstop, smooth paving. MIDDLE: The crew used a 2-foot-wide steel roller affixed to the screed at a 30-degree angle to create the safety edge. RIGHT: For the nighttime paving operation on SR-238 in Maricopa, Sunland used Boom Light’s patented THOR Paver Lighting System to provide high-output illumination around the paving operation.
balloon lights were positioned above the operator’s station to provide additional job site illumination. Two boom lights were mounted over the screed.” They used Boom Light’s patented THOR Paver Lighting System to provide high-output illumination around the paving operation. Designed specifically for asphalt pavers, THOR features dual 150-watt LED light heads producing a combined 42,000 lumens and a 360-degree rotating base that allows crews to direct light where it is needed around the machine. The elevated canti38 | NOVEMBER 2026
levered design positions the light above and beyond the paver, illuminating the active work area while improving visibility for operators and ground personnel. The system is designed to support worker safety, paving quality control and overall visibility during nighttime operations. “The boom lights provided additional lighting for the ground crew, improving visibility around the screed and allowing the team to work more efficiently and safely during nighttime paving,” Smith shared.
With the safe and smooth finish of the SR-238 mill-and-fill, Sunland Asphalt has another successful roadway project completed for ADOT and the motoring public. “Through careful planning, quality workmanship and a commitment to safety throughout construction, the project was completed with a focus on delivering a durable, smooth riding surface while minimizing impacts to the traveling public,” Smith shared. “The completed improvements will provide motorists with a safer, more reliable roadway for years to come.”
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HOW TO PAVE A WALKING TRAIL Asphalt contractors can get in on environmentally positive, multi-purpose path paving
The SUPER 800-5 P-tier paver from Vögele features a wide hopper for commercial contractors. During CONEXPO-CON/AGG, Vögele product experts explained their mini sized pavers are ideal for narrow jobs, such as walking trail paving. The SUPER 800-5 P-tier tracked paver is the first mini class representative of the Dash 5 generation. Vögele equipped the small paver with the ErgoBasic 5 operating concept. Users have an unrestricted view to the front thanks to the new, double-folding material hopper. The tracked paver features a 74-horsepower engine, paving widths from 4 feet, 7 inches up to 11 feet, 6 inches, and depths up to 8 inches with a laydown rate of up to 330 tons per hour. Photo courtesy of Vögele
P
BY SANDY LENDER
Paving a multi-purpose asphalt path for the local government or community often requires finesse not only due to the narrower width of the pull, but also due to the location. When paving between trees or recreational structures or paving within feet of a picturesque community lake, backing a haul truck to a paver will be problematic, if not forbidden. Don’t let a few challenges dissuade you from this rewarding work. Instead, let’s look at the possibility of using a smaller labor pool while moving material differently on a project that promises to receive continued funding in today’s climate.
RECREATIONAL SPACES GET FUNDED
The increase in lettings for walking, jogging, bicycle and multi-purpose paths in public spaces isn’t your imagination. The Trust for Public Land reported in 2026 that the 100 largest cities in the United States invested a record $12.9 billion in park and recreation systems. The Department of the Interior reported that the Great American Outdoors Act Legacy Restoration Fund invested roughly $57.5 million in National Trails System 40 | NOVEMBER 2026
projects during FY2021-2025 and funded dozens of trail projects across National Scenic and Historic Trails. The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) found that local park and recreation agencies generated approximately $201 billion in economic activity from operations and capital spending in 2021, demonstrating continued large-scale investment in parks and recreational infrastructure. Doug Carlson, the VP of asphalt products for Liberty Tire, Jackson, Georgia, has seen regional development of more park and recreational infrastructure, as well as upgrades to existing facilities, as being driven by the last decade of population growth. “I think there was a significant increase in outdoor activities during the Covid era and following, so there also is just a general trend towards more outdoor living, camping and recreation.” With the current Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), RailsToTrails.org reported federal support for trail construction based on transportation alternatives has increased from about $850 million per year to about $1.44 billion per year. Rails-to-Trails shared that trail infrastructure development has expanded “significantly” nationwide, with
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more than 42,500 miles of multi-use trails now in operation and hundreds of active trail-development projects underway. Before we assume the IIJA’s expiration date means an end to these specialty projects, let’s look at the language of the BUILD America 250 Act, where we see trail, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure funding intact via the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) to the tune of $8.3 billion. TAP is the principal source of federal funding for: • Greenways • Shared-use paths • Bike trails • Pedestrian/walking trails • Rail-to-trail conversions • “Safe Routes to School” projects • Trail connectivity projects Where things might get sticky is in connected or shared projects across county lines. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has expressed concern that the BUILD America 250’s elimination of the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program within the IIJA leaves countywide trail systems, regional greenway networks, multi-jurisdiction trail corridors and projects that were intended to close major network gaps, without adequate funding. The passage of the BUILD America 250 Act that the construction industry is lobbying for isn’t poised to shut down path paving projects; instead, it should offer continued growth with stable federal support. Whether this affords your paving company one or a dozen asphalt path projects in the coming years, there are nuances to getting the job done right.
GO FOR A SUSTAINABLE MIX
The name of the trail game is green. Everyone from municipal planning organizations (MPOs) to the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS) has sustainability in mind when designing a new, or maintaining an in-service, multi-use trail. “I think there is a more sustainable mindset in architecture and engineering today with focuses on lifecycle costs, environmental stewardship, and sustainability,” Carlson said. “There is an educational aspect to it where young engineers and architects today have learned about the use of recycled or sustainable materials in infrastructure and some are motivated to seek it out and plug it into their projects.” For example, the USFS worked with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to prepare guidelines for sustainable trail development. Within the “USDA FS Trail Maintenance and Construction Notebook” is a section (with links) to ensure trail-building and maintenance takes the natural environment into consideration. This is only one of multiple examples of the agency/owner placing emphasis on the environmental aspect of building a path through the world with as little disruption to nature as possible. When you take on the project, you become a partner in limiting that disruption. As the team at Sripath Technologies LLC, Mahwah, New Jersey, shared, “Sustainability begins long before the materials arrive at the job site.” In a variety of park services materials, the mix design suggestions were the standard hot-mix asphalt (HMA) that a paving contractor will be familiar with. The common suggestion was a PG64-22 binder, placed at a mix temperature of 275°F and thickness of 2 to 3 inches. Polymer-modified PG64-22 was suggested for high-traffic paths, with a slightly higher temperature but same thickness. AmericanTrails.org gave more details, suggesting residential pathways using a Type F asphalt mix with a 3/8inch aggregate should have a 2- to 3-inch compacted depth, but path42 | NOVEMBER 2026
Asphalt’s seamless finish meets ADA standards for wheelchair access and walker stability. You will want to create a 1/8-inch slope per foot for drainage during compaction. Photo courtesy of Ammann North America
ways that will accommodate wheelchair traffic need to be at least 3 inches thick and use the PG64-22 binder. Even with asphalt’s cradle-to-grave environmental benefits over other paving materials, it can be improved upon when adding a percentage of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) to the design, and this is an option with multi-purpose paths, too. In fact, the team from Sripath shared a unique project, to which the Transportation Research Board’s AJE35 Standing Committee on Research Innovation Implementation Management (RIIM) awarded a second-place certificate at the 2025 annual meeting, wherein asphalt rejuvenator was manually mixed into a RAP pile at the job site to pave with the 100% RAP mix. The project was conducted by the Department of Civil, Coastal, and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Alabama and the team at the Walton County Public Works, Florida. The team, led by Professor Shenghua Wu, tested the viability of using a cold mix asphalt based on 100% RAP dosed with Sripath’s recycling agent ReLIXER on a low-volume, residential, unpaved road in Santa Rosa, Florida. While this wasn’t a narrow walking path, it offered proof of concept, not only for a sustainable mix but also for logistics. “Some of the challenges with trail roads is material access,” said Sripath President Krishna Srinivasan. “Getting materials into tight spaces or with few access points or being able to build around dikes and dams and bridges and local obstructions, which normally people don’t face in highway paving. For those types of situations, if you’ve got a pile of RAP, it’s easy enough to bring to a job site. It’s easy enough to haul in a drum or two of ReLIXER and mix on site.” For the Florida project, that’s what the team did. The crew mixed the bio-based rejuvenator into the pile with shovels at the job site, gave it a few hours to absorb, then fed the treated, 100% RAP to the paver. It
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Y O U R T R U S T E D S O U R C E F O R A S P H A LT P L A N T PA R T S
The SUPER 800-5 P-tier paver from Vögele features a wide hopper for commercial contractors. The wide, foldable wings accommodate loading from haul trucks as well as skid steers when open. Notice in this picture, we have an example of confined edges and remarkably clean pre-tacked base. Photo courtesy of Vögele
resulted in a pavement with an international roughness index (IRI) of 29.53. You can check out the poster titled “Fostering Local Government-University-Industry Collaboration for Low-Carbon Asphalt Solutions in Florida,” at Sripath’s website. “[Professor Wu] was vital in pushing this project with the Walton County, and he actually put students on the job site while it was going on,” Srinivasan said. “They used steel wheeled rollers for the compaction. Pneumatics would work as well. Because this is going to be a bike path, and not something that trucks are going to be driving on, I think you can [experiment] to find out what level of compaction is good enough for bike paths or walking trails.”
PAVE THE NARROW PATH
What Srinivasan takes us to is how to pave the multi-purpose path. According to AmericanTrails.org, the area alongside the trail’s proposed path will have been cleared of vegetation, stumps and tree roots prior to construction, to a minimum of 5 feet beyond the edge of the pavement. This accomplishes two goals: it helps prevent roots and brush from encroaching on the path in the future and it gives the paving contractor room to bring in equipment. If the owner/agency has failed to clear access, the contractor must use less efficient means of paving, and this adds cost to the project. A dirtwork contractor will prepare the sub-grade, extending it at least 2 feet beyond the width of the trail. To place the mat, American Trails recommends either a self-propelled paver (this is preferred) or a spreader box attached to a dump truck. Standard residential walkways are 3 to 4 feet wide. Because the majority of shared walking paths are 5 to 6 feet wide and multi-purpose paths are typically 8 feet wide, the pavers employed for any of these projects are not heavy highway class machines. The team at Bowes Construction, Inc., Brookings, South Dakota, used their Cat 655 for a large walking path project in Brookings. 44 | NOVEMBER 2026
Different path pavers will accept material in different ways. Some pavers, like Ammann’s ABG 1570, have gravitational hopper feed, while others will be served well from a live-bottom trailer, skid steer loader, hot box chute, or other methods. Both photos courtesy of Ammann North America
“When we paved the Dakota Nature Park, we used end dumps and our small Cat 655,” Kesmond Willert said. “Most walking trails spec out to be 8 feet wide. Our 655 has this capability and is part of the reason we keep it in our fleet.” Willert explained that when the Bowes team paved the path for the Dakota Nature Park, the company only had access to end dumps for material delivery. “We were able to get end dumps in the walking trail area; however, it wasn’t the most efficient as you have to constantly worry about lowering and raising the box.” He shared that there were often times when the crew had to use a skid steer to feed the paver in lush areas with heavy tree cover. “If you have to bring mix to the paver and need
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something small, you have to keep the mix hot so I would recommend a hotbox transfer or, if possible, live bottoms shine when there is heavy tree cover because you don’t have to worry about your end dump box catching overhangs.” Another way to feed hoppers is with an excavator bucket. Iulian Neacsu, the paving specialist and paving after sales manager for Ammann North America, shared that not all commercial path pavers— those capable of paving widths less than 6 feet—accept “hot box” feed. “Some have gravitational hopper feed, not chain,” Neacsu shared. “Even so, some pavers require bucket feed [like] our ABG 1570 require transversal feed (sideway).” It’s recommended to use a skid steer from the side, a mini loader or excavator, as seen on page 44. Brandon Granger of Mauldin Paving Products offered some ideas based on the surroundings as well. “How you get the asphalt to the paver really depends on how the job site is laid out and what equipment that allows. You obviously need to get the asphalt from the plant to the paver as quickly as possible.” If the job site permits it, he recommends direct dumps from trucks or shuttling from the truck to the paver by way of a loader bucket, skid steer, backhoe, etc.
“We design all of our screeds around the same principle—screed weight—and build them the heaviest in their class,” Granger said. “That produces, on average, 90%+ initial compaction before a roller ever touches the mat. My lead rationale is that if the contractor is trying to achieve 92% to 96% of the Theoretical Maximum Specific Gravity, (Gmm), that means an initial compaction off screed of 90%+ is going to mean less effort in reaching density compliance.” For the team at Bowes, getting compaction starts with assessing the thickness of the lift. “For us, we will primarily utilize steel face rollers because they are the most versatile for what we do,” Willert said. “In my mind, pneumatic tire rollers are recommended because they just utilize static and manipulative compaction. Often walking paths are about 3-inch mats, therefore it can be really easy to overcompact asphalt when using steel face if steel face operators aren’t cognizant of the vibratory compaction. Often when we are paving a 3-inch mat, we are utilizing just static compaction with our steel faces and vibe minimally. Therefore, pneumatic tire rollers are recommended on bike paths because they compact the material but also manipulate it together to help reach density.”
REDUCE THE WORKFORCE
“The Mauldin 1360 is a great option here, since its machine width is just over 4 feet,” Granger said. “If you have trees or obstacles less than 8 feet apart, you’ll need a machine like the 1360. All of our other 8-foot screed machines are also capable of paving at narrower widths—we offer bolt-on options called cutoff shoes that reduce the finished paved width. You can run two different shoes to get as narrow as a 2-foot paved width.”
Whichever material delivery method works best for your equipment and environment, place the asphalt in a 2-inch or 3-inch lift, at a pace that allows you to maintain forward motion without stopping to charge the hopper. The goal is to fill the hopper while the paver moves at a smooth, continuous speed to prevent hills and valleys caused by speed fluctuations and to prevent transverse joints caused by stops and screed settling on the thin lift. Best paving practices count. The finished trail may be used by pedestrians with walkers or by citizens in wheelchairs; smoothness is safety for the end user. Compact the surface using best practices. American Trails recommended using a 2-ton steel wheel roller in the breakdown position. The goal is to get 92 to 95% density and that starts with the paver itself. For example, Ammann’s Neacsu stated the ABG 1570 typically sees 80% density directly behind the screed before the breakdown roller arrives. For the company’s ABG 2870, the contractor can see 90% density behind the machine’s tamper screed. After this, he said, minimal rolling in static mode is all that’s needed. 46 | NOVEMBER 2026
Something to consider when paving and compacting the multi-purpose path is how many team members need to be on site. The smaller paver and condensed rolling pattern make for a tighter operation. For Bowes, Willert said that means “for a crew size, you can get away with something a little smaller.” He listed: 1. Skid steer operator 2. Paver operator 3. Screed operator (only need one if you have autos; two if you don’t) 4. Laborer This list doesn’t count drivers to bring mix, but it maxes out the paving team at five. Something to consider with the smaller paver is having a single operator there, which Granger discussed. “The 1360 is designed for just one operator who drives the paver and runs both the left- and right-hand feed controls,” Granger said. “Because it’s only 4 feet wide, it’s easier for that operator to keep an eye on both sides of the screed and maintain a proper head of material. An 8-foot machine would benefit from two operators, one watching each side. That said, the 1360 has features that help lessen the mental load on a solo operator—each machine is pre-wired and programmed to run screed automation, whether that means joint matching (against a curb) or grade control to follow a suitable subgrade. The addition of the automation kit would have one side of the screed pave on grade so the operator has one less thing to worry about.” Ammann’s Neacsu figured the crew this way: “Providing that grade and base were previously prepared, have one on paver, second on feeding equipment, third on roller, a fourth if needed on oversight.” His recommendation was the contractor could get by with a minimal crew of three to four people on such a job after considering the cost and equipment in use. However many crew members you have for the project, the goal is to produce a smooth, safe surface with minimal disruption to the natural environment. The funding programs in place to meet the needs of a growing population that enjoys walking, jogging, cycling and moving through our parks will continue to find sustainable methods of designing and placing multi-purpose paths. Asphalt paving contractors need only use a little finesse to take advantage of the opportunity to participate in the process.
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HOW TO PAVE A GRAVEL ROAD
W
Using moisture and best practices, place HMA over a solid gravel base
BY SANDY LENDER
When it’s time to update an old roadway from gravel to blacktop, best asphalt paving practices still win the day. As the paving contractor, you want to verify what the county may have done to the structure in the past, then approach it with a skilled asphalt crew. The Kentucky Transportation Center at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, released the “Gravel Roads Construction & Maintenance Guide” with an appendix outlining when timing might be right for paving a gravel road with an asphalt pavement mix. Speaking to county engineers, the appendix lists 10 parts to the “answer” of “Should we pave this gravel road?” One of the answers focuses on improvement of base and drainage, which will be completed in the first year of the project. The guide states what we all know: “If water is not drained away from the road, the pavement fails. Paving a road with poor base or with inadequate drainage is a waste of money.” Assuming the owner/agency has developed a road management program; committed to effective management of the roadway system; assessed traffic loads; adopted written standards for design, construction and maintenance; considered safety aspects such as line of sight, alignment, lane width, motorist speeds, surface friction, etc., in the design; improved drainage; compared upfront, maintenance/preservation and
user costs; and weighed public opinion, the job then is spread out over time. You, as the paving contractor, come in after the base and drainage work have been completed and proven. The paving contractor’s job should only start after the weak spots from poorly filled potholes or poor subgrade have been found and corrected. That’s in a perfect world.
TRUST BUT VERIFY
Soft or weak spots that would compromise the success of the overall project should be resolved prior to the asphalt contractor winning the bid for paving a gravel road. It’s worth your time to double-check that the surface density and slope in the field match what the county believes to be true of the surface before you begin. Get out the straight edge and some string to ensure for yourself that the surface is flat and you have 2 or 3% crown in the road. You want to be sure the subcontractor or agency gave you drainage on both sides of the road. When the subcontractor has finished grading and shaping and compacting, you want to see if the surface will take the weight of the 80,000-pound haul truck you bring to feed your paver. You want to take density readings of the compacted base to ensure it truly matches the
ABOVE: In this image of paving on a gravel parking lot subbase, you can see the lines made by equipment in the dry dust. Before the paver sets up to pave this next pull, the team will roll out the lines and lightly mist the surface with water to re-firm the dust. You will still have some lines, but this prevents tires from spreading the subbase material apart as machines drive across it. Photos courtesy of Top Quality Paving & Training 48 | NOVEMBER 2026
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LEFT: This roller operator smooths out lines and restores compaction with a steel wheel roller in static mode on the gravel surface prior to paving. RIGHT: The crew has painted guidelines on the gravel surface to pave. This tracked paver offers excellent traction on this solid subbase.
spec. Even with all numbers checking out within spec, you, as the paving contractor, want to bring in your steel roller and re-roll in static mode to ensure everything is flat, solid and strong immediately before paving.
LET’S PREP
The best practices that the county employed when using an emulsion for dust abatement on the gravel road over the years will serve you well as you approach the paving job. For dust abatement, the county lightly swept the surface, and probably did some shaping at that time, to remove excess dust and debris before spraying an anionic slow setting (ASS) emulsion, diluted with water immediately before spraying. (Some counties will use a cationic slow setting (CSS) emulsion, diluted with water immediately before spraying.) This process likely happened once a year, depending on funding, traffic and weather. For our colleagues in Australia, they typically follow the first emulsion dust-suppression treatment on a gravel road with a second application two or three days later for the complete treatment, with another treatment after three to four weeks. In the July 2026 Pavement Work Tips document titled “Dust Suppression with Bitumen Emulsion,” the Austroads Ltd and Australian Flexible Pavement Association Limited wrote, “Effective service life can vary from several weeks to six months or more, depending on: the number of applications, weather, traffic conditions and nature of pavement material. Service life can be extended through repeated applications, with time intervals generally increasing over time. Successive applications of diluted bitumen emulsion result in a build-up of the bitumen residue in the upper surface of the granular material, producing a longer-lasting, dust-free surface.” Even if your county built up a layer of emulsion to hold material in check, sweeping is a best practice to adopt. Start by sweeping away extraneous dust so a reasonable coating of tack will adhere to the surface. If you skip the sweeping step, you’ll find yourself in need of extra tack, which will get expensive in a hurry. Keep in mind, not every agency will specify tack as a step prior to paving. For those that do, you want a clean surface for best tack adherence.
LET’S PAVE
With all that setup behind you, you’ll treat the job as you would any other paving project. 1. Sweep the surface to remove excess dust and rocks. We have a backto-basics article titled “How to Maintain and Use the Sweeper Right” for correct use ahead of pavement maintenance or paving projects at TheAsphaltPro.com. 2. Wet the surface to tighten dirt to gravel. While some agencies recommend tacking the surface with emulsion to achieve an adhesive layer, John Ball of Top Quality Paving & Training, Manchester, New Hampshire, has seen this practice turn problematic. He recommends misting the surface with water instead of spraying tack. We have a short back-tobasics article titled “Best Practices for Tack Use on Preservation and Oth50 | NOVEMBER 2026
er Projects” at TheAsphaltPro.com, but let’s talk about using water right here. Ball explained that contractors can apply a light misting of water to help the silica particles atop the gravel cake together and form a stronger base for equipment to travel on. Keep in mind that wind will dry out the moisture and turn your sand back to dust. Misting with water should take care of you for a couple of hours, Ball said. As you lay your asphalt, you’ll see the mix either rolling and tucking under the screed as it should or pushing and shoving up the dust. You may see equipment tires leaving marks. These won’t be ruts, but visible lines. If you see these signs that the dust is drying out, you will want to mist the surface again. 3. Pave. We have a multitude of articles that discuss different paving projects and best practices. To ask a specific paving question, visit ask. theasphaltpro.com and chat with The Pro. 4. Compact to achieve specified density. We have a multitude of articles that discuss good rolling techniques, setting up a test strip, using intelligent compaction and more. Click on The Pro icon in the lower right corner of TheAsphaltPro.com to have The Pro help you find one, or all, of them. Now let’s focus on the paving portion of the operation. Consider the type of paver you’ll use. Either a tracked or wheeled paver works for this type of project. Ball spoke about the tracked paver first. “The track is 19 and a half inches wide and 9 feet long, so there’s an enormous amount of traction there. On a gravel parking lot with a lot of transitions or a bad subgrade, this could pose a problem. The track could tear things up. But on a good subgrade and a straightaway gravel road, the tracked paver will serve you well.” The wheeled paver has a finite amount of “equipment” touching the surface. “As long as the subgrade is suitable for the weight of the tractor, make sure the rubber tires have the right pressure.” For the wheeled paver, the tires need around 30 to 32 pounds of pressure to keep the paver “floating” properly. Along with the right tire pressure, make sure you have the augers set right. Ball recommends setting them 2 inches above what you’re going to lay so the head of material doesn’t overfill and create too large of a pile being shoved in front of the screed. The forward speed will be similar to any other mainline project. Ball recommends, when placing a 2-inch loose lift, travel around 40-45 feet per minute. Matching the plant’s production is still important for consistent paving and a smooth result. If you need to pave at 20 fpm to match production from the plant, then hit and maintain that speed instead. Ball prepared a table of some ideal paving speeds based on mat thickness and the rate of delivery from the plant within the article titled “Paving Speed Changes Quality” at TheAsphaltPro.com. As counties and states see their multitudes of low-volume, unsurfaced roads gaining traffic, the opportunity for asphalt paving projects of this nature grows. With the steps offered above, asphalt paving contractors can see how easy it is to execute the paving of a gravel road that the agency has prepared.
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I N T E R N AT I O N A L S N A P S H OT
International Workforce Attracting and building the workforce of the future is a common challenge around the globe. Here’s how Skills Ontario engenders interest in skilled trades like roadbuilding. FROM ENTERPRISE CANADA
O
ntario boasts a wide array of career opportunities in the skilled trades and technologies. Within this diverse landscape, the government has officially designated 144 occupations as skilled trades, covering industries such as mechanical, electrical, automotive and manufacturing, among others. If a child or young adult is interested in pursuing a career in the trades, Skills Ontario has provided valuable tips to assist them in navigating this path and acquiring the necessary skills and experiences to thrive in the industry.
FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS:
• Enroll in a Skills Ontario week-long summer camp at skillsontario.com/camp. The camps offer hands-on activities in skilled trades and technology, allowing grade seven and eight students to explore diverse career paths and develop essential workplace soft skills. • Grade seven and eight classes can participate in an Elementary Career Awareness Workshop. The workshops offer hands-on experiences in Ontario’s recognized skilled trade sectors: construction, industrial, motive power and service, as well as technology. • Parents can discover skilled trade and technology career options through the Skills Ontario App. The app includes an aptitude quiz to help students match their interests with suitable skilled trade careers. It also provides links to trade organizations, information on employment and scholarship opportunities. • Skills Ontario Trades & Tech Camps combine learning with fun, hands-on activities to help youth entering grades seven to nine explore careers in the skilled trades and technologies throughout the summer. • Citizens can ask school officials to book a Skills Ontario presentation. Skills Ontario offers a free presentation to schools covering what the skilled trades are, different career sectors within the trades, what an apprenticeship is, and more. To a book a presentation, visit skillsontario.com/presentations
FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS:
• Students in grades 11 and 12 can explore apprenticeship options in skilled trade careers by consulting their guidance counsellor or the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) coordinator at their school. • Students can enroll in trades courses offered at their school and plan to participate in the Skills Ontario Competition—Secondary Division. 52 | NOVEMBER 2026
MANY OF THE PROGRAMS OFFERED VIA SKILLS ONTARIO MAY BE CONFINED TO ONE CANADIAN PROVINCE, BUT THEY PROVIDE A BLUEPRINT FOR ATTRACTING NEWCOMERS TO THE SKILLED TRADES ANYWHERE. CHECK OUT ANY OF THE LINKS THAT PARALLEL THE ACTIVITIES YOUR ORGANIZATION NEEDS TO IMPLEMENT IN YOUR REGION.
• A wealth of online resources is available for students. Skills Ontario has a YouTube channel featuring a diverse library of videos showcasing past events and discussing skilled trade careers with professionals • Volunteering with Skills Ontario provides students with valuable experience, knowledge and the opportunity to build relationships that could potentially lead to job opportunities. To inquire about volunteer opportunities, please email: info@skillsontario.com. • Ask your school to book a Skills Ontario presentation. Skills Ontario offers a free presentation to schools covering what the skilled trades are, different career sectors within the trades, what an apprenticeship is and more. To a book a presentation, visit skillsontario.com/presentations
FOR COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY STUDENTS:
• College students considering a career in the skilled trades and technologies should consult with their academic advisor to explore the available programs at their institution. • Students who are currently enrolled in a trades or technology program can participate in the Skills Ontario Competition Post-Secondary Division. The competition provides a platform to showcase skills and connect with potential employers. • Networking has proven to be instrumental in helping many post-secondary students secure job opportunities throughout their careers after graduating. Students who competed in the Skills Ontario Competition can request to join the Skills Ontario Alumni network on LinkedIn to learn more about job opportunities, volunteer opportunities or connect with other skilled trade professionals. Skills Ontario also offers the Trades & Tech Truck program, which brings mobile hubs to communities across Ontario to provide experiential learning opportunities for students and adults in the skilled trades.
P R O D U C T GA L L E RY
First Large Loaders Built in the United States for Volvo CE Open the Production Gallery FROM THE ASPHALT PRO STAFF
G
overnment officials and industry leaders toured a Pennsylvania factory Aug. 19, 2026, to see how Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) is delivering on its commitment to bring products closer to customers and strengthen its North American footprint with the first excavators and large loaders built for the OEM in the United States. The manufacturer has been expanding its U.S. footprint, resulting in more than 50% of its North American machine supply being produced at its Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, facility. Less than a year after announcing plans to localize more machine assembly, the company offered proof. “What you see today is manufacturing resilience in action: adapting with purpose and speed to increase capacity and build more machines closer to our customers,” said Scott Young, the head of region for North America. “This achievement advances Volvo CE’s long-term strategy to strengthen stability and flexibility across the North American market while supporting our employees and the regional economy.” The expansion brings Volvo CE’s North American production portfolio to 30 machine models, including excavators, wheel loaders and compactors. With the most recent investment of $40 million, Volvo CE has invested over $1.4 billion since 2007 to triple its annual output capacity and build workforce skills to support growth and increased digitalization.
Scott Young, head of region for North America, addressed the crowd at Volvo Construction Equipment’s Aug. 19 event introducing the first excavators and large loaders manufactured at the Shippensburg facility.
Government officials and industry leaders toured Volvo CE’s Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, factory.
Volvo CE acquired the Shippensburg site and its road development division from Ingersoll Rand in 2007 and established its North American headquarters there in 2012. Currently, over 750 people are employed at the location.
“Volvo CE has taken seriously its commitment to investing in and revitalizing American manufacturing,” said Congressman John Joyce, M.D. “This facility right here in Ship54 | NOVEMBER 2026
Volvo CE’s North American site is also pioneering a new “utility specialist” approach for production of large wheel loaders, which require 30% more parts and complexity to build on the same line.
pensburg is not only building world-class construction equipment; it is creating opportunities for families and workers throughout our community. Pennsylvania has always been a strong contributor to our nation’s manufacturing strategy, and this expansion is proof that we will continue to be a leader in its future.” While Volvo CE has made strides to expand its North American capabilities, building a stronger local supply chain to support has been incremental, and is one of the most critical opportunities for Volvo CE and the equipment manufacturing industry. “Strong, mutually beneficial supplier relationships have been fundamental to how Volvo CE works with its suppliers for decades,” said Todd Papple, head of purchasing, Americas, Volvo CE. “But increasingly, success requires a broader ecosystem—where businesses, economic development organizations and communities work together.” At the event, Volvo CE announced its ambition to grow its business with Pennsylvania-based suppliers by 30% by 2030. Meeting this goal will hinge on strong partnerships with suppliers. To support this initiative, Volvo CE partnered with the Franklin County Area Development Corporation to support a global excavator counterweight supplier’s decision to land a regional operation. The supplier is investing more than $1.5 million in a local facility, creating jobs to complete and deliver counterweights directly to the Shippensburg plant on a just-in-time basis. This type of private-public collaboration is essential to creating an environment where suppliers can confidently invest alongside manufacturers. By building greater flexibility into its operations, Volvo CE is better positioned to navigate geopolitical dynamics and the cyclical nature of the construction equipment industry. The company increased production capacity through automation, process improvements, and more efficient use of existing factory space, enabling growth while maintaining its existing manufacturing space and workforce. The plant’s combined 436,000-squarefoot assembly and fabrication footprint was
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P R O D U C T GA L L E RY reengineered creating three flexible production lines capable of building the full range of excavator, wheel loader and compactor models, while adding new excavator welding capacity. To upskill its existing workforce, Volvo CE invested in extensive on-site and off-site training with sister factories in Sweden, Korea and Brazil, equipping employees with new technical skills and expertise. In total, employees completed more than 180 hours of individual training while gaining invaluable cross-cultural experiences. The North American site is also pioneering a new “utility specialist” approach for production of large wheel loaders. Employees were cross trained in multiple zones to provide additional support at stations requiring extra labor, helping maintain a steady workflow. Innovation around the way they work and insights from the pilot can be applied to the excavator line and shared across Volvo CE sites worldwide. This more integrated approach to manufacturing and engineering enables Volvo CE to better support its North American customers while laying the foundation for a more resilient, responsive and sustainable future.
In a typical workshop, the workflow requires the technician to walk over to a screen, look up information in the technical documentation, and switch between the vehicle and the computer. With Jaltest AI, the information is presented to the technician as they need it, without interrupting their work.
COMPASS WIRE CLOTH The Auto-Translate feature from CheckProof allows workers to communicate with more clarity, no matter what language they speak.
CNH Construction, Racine, Wisconsin, announced in September 2026 that Kris Dahl will succeed Terry Dolan in leading the North American Commercial business as Dolan prepares for his planned retirement at the end of the year. Dahl joined CNH Sept. 14, 2026, and transitioned to the leadership position effective Oct. 1. Dolan will help with Dahl’s onboarding and will continue with CNH until Dec. 30, working to support his successor and other key initiatives. This leadership transition comes as CASE prepares to celebrate its 185th anniversary in 2027.
the feature enabled, inspection questions, answer options, instructions and deviation comments are automatically translated in real time, allowing supervisors to write in their own language while frontline workers read and respond in theirs. Auto-Translate is now available as an add to all CheckProof customers. “Language shouldn’t stand between a worker and a clear instruction,” said Tom O’Boyle, chief product officer. “Auto-Translate means every person on site, regardless of what language they speak, gets the same clarity and can act on it straight away.” Once Auto-Translate is enabled, customers can go in and select the preferred language of each employee. Frontline workers can then turn on translation directly from the mobile app menu or tap the language icon during a check or while viewing a deviation. From there, all checklist content, from instructions to multiple-choice answers, appears in the worker’s selected language, with no need to leave the CheckProof app or rely on external translation tools. For more information, visit www. checkproof.com.
CHECKPROOF
COJALI
CNH CONSTRUCTION
CheckProof, Stockholm, Sweden, announced Aug. 26, 2026, the release of Auto-Translate. After months of beta-testing the feature is now widely available across the operations management platform as an add-on and the company gave a live demonstration from its booth at Steinexpo Sept. 2-5 in Homberg/ Nieder-Ofleiden, Germany. It’s fitting that the general release was announced at Steinexpo, in a non-English-speaking market. Auto-Translate addresses one of the most common sources of friction on multilingual sites: checklists and safety communication getting lost across language barriers. With 56 | NOVEMBER 2026
Cojali, based in Campo de Criptana, Spain, has launched Jaltest AI: Next Wave Workshops, a new diagnostics ecosystem that integrates applied artificial intelligence, multilingual voice recognition and augmented reality to transform the way technicians work in the workshop. The technician does not need to stop what they are doing to look up information: They can speak to the Jaltest Diagnostics system in a natural way, receive recommendations tailored to the vehicle and work in progress, and view diagrams, instructions and diagnostics data directly in their field of vision via augmented reality glasses.
Compass Wire Cloth, Vineland, New Jersey, is spotlighting its round vibratory screening units as a core product line engineered to deliver precise separation performance at a favorable price point. These units are designed to give processors OEM-level screening capability while helping reduce total cost of ownership through competitive pricing, efficient operation and long service life. Available in multiple diameters and configurations, the round vibratory screening units are designed to integrate easily into existing processing lines. Models include 18-inch, 24-inch, 30-inch, 48-inch and 60-inch units, with screen areas ranging from 2 to 16 square feet and motor options configured for R&D, small batch, moderate volume and heavy-duty workflows. Vertical and horizontal vibration, combined with adjustable top and bottom weights, give operators precise control over separation patterns for scalping, grading and fines removal.
CORTEC
Cortec® offers the expanded CorroLogic® VpCI® Filler for cased pipeline crossings across the United States, where pipelines are highly regulated by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). When pumped into pipeline casings, CorroLogic VpCI Filler forms a gel that hinders the ingress of corrosives and emits vapor phase corrosion inhibitors. This proprietary chemistry is designed to diffuse throughout the casing voids, forming a protective molecular layer on metal surfaces even in difficult to reach areas. Eric Uutala, business development manager – CorroLogic, noted, “CorroLogic Filler provides an effective alternative to, or an enhancement of, traditionally used cathodic protection systems. We are encouraged by the ever-increasing adoption of VCI/VpCI as an approved method for corrosion protection in cased pipeline crossings in North America, and having trusted, experienced partners will make it possible for Cortec to support more projects.” For more information, visit Cortec Corporation.
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P R O D U C T GA L L E RY ERIEZ
Eriez®, Erie, Pennsylvania, announces its B-HC high-capacity line of electromagnetic vibratory feeders has earned ETL listing through Intertek for CSA and UL compliance and has also achieved an IP65 rating, confirming dustand water-tight performance. B-HC feeders are designed for headload applications beneath hoppers, metering bulk materials to conveyors, screens, crushers and elevators. Trays are available in both standard and custom-engineered designs, with optional dust covers, screens and abrasion-resistant liners. Flexible mounting options include base-mounted or suspension, with undermount or overhead drive configurations.
MAJOR
MAJOR, Schertz, Texas, is transitioning operations to a new facility of 125,000 square feet in Schertz, replacing its nearby former location. More than double the size of its previous site, the new facility will increase production capacity and improve operational efficiency to better serve customers across the U.S. aggregates and mining industries and provide better air-conditioned comfort for plant employees. “While we’re operating close to our previous location, this is a strategic transition for MAJOR,” said MAJOR President Bernard Betts. MAJOR continues to expand its North American footprint, with the new Schertz facility joining locations in Fife, Washington; Candiac, Quebec; and St. Catharines, Ontario. In addition to the North American locations, MAJOR also supports European customers through its Battice, Belgium location.
ASPHALTPLANT.AI
AsphaltPlant.ai, Chicago, is a software platform developed specifically for the asphalt production industry. It applies artificial intelligence and purpose-built digital tools into asphalt plant operations. Developed from more than 20 years of real-world asphalt plant experience, AsphaltPlant.ai was created around the information, calculations and workflows plant personnel encounter every day. The platform combines AI-assisted document interpretation with specialized asphalt-production tools designed to turn information contained in mix designs and other plant documents into useful, structured data. One of the platform’s newest developments is its Stage 1 Production Planning system. The system uses plant-specific mix information and production orders to calculate material requirements for upcoming production, includ58 | NOVEMBER 2026
ing aggregates, RAP, virgin asphalt binder and other mix components. The platform also includes Gradation IQ, an asphalt-specific tool focused on aggregate gradation analysis, along with additional capabilities designed to reduce repetitive work and make plant information easier to use. The goal of the platform is to provide asphalt professionals with practical, purpose-built technology that complements industry experience rather than replacing it.
POWERSCREEN
Powerscreen of Washington has relocated to a new facility in Kent, Washington. With a more modern, flexible space, the change in location positions the team to enhance the services provided to customers and work together more closely. Having outgrown their existing depot, the business’ new location will offer an optimal layout, with purposefully designed parts warehouse, custom built wash bay, expansion of workshop space, and upgrade to offices and facilities. Only half a mile away from the current base, the main road presence will be prominent and conveniently accessed.
SUPERIOR INDUSTRIES
Superior Industries, Inc., has named Lauren DeBow as washing product manager. In her new role, DeBow will guide product development, market strategy, training initiatives and sales support for Superior’s growing and diverse portfolio of wet processing equipment. DeBow brings 12 years of aggregate processing experience to the position, with a career spanning equipment applications, technical sales and product management. She joined Superior in 2023 as an applications specialist, working closely with aggregate producers and Superior’s dealer partners to develop custom equipment solutions for unique washing applications. DeBow will work cross-functionally with Superior’s engineering, applications, sales, marketing and manufacturing teams to advance the company’s washing equipment portfolio and support dealers and producers around the globe.
VERDE
Verde Resources Inc. (Verde), St. Louis, announced Aug. 31, 2026, that its wholly owned subsidiary, Verde Resources Asia Pacific Private Ltd., Singapore, had entered into a strategic memorandum of understanding with Highway International Private Ltd. (Highway), which is one of the leading asphalt producers and road construction specialists in Singapore. The MoU establishes a framework under which Highway and Verde will collaborate to validate Verde’s engineered biochar-based car-
bon platform, which Verde calls the Verde Net Zero Blueprint, in Singapore. Verde and Highway expect to commence a pilot program in 2026 to evaluate material performance, production readiness, pavement mix designs and testing procedures, carbon accounting, and broader commercial applications. The Verde Net Zero Blueprint platform is designed to integrate Verde’s proprietary engineered biochar, advanced asphalt and pavement technologies, and carbon credit accounting tools to develop high-performance roads, runways and other infrastructure applications that can sequester carbon while generating verifiable carbon removal credits. The platform also incorporates life-cycle assessment (LCA), environmental product declarations (EPDs), carbon accounting and digital project-data tracking, to provide a comprehensive framework to develop, measure and validate lower-carbon infrastructure solutions.
VOLVO
Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE), Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, is upgrading its L30 and L35 compact wheel loaders with its most significant frame redesign since the models were introduced in 1998. The updates are designed to give customers more flexibility for different jobs while improving service access. The updated machines made their public debut at the GaLaBau trade show in Nuremberg in September 2026. They feature a redesigned rear section, improved service access and a redesigned cab entrance. The redesigned rear of the L30 and L35 compact wheel loaders includes new mounting points to simplify the installation of rear-mounted equipment. Different trailer couplings can also be fitted quickly, while hydraulic and electric connections can be added or retrofitted with less installation work. This added flexibility complements the hydraulic capabilities of the L30 and L35, including adjustable auxiliary flow and high-flow hydraulics of up to 26.4 gallons per minute on the L30 and 29.1 gallons per minute on the L35. Inside the cab, a high seating position and good all-round visibility provide a clear view of the machine, attachment and surrounding job site. Low in-cab noise, heating and optional air conditioning, an adjustable steering column and ergonomic joystick help keep operators comfortable throughout the working day. A 5-inch display, intuitively controlled via a jog wheel, provides easy access to key machine information. Production of the updated Volvo L30 and L35 compact wheel loaders is scheduled to begin in late 2026.
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Teach Your Crew What it Takes to Pave a Bonus-Worthy Mat Asphalt Paving 101
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AD INDEX Ahern. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Motion Engineering, Inc. . . . . . . . 43
ALmix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Net At Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Astec, Inc.. . . Inside Front Cover, 51
Pavewise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
B & S Light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 17
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Pugmill Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Bomag Fayat Group. . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Reliable Asphalt. . . . . . Inside Back Cover, Back Cover
Brock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Commercial Asphalt Plant Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Sakai America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 SiloPros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
CWMF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 45
Sripath Technologies, LLC . . . . . . 59
Dampney Engineered Coatings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Stansteel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 41
Eagle Crusher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Tarmac International . . . . . . . . . . 21
ET Clancy Company, Inc. . . . . . . . 61
Top Quality Products. . . . . . . . . . . 63
Fastmeasure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Virginia Asphalt Association. . . . 57
Systems Equipment. . . . . . . . 25, 53
Gencor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Weiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
I.W. Tremont Co., Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . 32
Willow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Kenco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Wirtgen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Meeker Equipment Co.. . . . . . . . . 27
World of Asphalt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
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O F F T H E M AT
Use Job Site Data for Stronger Margins BY JON FINGLAND
G
rowth creates opportunity for an asphalt company, but it can also expose weaknesses in the processes supporting that growth, including financial management. More projects mean more labor hours, purchase orders, invoices, receipts, change orders and cost decisions to manage. When those details are spread across spreadsheets, paper records and hand-written notes, business owners can struggle to determine which projects are performing well and where margins may be slipping. There is a new option for smaller contractors. Construction-focused financial technology is beginning to close that gap. Cloud-based tools can bring job costing, basic accounting, employee time, estimating and project information into more connected workflows. These systems give smaller to mid-sized construction companies—those generating under $10 million in annual revenue that do not have dedicated accounting expertise in-house—the capabilities once associated primarily with larger enterprises, but in formats designed for leaner organizations. The professionals running these smaller businesses are often experienced pavers, estimators and project managers. Their strengths are winning work, coordinating crews and delivering projects, not navigating complex accounting structures or spending evenings reconciling financial records. For contractors evaluating financial technology options, the limitations of traditional approaches, coupled with the simplicity available from systems, are especially important.
TRADITIONAL OPTIONS OFTEN FALL SHORT
For years, contractors who wanted to move beyond paper records generally faced a difficult choice. They could invest in a comprehensive construction accounting or enterprise resource planning system, or they could adopt a generic accounting application. Both options can serve valuable purposes, but neither is always well suited to a small but growing contractor with limited administrative resources and financial expertise. Enterprise platforms are designed to manage complex organizations, multiple business units and sophisticated accounting requirements. Larger contractors typically need that level of depth. For a local firm with limited office staff, however, the number of features, configurations and reporting structures can become a burden. Generic accounting software presents a different challenge. These applications may handle core functions such as payments, invoices and financial statements, but they are rarely organized around the way construction work is performed. A contractor needs to understand costs by project, phase and cost type. The business may also need to account for retainage, labor production, committed costs, change orders and different billing schedules. When the software does not support these requirements naturally, owners must create workarounds, build separate spreadsheets or repeatedly enter the same information. This fragmented approach consumes time and increases the likelihood of errors. A receipt may be recorded as a general expense without being assigned to the correct phase. Employee hours may be entered into one system for payroll and another for job costing. Project managers may maintain their own trackers because accounting reports arrive too late or lack the operational detail they need. As the company takes on more work, these gaps become harder to manage. Growth adds transaction volume, but it also increases the financial impact of incomplete or delayed information. Contractors therefore
need systems that provide sufficient financial discipline without introducing unnecessary complexity.
MODERN CAPABILITIES WITH SIMPLICITY
A newer generation of construction financial applications begins with the project rather than the chart of accounts. This distinction can make financial management more understandable for people whose experience is rooted in estimating, operations and field production. Under a project-centered approach, expenses are connected to the work that generated them. A receipt captured with a mobile device can be assigned to a specific project, phase and cost category. Employee time can flow into the same job-cost structure. Estimates, actual expenses and production information can then be compared without requiring someone to manually combine data from several sources. This system creates a more current view of project performance. Instead of waiting until the end of the month to discover that labor or materials exceeded the estimate, a business owner or project manager can identify a developing variance while there is still time to respond. Simple dashboards can make the information easier to use. Rather than requiring managers to interpret traditional accounting reports, modern systems can present estimated costs, actual costs, revenue, billing status and projected profitability in formats organized around projects and operations. Connected data can also improve companywide decision-making. Estimators can use actual performance from completed and active projects to improve future bids. Project managers can see whether costs are tracking against budget. Office staff can reduce the time spent matching receipts, invoices, timecards and billing records. Business owners gain a clearer picture of both individual jobs and overall company performance. Automation and artificial intelligence are also beginning to make these tools more accessible. Language-based assistance can help users find information, navigate functions or receive support without knowing specialized accounting terminology. Automated data flows can reduce repetitive entry and help convert project activity into properly formatted financial records. By allowing users to code expenses to specific job phases and overhead, the software rolls these figures up into clear financial statements that CPAs and bookkeepers can easily use. The greatest value comes from simplicity. When estimating, field tracking, employee time, project management and financial information operate together, the company develops a more consistent record of how work was priced, performed and billed. That continuity reduces blind spots and gives contractors a stronger foundation for profitable growth. Growing contractors need financial tools that match the realities of their businesses. Technology delivers little value when it is too difficult to purchase, configure or use consistently. For contractors without an information technology department or in-house accounting employees, simplicity must be part of the entire experience. The goal is to make financial management part of the normal project workflow—not to add another layer of administration. When employees can enter information once and use it across multiple functions, the business spends less time maintaining records and more time acting on them. Jon Fingland is a vice president at Trimble focused on finance, HR and project and operations management software solutions with over 20 years of industry experience. WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM | 65
NEW TECH
See Density in Real Time Roller-mounted sensing system gives operators a live reading on compaction with continuous, GPS-referenced record of every pass BY GARRETT WINKELMAIER
A
roller operator knows the feel of a mat. He knows what enough passes sounds like, what too few looks like in the surface texture, what the drum tells him through the seat. What he needs is a number. Density, the single measurement that determines whether a day’s paving meets specification, has historically shown up hours later, and often at a random spot. A nuclear or non-nuclear gauge reading, a lab result from a core sample pulled the next morning, a phone call nobody wants to get: that has been the feedback loop. By the time the loop closes, the roller is gone, the mat has cooled, and the only remedy to fix an out-of-spec number is rework that nobody budgeted for. RTDensity from G4 Technologies, Reno, Nevada, was built to close that loop while the roller is still on the mat. The system mounts directly to the compaction roller. An accelerometer reads the vibration response of the drum as it works the asphalt, a temperature sensor tracks mat conditions, and a GPS receiver locates every reading in space. That raw signal is processed on board and converted, in real time, into a live density estimate that appears on a display in the cab as the operator works, pass by pass. Before a shift, the system is calibrated against an independently measured density reading, typically a spot check with a gauge, so the model’s output is anchored to a real, measured value. As core samples come back from the lab in the days that follow, those results can be layered onto the job’s density record to refine it further, tightening the correlation between what the sensor reported in the field and what the lab confirmed after the fact. The result is a system that gets more accurate the more a contractor uses it, on the same jobs and mixes it already runs.
CALIBRATION THAT POINTS AT SOMETHING REAL
Getting a clean calibration matters as much as the sensor itself. The system asks the operator to run one full, uninterrupted stretch of steady compaction, typically after the mat has settled into a working rhythm rather than during the first few minutes of a shift, so the model trains on the roller’s actual working vibration signature instead of the noise of startup, idling or repositioning. That single procedural step, paired with the ground-truth gauge reading taken at the same time, is what lets a live density number be trusted rather than merely displayed.
A MAP
Because the roller is generating a reading continuously rather than at scattered stops, RTDensity builds a spatial density map of the entire mat as it is compacted. Underperforming areas show up while there is still time to add a pass, instead of showing up as 66 | NOVEMBER 2026
a failed test days later. For a project manager or superintendent, that map becomes the job record: a coverage picture that documents where target density was achieved across the lot, exportable as a report for internal quality control or for an owner’s documentation file. That kind of full-coverage record matters more every year. Density specs increasingly reward contractors who can show their work. A continuous, geolocated density history, generated automatically as the crew paves, is a powerful conversation with an owner or agency. Every reading in the map carries a timestamp and a coordinate, so the density history for a job is not just a picture but a queryable record: pull up any point on the mat and see what the roller measured there, and when. For a producer managing several crews across several jobs at once, that turns compaction quality from something you hope your foremen are tracking into something you can check.
FOR AS LONG AS ASPHALT HAS BEEN ROLLED, THE PEOPLE DOING THE ROLLING HAVE BEEN ASKED TO HIT A NUMBER THEY CANNOT SEE. ENGINEERED FOR THE ROLLER
RTDensity was designed from the ground up around the physics of a vibratory roller compacting hot mix asphalt (HMA). The core density-estimation method behind it was granted a United States patent in 2025, following earlier grants in Australia, Canada, China, and Japan, with additional applications pending internationally. That patent covers the fundamental approach the system uses to turn a roller’s vibration signature into a density estimate, a signal that this is durable, defensible technology built for the long haul of a paving business, not a one-season gadget. For the operator, RTDensity provides a number he can act on before he leaves the mat. For the producer or contractor, it replaces a callback risk with a record. It is designed to provide a documented, defensible compaction history for every lot, on every job, without adding a person or a step to the crew’s workflow. And because the system is reading and reporting continuously, it scales the same way whether the job is a single residential lift or a multiday paving project: the operator still just watches a number in the cab, and the record builds itself behind him.
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