The road forward with

A key to the construction of quality roads is building a solid partnership between road owners and the industry. This year’s Partners in Quality Road Tour presented a unique opportunity for producer members and contractor representatives to get the latest industry information, interact with local municipalities and MTO representatives, and discuss current issues and future plans for the regional area and province.

The Partners in Quality Road Tour (PIQ) was held in April in London, Mississauga, Ottawa, and Sudbury. Recently appointed OAPC Chair, Peter Hamstra, kicked off all four locations as the event MC. He discussed OAPC’s 2023 Strategic Plan with the priorities of Quality; Sustainability; Codes, Standards, and Specification; Research and Education; and Advocacy and Stakeholder Relations. Sustainability is one of the key presentations at this year’s PIQ and a hot topic globally. OAPC’s strategy is to develop a sustainability action plan to meet government’s commitment to net zero by 2050.

The main presentation for the day was “All about Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for asphalt mixtures ”. It was presented by Joseph Shacat, Director, Sustainable Pavements, National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), at the London and Mississauga PIQs and by Lianna Miller, Sustainability Manager, WAP Sustainability, at the Ottawa and Sudbury PIQs.

EPDs are documents that specify the environmental impact of a product or material over its lifetime or lifecycle. This presentation was focused up to the point the asphalt mixture leaves the asphalt facility or “Cradle-to-Gate”.

The requirement for EPDs is becoming a norm in the United States as owners are using EPDs to allow them to consider environmental impacts and sustainability when making purchasing decisions. It is no longer only about quality or price. It won’t be long until owners in Ontario and Canada will start to ask for EPDs for asphalt mixtures and asphalt cement and there have already been inquiries to some producer members. Shacat and Miller focused on NAPA’s EPD Program in the U.S. and also showed how a reduction in mix temperatures and aggregate moisture contents, and utilization of RAP, all help in either reducing energy requirements and/ or emissions. Many questions were asked from the audience demonstrating the importance of this topic for the asphalt industry.

MTO`s “ MTO bituminous specification updates and other initiatives ” was presented in London by Imran Bashir, Senior Bituminous Engineer for MTO; in Mississauga and Sudbury by Gelu Vasiliu, Head of Bituminous Section; and in Ottawa by Warren Lee, Senior Bituminous Engineer. Topics included the progression of implementation for warm mix asphalt, a draft NSSP, consultation on the payment adjustment for changes in the PGAC Price Index, and a proposed NSSP BITU0031 Mix Performance Testing (MPT) Specification.