CALENDAR |
|
Central Coast 'Hot Topics in HMA' Training Day
Tuesday, Feb. 17, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Santa Ynez Valley Marriott, 555 McMurray Road, Buellton
Contact: Rita Leahy (916) 239-8315
Details HERE
*
San Diego Technical Committee Meeting
Wednesday, Feb. 25, 9:30 a.m. to noon
County of San Diego Room B-472 (4th Floor)
5510 Overland Avenue
San Diego
Contact: Tony Grasso (909) 362-9192
Click HERE for details.
*
L.A.-Desert Technical Committee Meeting
Wednesday, March 4, 9:30 a.m. to noon
Caltrans SRL, 13970 Victoria Street, Fontana
Contact: Tony Grasso (909) 362-9192
Click HERE for details.
*
REGISTRATION OPEN!
2015 CalAPA Spring Conference & Equipment Expo
April 15-16, 2015
Doubletree Hotel, 222 N. Vineyard Ave., Ontario, Calif.
Contact: Sophie You (916) 791-5044
Click HERE for details and to register.
*
CLICK & GO!View our interactive, "At a Glance" event calendar HERE.
|
|
SOCIALIZE
|
|
|
| CHOOSE ASPHALT | |
Asphalt is used on about 94 percent of paved roads in America. Why? Because it's smooth, quiet, safe, durable and 100 percent recyclable. Visit the Asphalt Pavement Alliance website learn more about why asphalt is the right choice now more than ever. |
| GET TECHNICAL | |
Are you an engineer, designer or technical professional who makes decisions on pavement type selection? The DriveAsphalt website has technical reports and other resources may be just what you're looking for. Click HERE for more information.
|
| CalAPA | | |
California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 981300
West Sacramento, CA 95798
Main office:
1550 Harbor Blvd., Suite 211
West Sacramento, CA 95691
(916) 791-5044 (phone)
|
| BACK ISSUES | |
Did you miss an issue of the California Asphalt Insider? No problem! Past editions of the newsletter are available at the CalAPA newsletter archive page.
|
| MAGAZINE |  |
CalAPA produces a highly regarded magazine, California Asphalt, and an annual membership directory. To view back issues of the magazine, click HERE. For advertising sales in the magazine and directory, click HERE or call Kerry Hoover with Construction Marketing Services at (909) 772-3121.
|
| STAY INFORMED |  |
Click HERE to receive California Asphalt Insider each week via e-mail FREE! Or visit our website at:
|
|
WATCH
| |
|
Click HERE to visit our video page.
|
|
DESIGN!
| |
|
Click HERE to visit the PavExpress website.
|
|
|
This weekly bulletin contains the latest news and information of interest to the asphalt pavement industry in California. Please feel free to distribute this newsletter to others who may be interested in asphalt pavements. |
 | Meetings continue between Caltrans, industry on "PG+5" binder proposal
|
Industry and Caltrans representatives continue to meet on a proposal by the department that would require the addition of 5 percent Crumb Rubber Modifier (CRM) in all unmodified asphalt binder. The proposal grew out of pressure on the department to meet a  legislative mandate to utilize rubber from discarded tires in pavement mixes and keep the waste tires out of landfills. Industry has met on two occasions, Nov. 21, 2014 and most recently, January 2, to discuss Caltrans "PG+5" proposal. This new "green" Performance-Graded with 5 percent CRM (PG+5) binder as envisioned by Caltrans would be required to meet the performance grade requirements for unmodified asphalt binder. At these very well-attended meetings, virtually every component of Industry was represented: refiners, emulsion manufacturers, tire processors, HMA producers, paving contractors and specialty materials producers. At the most recent meeting, Industry discussed its concerns -- technical, financial and environmental -- and generated a number of alternative approaches for Caltrans to consider in its effort to reduce the number of scrap tires diverted to landfills. It is estimated that the state generates about 40 million scrap tires per year. The next meeting is scheduled for March 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Caltrans District 3 offices, Sierra Nevada Room No. 180, 703 B Street in Marysville. To read a previous Asphalt Insider article on this topic, click HERE. |
| Registration open for Spring Asphalt Pavement Conference & Equipment Expo April 15-16 in Ontario
|
Registration is now open for the CalAPA Spring Asphalt Pavement Conference & Equipment Expo, to be held April 15-16 at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario. Click HERE to visit the conference website.
San Diego Association of Governments Executive Director Gary
 | | Gary Gallegos |
Gallegos will be one of the featured speakers at the conference, which will be packed with technical and practical information on asphalt pavement research, pavement design, placement, testing and acceptance, as well as funding projections and other issues of interest to pavement professionals.
The conference will also feature dozens of vendor booths, a gala reception and an outdoor equipment expo where the latest in construction equipment will be on display. Contact Sophie You at CalAPA for sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities. A sponsor and exhibitor form can be found HERE. A list of sponsors from last year's event is HERE.
Previous conferences have been attended by more than 200 construction industry professionals and local, state and federal public works officials.
Among the other topics that will be covered during the conference include: "Superpave" and Caltrans Section 39 specification changes, a local agency "Green Book" specification update, paving for smoothness, plant inspection best practices for local agencies, the latest in pavement research, best practices in longitudinal joint construction and Warm Mix Asphalt research by the National Center for Asphalt Technology.
|
| Francis N. Hveem: A name that lives on |
Rhita Nhorn will be entering her junior year later this year as an engineering major at California State University, Sacramento. She's also working part-time in the CalAPA offices helping with a myriad of office tasks and learning a lot about asphalt pavements and the construction industry in the process.
Last week she was compiling the scores and comment sheets from the Jan. 28 "Hot Topics in HMA" event put on by the association in Bakersfield, where a myriad of technical topics were covered. Association staff and committee volunteers study the comments as
 | | Francis N. Hveem |
part of the association's continuous feedback loop to always be improving CalAPA's events and other services.
Jagged penmanship and cryptic acronyms make compiling the results a challenge for a future engineer, but last week a word appeared that was especially challenging. In response to the question, "What topics would you like to see covered in future events?" one of the attendees wrote: "Performance comparison of (illegible) design vs. Superpave design."
The illegible word was, of course, "Hveem," and it became a teachable moment. Francis N. Hveem, she was informed, was a legendary Caltrans materials engineer credited with a number of materials testing inventions, including the stabilometer, Cohesiometer and Kneading Compactor. He also developed several test methods, including the Sand Equivalent and Centrifuge Equivalent procedures.
Hveem, (pronunced "VEEM"), enjoyed a 46-year career with the
 | | A Kneading Compactor. |
department that included stints as a resident engineer in the days when R.E.'s were issued tents to camp out alongside remote construction projects. He was transferred to the Materials & Research Department in 1929, and in 1938 was placed in charge of all bituminous testing. In 1950 he was appointed materials research engineer, a position he held until his retirement in 1963, publishing several important technical papers and collecting numerous awards and recognitions along the way. He was installed in the Asphalt Institute's "Roll of Honor" in 1965. He passed away in 1990.
His enduring legacy is a testament to the importance of innovation, then and now, as it relates to asphalt pavements. To read more about his accomplishments, click HERE to read an excellent article in last year's "AMRL In Focus" newsletter.
|
| Chip Seal inspection to be featured topic at Feb. 25 San Diego Technical Committee meeting
|
Inspecting chip seal projects will be the featured presentation at the next CalAPA San Diego Technical Committee Meeting, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to noon on Feb. 25 in San Diego. Shawn Rizzutto, a Caltrans construction engineer, will give the
 | | Shawn Rizzutto |
presentation based on his many years of inspecting projects for District 11 in Imperial County. The meeting will also feature updates on other technical and specification-related topics, and feature ample time for questions and answers from participants. The meeting will take place at the County of San Diego offices, 4th Floor Conference Room, 5510 Overland Avenue in San Diego. Click HERE for details and to RSVP. For more information on Southern California Technical Committee meetings, contact Tony Grasso of CalAPA at (909) 362-9192. |
| 'Deflategate' and asphalt pavements: What do they have in common? |
Only the fertile mind of Steve Marvin of CalAPA member firm Labelle-Marvin could dream up a link between the "Deflategate" football scandal and asphalt pavements. But he did.
At last week's CalAPA Southern California Contractor Dinner in Pico
 | | Steve Marvin |
Rivera, Marvin gave a technical presentation titled "Tolerances" that could answer once and for all if the New England Patriots should be in hot water for allegedly using under-inflated footballs during a Jan. 18 AFC playoff game in frigid Massachusetts.
Marvin applied some cold, hard engineering logic to the controversy, and used it to illustrate some important points about pavement testing. If you missed it, you can view his presentation via CalAPA's SlideShare page HERE.
For more photos of the Feb. 10 Contractors' Dinner, click HERE to visit CalAPA's Facebook Page.
And special note to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell: Marvin's consulting fees are reasonable as long as you throw in a couple of Super Bowl tickets.
|
| CalAPA offices closed today in observance of the Presidents' Day holiday
|
CalAPA offices will be closed today, Monday, Feb. 16, in observance of the Presidents' Day holiday.
|
| Quote of the Week
|
"If we amplify everything, we hear nothing."
Jon Stewart
|
|
We hope you enjoy CalAPA's Asphalt Insider. We are committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information on technical issues, regulation, news and events in California that may impact the asphalt pavement industry. Click HERE to contact us with any comments or suggestions.
Sincerely,
Russell W. SnyderExecutive Director California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA) |
|
|
