"It's not easy to get money," he said. "People are asking, 'What are you doing to innovate? How do we know you're going to be accountable for it? And what efficiencies have you put in place to make sure that when we give you that money we have confidence that you're going to do the right thing?'"

Speaking for his area of responsibility, Takigawa ticked off a number of innovative investments and reforms made by the department in recent years, and that continue to be made, to make roads safer, reduce maintenance costs and improve conditions for highway workers as well as users of the state's vast transportation system.

Once such example is the installation in all Caltrans vehicles of GPS units that can monitor location, speed and other vital signs of state vehicles. Prominent stickers noting the vehicles have GPS monitoring are displayed on all vehicles equipped with the technology. The devices have resulted in the savings of $2 million in fuel and maintenance costs so far, Takigawa said, and led to the recovery of at least four stolen vehicles within minutes of the thefts, much to the dismay of the thieves who were caught red-handed.

Of the dumbfounded crooks who were led away in handcuffs, he said, "They don't even know how to spell GPS, let alone know what it is."

For more on what Takigawa thinks about these and other topics,

Professor John Harvey of the University of California Pavement Research Center (standing) offers an observation during a technical presentation.

see the in-depth interview with him that appeared in the 2015 Quality issue of the CalAPA magazine, California Asphalt. It can be viewed on-line HERE.

The two-day conference program, held Oct. 28-29 at the Doubletree Hotel in Sacramento, also featured presentations on "Superpave," Crumb Rubber Modifier (CRM) use, asphalt binder considerations, new pavement smoothness specifications and technology, binder safety, personal protective equipment reflectivity, use of Material Transfer Vehicles, compaction, Cold In-Place Recycling and asphalt rubber blending.

Technical presentations delivered at the conference can be viewed and downloaded HERE. The conference would not be possible were it not for the generous support of the many sponsors and exhibitors. A list of exhibitors of the conference is HERE. A list of conference sponsors is HERE. More photos from the conference can be found on CalAPA's Facebook page HERE.

The Spring Asphalt Pavement Conference & Equipment Expo will be held April 20-21, 2016 at the Doubletree Hotel, 222 N. Vineyard Ave. in Ontario. Contact Sophie You of CalAPA at (916) 791-5044 for sponsor and exhibitor opportunities.

Margaret Holdsworth, left, and Barry Gundersen brought their compelling asphalt binder safety presentation all the way from New Zealand to the Fall Conference. They are shown after the conference with their new CalAPA T-shirts.

 

CalAPA is pleased to welcome its newest associate member, Jetpatcher USA.

Jetpatcher is the exclusive distributor of asphalt pavement repair equipment and supplies under the "Jetpatcher" system. According to the company, Jetpatcher equipment can be used for repairing many types of asphalt road defects, including potholes, edge breaks, road depressions, wheel path rutting, crack sealing dig-outs, speed bumps, drainage buns and scabbing.

In addition to the roundtable discussion, CalAPA Deputy Executive Director Tony Grasso will provide a recap of the Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference, held last week in Sacramento, and solicit ideas and topics for the Spring Asphalt Pavement Conference & Equipment Expo, which is scheduled for April 20-21, 2016 in Ontario.

For more information, contact Grasso at (909) 362-9192.