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CALENDAR
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CalAPA Southern California Contractor Dinner
Tuesday, Nov. 10 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Dal Rae Restaurant 9023 E. Washington Blvd., Pico Rivera Contact: Tony Grasso (909) 362-9192 Details HERE
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"Critical Changes to Caltrans Section 39 HMA Specifications" class
Wednesday, Nov. 18
1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Caltrans Materials Lab, 7177 Opportunity Road, San Diego Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044 Register HERE
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San Diego Area Technical Committee Meeting
Wednesday, Nov. 18 9:30 a.m. to noon
County of San Diego, 3rd Floor Conference Room, 5510 Overland Ave., San Diego.
Contact: Tony Grasso (909) 362-9192 Details HERE
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"Critical Changes to Caltrans Section 39 HMA Specifications" class
Thursday, Nov. 19
8 a.m. to noon Caltrans Materials Lab, 7177 Opportunity Road, San Diego Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044 Register HERE
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"Critical Changes to Caltrans Section 39 HMA Specifications" class
Tuesday, Dec. 1
1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Caltrans Central Region satellite office, 1226 Olive Drive, Bakersfield Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044 Register HERE
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"Critical Changes to Caltrans Section 39 HMA Specifications" class
Wednesday, Dec. 2
8 a.m. to noon
Caltrans Central Region Satellite office, 2015 Shields Ave., Fresno
Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044
Register HERE
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"Critical Changes to Caltrans Section 39 HMA Specifications" class
Wednesday, Jan. 6 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. City of Haward City Offices, 777 B Street, Second Floor, Room 2-A, Hayward Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044 Register HERE
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"Critical Changes to Caltrans Section 39 HMA Specifications" class
Thursday, Jan. 7
8 a.m. to noon
City of Haward City Offices, 777 B Street, Second Floor, Room 2-A, Hayward
Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044
Register HERE View our interactive, "At a Glance" event calendar HERE.
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| 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.
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| 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)
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| 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.
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| MAGAZINE |
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CalAPA produces a highly regarded magazine, California Asphalt, and an annual membership directory. To view current and past issues of the magazine, click HERE. For advertising sales information, click HERE or call Kerry Hoover with Construction Marketing Services at (909) 772-3121.
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Click HERE to receive California Asphalt Insider each week via e-mail FREE! Or visit our website at:
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Click HERE to visit our video page.
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DESIGN!
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Click HERE to visit the PavExpress website.
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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. |
 | Federal update: House passes 6-year transportation bill but levels of investment leave many underwhelmed |
With a new speaker wielding the gavel, the U.S. House of Representatives last week passed a six-year surface transportation bill. The levels of investment in the bill, however, left many road advocates underwhelmed.
Culminating a decade of short-term patches and extensions, the Republican-controlled House on Nov. 5 approved the transportation reauthorization legislation, H.R. 3819, on a bipartisan vote of 363-64. The final tally included "yes" votes by  186 Republicans and 177 Democrats. The only members of California's House delegation to vote "no" on the bill were Republican U.S. Reps. Tom McClintock (CA-9), Dana Rohrabacher (CA-48) and Darrell Issa (CA-49).
According to a synopsis of the bill distributed by the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), the bill does not include any additional revenue sources for the depleted Highway Trust Fund, including a long-sought hike in fuel taxes that have remained frozen since the 1990s. Known as the Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform Act (STRR Act), the House bill does include a key amendment that would make it easier to increase Trust Fund investment levels offered in the STRR Act. U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), ranking member of the Senate EPW Committee, released a joint statement last week following the House passage of the STRR Act: "Today the House of Representatives gave strong bipartisan support for a long-term surface transportation bill, which enables us to move forward to conference so we can work out our differences and get this legislation to the President's desk by Thanksgiving," the joint statement said. "Businesses, labor, states, and local communities are depending on us to pass a consensus-based, bipartisan bill which provides funding certainty that will enable them to modernize our nation's highways, bridges, and transit systems. We are also pleased that this bill provides the opportunity for increased investment in our aging infrastructure."
While getting a transportation bill out of the House is one of the first accomplishments for newly minted Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis), the funding levels in the bill were seen by many transportation advocates as nowhere near what is needed to reverse the state of the nation's crumbling infrastructure.
American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) President & CEO Pete Ruane echoed the sentiments of many others when he said: "The bill ... does not provide close to the investment levels the federal government says are necessary to maintain, let alone, improve conditions on the nation's highways, bridges, and transit systems. And it does not include a long-term revenue solution for the beleaguered Highway Trust Fund."
The House bill now heads to a joint House-Senate conference committee where members will try to reconcile differences between the House bill and an already passed Senate transportation bill. NAPA estimates that a final bill will be ready for consideration in December. The conferees announced so far that are from California include Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham (CA-10), and Democratic U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano (CA-32). An in-depth summary of the bills can be found HERE. |
| Special equipment issue of California Asphalt magazine is now on-line |
A special equipment-focused issue of CalAPA's highly regarded magazine, California Asphalt, is now on line. Click HERE to view the issue in an interactive, 3-D format. Paper copies of the magazine will be arriving in mailboxes in the  coming days. The magazine features an eye-opening examination of the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, or "drones" as they are commonly called) in the construction and mining industries, plus information on the still-evolving regulatory climate covering UAV use. The issues also features a profile of new CalAPA member Scott Equipment and our popular equipment guide. For information on advertising in the magazine or CalAPA's annual directory, contact Kerry Hoover of Construction Marketing Services at (909)-772-3121. An archive of past issues of the magazine, as well as advertising information, can be found HERE. |
| San Diego Technical Meeting to be held Nov. 18; will focus on technical, environmental issues
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The CalAPA San Diego Technical Committee will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 18 to discuss various technical and environmental issues. All CalAPA members and agency personnel are welcome to attend.
The meeting will take place at the County of San Diego building, 5510 Overland Ave. in San Diego. The meeting will be in a new room location: Third floor conference room. Click HERE  for details and to RSVP.
CalAPA Deputy Executive Director Tony Grasso will give an overview of the technical presentations delivered at the Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference, as well as updates on several environmental issues that may impact pavement maintenance. Grasso is principal staff to the CalAPA Envrionmental Committee.
In addition, the meeting will feature regular agency reports and a roundtable discussion of technical issues. For more information, contact Grasso at (909) 362-9192.
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| Changes to asphalt specifications, 'Superpave,' is highlighted at industry-agency meeting in Richmond
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CalAPA's Technical Consultant, Dr. Rita Leahy, P.E., was a featured speaker at the quarterly Caltrans District 4-industry meeting Nov. 6 in Richmond, providing attendees with unvarnished insight into the additional costs and risks to the unaware included in the latest Caltrans asphalt pavement specifications.
Invited by the meeting organizers, District 4 Construction Chief
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| | Dr. Rita Leahy, P.E.(left), briefs industry and agency representatives on asphalt specification changes at a meeting last week in Richmond. |
Bob Finney and Christine Williams of C.C. Myers, Leahy gave an overview of the many changes in the Caltrans asphalt pavement specification brought about by the move toward the national "Superpave" initiative.
The most important take-away: be aware of the changes and, for contractors, know what you are bidding on. Different aspects of the changes were featured at the Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference & Equipment Expo, which was held Oct. 28-29 in Sacramento. Various technical presentations from the conference can be viewed and downloaded HERE.
CalAPA, in cooperation with Caltrans, is also holding half-day training sessions that goes into greater depth about the changes to Section 39 (HMA) of the Caltrans Specifications. The classes are taught by Paul Curren, P.E., a longtime consultant and trainer for CalAPA. A class flier is HERE. A list of the classes is at left, or can be found on the CalAPA interactive event calendar HERE.
For more information, contact CalAPA at (916) 791-5044.
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| Showing our warts
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When CalAPA member Rene Vercruyssen of Knife River took the family on a vacation to Disneyland Resort a while back, he was aghast that in the "Car's Land" attraction Disney's Imagineers had designed simulated potholes and other pavement imperfections into the asphalt. It was art imitating life, or a sad testament to how we have allowed our roadway infrastructure to fall apart due to lack of funds for basic maintenance.
The California Alliance for Jobs, another good-infrastructure  group, has taken this a step further, rolling out a video of the California "Bad Roads Tour 2015." Click HERE to watch it.
If there's one thing that agencies and contractors have in common, it is a love of smooth, well-constructed and maintained pavement. No one likes showing roads that have been left to fall apart. But that's the sad reality as our elected officials dither on about how to pay for what should be routine and unnoticed upkeep to our vital transportation assets.
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| Tech Term of the Week
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Each week we highlight a word, acronym or other reference commonly used in the asphalt pavement industry in California.
BATCH PLANT: An asphalt plant that produces asphalt in smaller batches (compared to "Drum Plants" that produce asphalt with continuous-feed drums in larger quantities.
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| Quote of the Week
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"There are two kinds of people who lose money: those who know nothing and those who know everything."
Henry Kaufman
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| For the record
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In a story that appeared in last week's Asphalt Insider about the Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference & Equipment Expo in Sacramento, the total number of attendees was under-reported. It was 279.
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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) |
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