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CALENDAR
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Southern California Contractors' Dinner
Tuesday, April 12, 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Dal Rae Restaurant, 9023 E. Washington Blvd., Pico Rivera
Contact: Tony Grasso (909) 362-9192
Click HERE to sign up.
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SIGN UP NOW!CalAPA Spring Conference & Equipment ExpoApril 20-21 Doubletree Hotel, 222 N. Vineyard Ave., Ontaro Contact: Sophie You (916) 791-5044 Register HERE * SAVE THE DATE!CalAPA 'Day at the Races' at Del Mar Race TrackSaturday, July 16Del Mar, CA Details soon! *
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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. |
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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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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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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. |
 | Caltrans names Ochoa to lead joint training & certification effort for lab technicians
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Caltrans last week named veteran District Materials Engineer Al Ochoa to head up the high-profile Joint Training & Certification program for lab technicians, which is in development.
Ochoa, who works in District 11, a region that includes San Diego and Imperial counties, replaces Joe Peterson, who retired, as the project manager for the effort.
A familiar face to industry, Ochoa has attended numerous technical
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| | Al Ochoa |
meetings in Sacramento. He is also the co-chair of the CalAPA San Diego Technical Committee, which brings together industry and agency personnel from the local, state and federal level to discuss standards, specifications, technology and best practices.
"Al Ochoa is a knowledgeable and respected representative for his agency and he always brings thoughtful insight about the Caltrans perspective to our discussions on technical issues," said CalAPA Deputy Executive Director Tony Grasso. "We are confident his expertise will serve Caltrans and the Industry well in bringing uniformity to how lab tests are performed and reported."
Ochoa began his career at Caltrans in 1986 as a junior Civil Engineer, and following a rotation program was assigned to the Project Studies Division where he worked for several years before transferring to the District 11 Office Engineer Division as a specification writer.
He spent about four years under the mentoring of Leon Edmonds before he was promoted to Senior Resident Engineer/Construction Engineer.
During his 10 years with the Construction Division, he administrated a wide variety of contracts with the full gamut of work including paving. His construction experience led him to his next assignment as the District 11 Materials Engineer where he has worked for the past 12 years.
As the District Materials Engineer Ochoa has participated on several Task Groups for the Materials Engineering & Testing Services (METS) branch, which included: Specifications for Section 39, RHMA, Independent Assurance (IA) Manual rewrite and Joint Training/Certification Stakeholder.
Ochoa attended his first meeting of the joint agency-industry task force that his helping develop the program. He was introduced by Roberto Lacalle, acting state materials engineer who heads up the Materials Engineering & Testing Services (METS) branch within the Division of Engineering Services.
The Joint Training & Certification Program for lab technicians is being developed by Caltrans with the input of the construction industry and is modeled after successful programs in other states. It is designed to create a single, statewide program to train and certify public and private lab technicians who perform tests on public works projects. The program will include certification in concrete, asphalt and aggregate/soils testing. Experience in other states has found similar programs greatly reduced test variability, which led to a dramatic reduction in conflicts and claims on construction projects. To read a previous Asphalt Insider story about the program, click HERE.
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| Updated web-based pavement smoothness tool helps analyze IRI changes over time, GHG impact using federal data |
Pavement smoothness has taken on a greater prominence in California with the introduction of new smoothness specifications in the Caltrans standard specifications.
It has been long known, however, that smoother pavements are associated with improved fuel economy, reduced wear-and-tear on vehicles, greater driver comfort and satisfaction, and longer pavement life.
Thanks to a newly updated web-based tool known as "IRI Explorer,"  road owners, pavement designers, academics, and other users can draw upon extensive pavement smoothness data to examine how different pavement treatments act over time in different environments.
Working with 20 years' worth of data from the Federal Highway Administration's Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) database of projects, IRI Explorer makes it easy to study different pavement sections, their history, and the International Roughness Index (IRI) data recorded for each pavement. Pavement sections can be compared based upon materials used, maintenance applied, climate or region, and other factors. Custom data sets can be incorporated to the tool, too.
IRI Explorer also includes an Emissions Estimator life-cycle assessment tool that helps project potential greenhouse-gas emissions for a roadway during construction and maintenance, as well as the emissions associated with use. Annualized emissions data can be used to directly compare pavements with different life cycles and maintenance strategies.
For more information, click HERE to visit the IRI Explorer website. An educational "webinar" previously put on by NAPA on how to use the website can be found HERE.
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| Private Construction issue of California Asphalt magazine now on line; features exclusive interview on road funding
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A digital version of the private construction issue of CalAPA's official magazine, California Asphalt, is now on line. Click HERE to view it in a special 3-D format.
The issue features a profile of CalAPA member PaveWest work on a  Costco parking lot in Torrance, and a profile of venerable construction equipment firm Holt of California, the trunk of the Caterpillar family tree.
In addition, the issue features an exclusive interview with Assemblyman Jim Frazier, D-Oakley, chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee. Frazier discusses the prospects for a long-term transportation investment plan this year, and the direct link between a good transportation system and California's competitiveness, economic vitality and quality of life.
For information on advertising in California Asphalt magazine, click HERE for a rate sheet, or contact Kerry Hoover of Construction Marketing Services at (909) 772-3121.
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| Registration open for Spring Asphalt Pavement Conference & Equipment Expo April 20-21 in Ontario
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Registration is now open for the CalAPA Spring Asphalt Pavement Conference & Equipment Expo, which will be held April 20-21 at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario. Click HERE for details and to register.
The must-attend event will be attended by hundreds of industry and agency representatives and feature an impressive lineup of speakers, who will delve into technical aspects of asphalt pavements and important policy matters, such as funding for roads.
The governor's transportation secretary, Brian Kelly, will be the
keynote speaker and will provide the latest information on the Brown Administration's proposals to provide for a long-term, sustainable funding plan for transportation.
Other topics that will be featured at the conference include pavement smoothness, recent changes to Caltrans asphalt specifications, "Intelligent Compaction," critical factors that impact pavement texture, pavement preservation strategies and more. A detailed agenda of the program can be found HERE.
The two-day conference will feature dozens of booths from exhibitors, and an outdoor equipment area where manufacturers and distributors will have the latest equipment on display. Display space is limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Click HERE for exhibitor and sponsor information, or contact Sophie You of CalAPA at (916) 791-5044 for details.
The conference begins at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20, and wraps up at noon on Thursday, April 21 at the Doubletree, 222 N. Vineyard Ave. in Ontario. Also back this year is a popular networking reception the evening of April 20, which is free for all attendees.
For a list of exhibitors from last year's Spring Conference, click HERE. Photos from last year's Spring Conference are posted on our Facebook page HERE.
Outdoor equipment displays at last year's Spring Conference.
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| Welcome aboard: Central Coast Filter & Supply
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CalAPA is pleased to welcome its newest associate member, Central Coast Filter & Supply. Established for over 20 years, the Central Coast Filter & Supply  team works to supply top-quality air filtration, fine particulate arrestors and blue-smoke filtration solutions to the asphalt industry. The company says it thrives on superior customer service and specific problem mitigation. For more information about the company, click HERE to visit the company website, or contact Andrew J. Chapman, Account Manager at 805-240-1507.
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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.
NATURAL ASPHALT: Asphalt occurring in nature that has been derived from petroleum by natural processes of evaporation of volatile fractions leaving the asphalt fractions. The native asphalts of most importance are found in the Trinidad and Bermudez Lake deposits. Asphalt from these sources is called Lake Asphalt.
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| Quote of the Week
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"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."
Benjamin Franklin
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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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