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CALENDAR
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"Asphalt Pavement 101" class
Wednesday, July 13, 8 a.m. to noon Caltrans District 11 Lab, 7177 Opportunity Road, San Diego
Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044
Click HERE to register.
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"Asphalt Pavement 101" class
Thursday, July 14, 8 a.m. to noon
G3 Quality, 13850 Cerritos Corporate Drive, Unit E, Cerritos
Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044
Click HERE to register.
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SIGN UP NOW!
CalAPA 'Day at the Races' at Del Mar Race Track
Saturday, July 16
Del Mar, CA
Click HERE to reserve your spot!
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San Diego Technical Committee Meeting
Wednesday, July 20, 9:30 a.m. to noon County of San Diego building, 5510 Overland Ave., 4th Floor Conference Room, San Diego
Contact: Tony Grasso (909) 362-9192
Click HERE to RSVP.
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SAVE THE DATE!Annual CalAPA Golf Tournament set for Thursday, Sept. 22 in Industry Hills Details soon! *SAVE THE DATE!Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference & Equipment Expo Oct. 26 & 27 in Sacramento. Contact Sophie You of CalAPA at (916) 791-5044 for sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities.
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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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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. |
 | 'Asphalt Pavement 101' classes to be held this week in Southern California; lab tour & demonstrations added to class in Cerritos
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CalAPA's enormously popular "Asphalt Pavement 101" class is back and will be held this Wednesday, July 13 in San Diego and again on Thursday, July 14 in Cerritos. Click HERE to download a flier that provides more detail about the class. An optional free lab tour has been added to the Cerritos class. Details are below. The "Asphalt Pavement 101" class is a good overview of everything asphalt, touching on how asphalt pavements are designed, constructed and maintained. It is taught by Roger Smith, a former senior materials engineer with Caltrans and the Asphalt Institute, as well as a former executive director of CalAPA. Although the class is just a half-day it is packed with loads of
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| | Roger Smith |
useful information for contractor and agency paving crews, quality control specialists, lab personnel and others who interact with asphalt pavements. The class will cover pavement structure and terminologies, asphalt binders, aggregates, asphalt mixes, plant operations and mix delivery, paving and rolling, acceptance specifications and testing.
Because so much is changing in the world of asphalt pavements, the class is an excellent refresher course for veterans in the industry as well as providing a good overview for those new or just returning to asphalt pavements. The class has been updated to add a summary of "Superpave"-inspired elements recently added to Caltrans asphalt specifications.
"Asphalt Pavement 101" is a recommended prerequisite for other CalAPA technical classes, such as "Caltrans Section 39 Specifications," "Essentials of Pavement Smoothness,'" "Understanding the Job Mix Formula" and "Quality HMA Paving."
All class attendees will receive a handy reference booklet that includes copies of the slide presentation, key acronyms, glossary and other essential information for future reference. Attendees will also receive a handsome certificate of completion documenting that they have completed four (4) Professional Development Hours (PDH) of technical instruction. For more information or to register for the July 13 class in San  Diego, click HERE. For more information or to register for the July 14 class in Cerritos, click HERE. Both classes begin at 8 a.m. and conclude at noon. CalAPA member G3 Quality, a testing lab and consultant, is host of the July 14 class in Cerritos. Immediately following the class, G3 staff will conduct an optional lab tour, including brief demonstrations of Hamburg Wheel Track, vehicle-mounted Inertial Profiler and other equipment that has recently come into use in California due to new Caltrans "Superpave"-influenced asphalt specifications. Appetizers and drinks will be served. The tour and demonstration will conclude at 1:30 p.m. Learn more about G3 Quality HERE. CalAPA can also bring technical classes to your location. For more information on hosted CalAPA technical classes, contact Ritha Nhorn of CalAPA at (916) 791-5044. For an on-line calendar of all CalAPA classes and events, click HERE. |
| | Part of G3 Quality's Lab in Cerritos. |
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| Local agencies step up to fill leadership void in transportation funding
| As the governor and the Legislature continue to dither in the face of California's worsening road-funding crisis, local agencies have stepped up to try to fill the void.
The following counties have either approved or will put before voters transportation-related tax measures: Los Angeles, Stanislaus, Merced, Santa Cruz, Ventura, Humboldt and Contra Costa. Other entities, such as Palo Alto, are considering similar measures.
Overall, 20 of California's 58 counties are so-called "self-help" counties, where voters have approved sales tax measures devoted to transportation. The counties cover the state's most urbanized areas and more than 80 percent of its population, as well as some of its worst traffic congestion. The measures have overcome the state Constitution's very high threshold for approving tax increases -- a two-thirds vote. The funds generate more than 60 percent of the state's transportation funding, boosting the clout of local governments while Caltrans has seen its influence wane. To learn more about self-help counties, click HERE.
The Los Angeles proposal is perhaps the most ambitious. Dubbed the Los Angeles County Traffic Improvement Plan proposes a new, half-cent sales tax starting in 2018 and a replacement of the current Measure R tax until 2040 unless voters decide to end it. The proposal increases the amount of money returned to the county's 88 cities for pothole repair and other road maintenance activities. It is estimated the plan could generate more than $860 million per year for street repairs, highway improvements and rail construction. To read more about the plan, click HERE.
According to a report produced by cities and counties, which  are responsible for the lion's share of paved roads in California, roads are deteriorating at a rapid clip. You can read more about it HERE.
In Sacramento, meanwhile, the Legislature wrapped up work on the state budget at the end of June and headed into a recess until Aug. 1 without addressing the state's long-term transportation funding crisis. Elements of the governor's much-ballyhooed transportation funding fix, detailed by California State Transportation Secretary Brian Kelly in CalAPA's association magazine earlier this year, were unceremoniously stripped out of the $122 billion budget, which was balanced again this year and sets aside $3.3 billion for a state "rainy day fund." You can read the exclusive Q&A with Brian Kelly that appeared in California Asphalt magazine HERE. Kelly quoted from the CalAPA article in his own op-ed that appeared in the Orange County Register on June 30 defending reforms at Caltrans. You can read that op-ed piece HERE.
Over at the State Board of Equalization, a 2.2 cent reduction in the state gas tax kicked in on July 1. It is estimated that lowering the excise tax motorists pay at the pump will carve out more than $300 million from state transportation coffers. The reduction was part of the now-reviled "gas tax swap" scheme that was cobbled together in 2010 during a state budget crisis. The swap was an elaborate work-around to Constitutional protections mandating that gas taxes fund transportation programs. The gas-tax swap was intended to be, in budget-speak, "revenue neutral," but it never envisioned an overall drop in pump prices.
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| 'Micro-milling' to be featured presentation at CalAPA Technical Committee meeting July 20 in San Diego
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Regional issues affecting Hot Mix Asphalt mix design and construction will be the focus of the next San Diego Technical Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 20 in San Diego. All CalAPA members and agency representatives are invited to this free meeting. Click HERE for details. The featured technical presentation will be provided by James Emerson with CalAPA member firm Pavement Recycling Systems. His topic is titled, "Micro-Milling for Cost / Life Cycle Extension,  Speed & Visual Improvement, Crack Mitigation, Ride-ability, Better Bonding, and Public Perception." CalAPA Deputy Executive Director Tony Grasso will also provide an update on public works funding, emerging technical and environmental issues, upcoming events and other industry news. The meeting also will feature a "round-table" discussion where industry and local agencies can raise and discuss issues in a friendly and collaborative setting. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 20 from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the County of San Diego building, 4th Floor Conference Room, 5510 Overland Ave. in San Diego. Click HERE for details or to RSVP. For more information, contact Grasso at (909) 362-9192.
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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.
RESURFACING: Existing surfaces may be improved by resurfacing (or overlaying) with a plant mix asphalt mat of varying thicknesses. It may be considered in two categories: (1) overlays to provide smooth, skid- and water-resistant surfaces or to make improvements in grade and/or cross section; and (2) overlays to strengthen existing pavements to handle heavier loads or increased traffic. Sometimes called overlays.
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| Quote of the Week
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"If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of 10 years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people."
Confucius |
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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. Snyder, CAE Executive Director California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA) |
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| View the complete infographic HERE
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| View the complete infographic HERE
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