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CALENDAR
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REGISTER NOW!Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference & Equipment Expo Oct. 26 & 27, Doubletree Hotel, 2001 Point West Way, Sacramento. Click HERE for details. 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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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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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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WATCH
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Click HERE to visit our video page.
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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. |
 | City of Los Angeles looks for an alternative material for $1.4 billion sidewalk program
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The City of Los Angeles is looking to spend $1.4 billion over the next 30 years on a "safe sidewalks" program, and is seeking alternative materials to do so.
The City sent out a "request for information" Sept. 21. You can read it HERE. The city noted that "Portland Cement Concrete  (PCC) has traditionally been used in the City's [sic] per standard plan; however, the City is evaluating the use of alternative materials to PCC in the repair and construction of the new sidewalks."
Two factors are prompting the action, the City said: a desire to bring the City in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for accessibility, and also a desire "to gather information regarding sustainable alternative material products for consideration and use in our program."
No doubt the City heard that asphalt is the world's most recycled  product and can be configured in many different environment-friendly ways, such as porous asphalt pavements to help with storm-water management and recharging groundwater tables in drought-battered communities. To read more about how asphalt is a nice fit for sustainable communities, click HERE, HERE and HERE. For an in-depth report in CalAPA's magazine, California Asphalt, about how California local agencies are grappling with ADA mandates in their street-repair programs, click HERE.
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| Participants in annual CalAPA golf tournament enjoy great weather, course
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Of Los Angeles, famed Beat writer Jack Kerouac once wrote, "The smog was heavy, my eyes were weeping from it, the sun was hot, the air stank, a regular hell is L.A."
He would have never recognized the place if he was alive today.
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| | Aaron Terry (L-R), Scott Salandi, Craig Cleveland and Eric Vealitzek at the 2016 CalAPA golf tournament on Sept. 22 at Pacific Palms Resort in Industry. |
The annual CalAPA Southern California Golf Tournament was played under clear and sunny skies (after some morning fog burned off), and on a course that looked PGA-ready. It was, if you'll excuse the pun, a slice of heaven.
Technically, it wasn't in Los Angeles, we admit, but rather at the Pacific Palms Resort in the City of Industry. Still, the drives were truer, the drinks were extra cold and the camaraderie was first-rate.
Several golfers asked about the possibility of holding a similar event in Northern California next year. If you are interested in participating in or sponsoring such an event, contact CalAPA's Sophie You at (916) 791-5044, who will be gauging interest. For a list of this year's event sponsors, click HERE. More photos from the event are posted on our Facebook page HERE.
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| | Golf "Guru" Sophie You is relaxed and ready to facilitate a day of golf fun in Northern California, but only if there is enough interest. Call her at (916) 791-5044 to participate. |
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| Post-plant gradation, aggregate temperature issue coming to a head at Caltrans
| Caltrans and industry experts are currently debating an issue that has a bit of history to it -- aggregate temperatures and post-plant gradations.
As CalAPA reported to its members last June in a "Member Alert," the two issues, which are seemingly separate, have been linked together in an ongoing debate over the use of higher percentages of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) in pavement mixes.
The issue was raised again earlier this month during meetings of the "4-plus-2" leadership of Caltrans and industry that oversee the joint Caltrans-industry Rock Products Committee.
Toni Carroll, Director of Quality for CalAPA member Graniterock  and one of the industry representatives of the "4-plus-2," reported to industry colleagues that Caltrans appears to have made a decision on the issue, which has elicited strong opinions from industry representatives at technical meetings where consensus was elusive.
Carroll said Caltrans is working on a "decision document" to move to post-plant gradations and that the next update of the Caltrans specifications will remove the reference to maximum aggregate temperatures.
In related Caltrans specification news, some industry representatives report that Voids in the Mineral Aggregate (VMA) disputes appear to track with the variability of the Specific Gravity/Fine Aggregate Test, known as California Test Method 207. (The AASHTO equivalent is T-84).
With some bemusement, Carroll noted that she wrote about this issue back in 2012 in her  highly regarded materials blog, "Quality in California." You can read her blog post HERE.
Looking at the issue today, she stressed the importance of having all labs perform tests in exactly the same manner.
"In keeping with the movement to standardize test methods as much as possible," Carroll said in an e-mail to colleagues, "If we are going to revisit it (CTM 207) I would like to propose that it is not an "option" to wash [aggregate] or not. I'm not committed to either method particularly, but both produce different results and it needs to be clear what every lab in the state is supposed to do."
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| Special leadership-themed issue of 'California Asphalt' magazine now on-line
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It's a topic that has widespread impact on us all, including everyone who works in the asphalt pavement industry, but it receives far too little attention: leadership. That changes this month.
The latest issue of CalAPA's official magazine, California Asphalt, has devoted the entire issue to the topic. The diverse viewpoints  come at leadership from many different perspectives, and the issue is meant to stimulate some thinking among readers seeking to understand their own leadership style and to discern how good and bad leadership impacts companies and organizations. As noted in one of the articles, leadership is not a title, but rather a way of conducting yourself, and anyone can be a leader.
Click HERE to read a special interactive, on-line version of the issue. Special thanks go out to contributors Toni Carroll with Graniterock, Sue Dyer with OrgMetrics, and this month's month's "Q&A" interview subject, Larry Bonine, former Arizona DOT Director and noted quality "Zen Master." The special issue is introduced by Kari Saragusa with Lehigh Hanson.
California Asphalt magazine offers exclusive content and industry insight available nowhere else. If you're not advertising in California Asphalt, you're missing an opportunity to build your brand in front of nearly 5,000 decision-makers and decision-influencers. To advertise in California Asphalt, contact Kerry Hoover at (909) 772-3121. Past issues of the magazine can be found HERE.
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| Program set for Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference & Equipment Expo Oct. 26-27 in Sacramento
| Registration is now open for the Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference & Equipment Expo, which will take place Oct. 26 & 27 in Sacramento. Click HERE for details and to sign up.
Caltrans Chief Engineer Karla Sutliff will be the keynote speaker,
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| | Karla Sutliff |
discussing Caltrans sustainability and innovation initiatives. Will Kempton, executive director of Transportation California, an advocacy group, will also be speaking about the outlook for a comprehensive state transportation funding plan.
The program also features technical presentations on a number of topics, including the use of reclaimed asphalt in pavement mixes, pavement smoothness standards and technology, achieving optimum compaction in the field and effective partnering techniques.
The event will feature a gala reception on the evening of Day 1, and a popular exhibitor area and equipment displays. As always, exhibit space goes fast and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact Sophie You of CalAPA at (916) 791-5044 for details. Click HERE for additional information for exhibitors and sponsors.
Pascal Mascarenhas with Vulcan Materials poses a question at a previous CalAPA conference.
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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.
BACKFILL: Material used in filling an excavation or the act of filling an excavation. Alternative slang definition: An unproductive worker.
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| Quote of the Week
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"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
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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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