Better Roads Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/325401
Better Roads June 2014 19 Oklahoma DOT. There continues to be tremendous interest in the system." Interest in the system includes catching the attention of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Association of American Safety and Highway Traffi c Offi cials (AASHTO), and the Transportation Research Board (TRB). An imple- mentation plan is underway to further promote the thermal imaging system through the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2). "In 2007 and 2008, the SHRP2 program kicked off and we proposed to take what we were developing in Texas to the national level, and see if we could do demonstrations," says Tom Scullion, who heads up research for the thermal imaging system at TTI. For the SHRP2 project, the research team conducted demonstration projects in Florida, Texas, Minnesota, Maine, Virginia and Massachusetts in 2014. Last year, the research team conducted demonstration projects in Pennsylvania and Virginia and did two in 2012. Scullion says two TTI products were developed with SHRP2. One is the thermal imaging system, and the other is Ground Penetrating Radar to mea- sure asphalt density. "The SHRP2 program named these two products as the top-ranked products from the whole SHRP2 program," Scullion says. "SHRP2 had these products ranked by AASHTO, and the results came back from the states that these were the top-ranked products." Now, Scullion says AASHTO and FHWA have decided to contribute $2 million to an implementation ef- fort that includes thermal imaging of asphalt pavements. At a meeting of TTI, state and federal offi cials in late February, the discussion centered on which states would be likely candidates for more demonstration projects. "At the meeting…we had Ohio, Maine, Arkansas and Florida present," Scullion points out. "All these states would be strong candidates to jump on this thing in the next phase of implementation." Moreover, the AASHTO standard practice for Continuous Thermal Profi le of Asphalt Mixture Construction is being balloted and commented on for inclusion in the new AASHTO docu- ments. Final approval is expected this year. That will present a standard that all agencies can use for reference to put this technology into action. Contractor reaction to temp bars Mike Niemi, senior project manager for Brainerd, Minne- sota-based Anderson Brothers Construction Co., says his company has chosen to use the Pave IR bar on every proj- ect, regardless of whether it is for the DOT. Through the end of 2013, Anderson had used the technology on three state projects – Trunk Highways 89, 27 and 169. The TH 89 project was a mill and overlay over a 10-mile stretch, two lanes wide. Anderson milled out 1 inch of asphalt and used a Volvo paver to replace it with 1-1/2 inches of new asphalt. Niemi is fond of the system. "We have found that by chang- ing some of our methods, on how we do things, that we have had hardly any severe segregation issues using belly dumps and a windrow pickup machine," he says. "We have found that Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info Still Using Paper Time Cards in 2014? Cut foremen entry time in half with HeavyJob Mobile Apps and... Reduce payroll processing by as much as 90% Know if jobs are profitable with same-day feedback against budget Work offline for remote jobs with no internet Train foremen quickly with easy-to-use me card Integrate with over 35 accoun ng systems Low risk—So ware comes with a 12-month money back guarantee! 800-683-3196 for the Construction Industry Innovative Software at www.HCSS.com/Better-Roads SIGN UP FOR DAILY WEBINARS HighwayContractor_BR0614.indd 19 6/2/14 3:25 PM