Equipment World

May 2015

Equipment World Digital Magazine

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D iscussing sustainabil- ity in most industries usually elicits one of a couple of responses: ei- ther groans, rolling eyes and shuffl ing feet; or zombie-like stares off in the distance that clearly signify the listener is tuning out. But in the pavement sector, people are more attentive to the issue. Paving contractors, whether they be involved in asphalt or cement (and sometimes both) have been practicing sustainable methods for years. Gone now is the shiny newness, and emerging now is a maturity and a certain level of expectation. At one time having a stable of sustainable practices gave contractors a competitive edge, but currently it's expected. "Now, in our marketplace," says Steve Jackson, president and CEO of Cedar Valley Corporation, Waterloo, Iowa, "if a fi rm doesn't maintain sustainable practices, they are at a competitive disadvantage." And since sustainability is really a "big picture" concept, work by con- tractors have evolved and morphed beyond simply worrying about material handling. The big picture "To be competitive in our market- place a fi rm has to recycle," Jackson says. "However, as a construction fi rm that works in the fertile Iowa soil, our second driver is that we have a love of the land. Although we often disturb the land building new roads and highways, we want to build our work with as little as an impact to the environment as we can. Although project 'earth bor- row' locations and portable batch plant locations disturb the land, we strive to return these areas to their original state or better." Jackson makes a good point, as it's becoming clear that simply reus- ing materials in road construction isn't enough. The impact on the land during construction is impor- tant, as Jackson points out, but the longer-term impact of a road has to be considered. And now there's more pressure to begin measur- ing that impact, not merely of the EquipmentWorld.com | May 2015 53 highway contractor | by Chris Hill | ChrisHill@randallreilly.com Sustainable pavement methods mature, but the future calls for more measurable results Continuously reinforced concrete pavement being placed over non-woven geotextile bond breaker for a Federal Highway Administration Highways for LIFE project in Texas.

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