Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/634023
EquipmentWorld.com | February 2015 53 improper placement, and also from the application being used as more of a temporary bandage. "Those roads needed much more than a mi- crosurfacing or some other preserva- tion treatment," Turner says. Turner's point touches on a major concept of pavement preservation. A roadway in need of major work, or one that is failing, is not a good candidate for preservation work and requires more extensive rehabilitation. To paraphrase Marty Comer, the presi- dent of Comer Contracting in Connect- icut, even in lieu of public opinion, preservation is a difficult concept for some municipalities to grasp. "It's a real tough sell," he says. "Pavement preservation is for 'good' pavement, and to get people to spend money on good pavement is sometimes a challenge. In dealing with municipalities, it's a tough sell when they have bad roads that need work and then they try and spend money on preservation work. That's what the whole industry has been promoting for quite a number of years, but it's still a tough sell." Contractor perspective As in South Carolina, microsurfac- ing has emerged as the high-volume preservation of choice in Connecti- cut. And just like its southern coun- terpart, Connecticut faces a shortage of contractors to perform the task. Even as a pavement preservation specialist, most of Comer's work is chip seal. But, much of the preservation work in the state has been handled a different way. Connecticut has seen a strong run of resurfacing work over the past few years, with the state's Department of Transportation recently reporting 2015 as the fourth straight year of increased two-lane road resurfacing. "There was a lot of bituminous concrete (asphalt) put down last year as far as historical amounts, and they plan to do a fair amount this year," Comer says. "ConnDOT has a tendency to call that pave- ment preservation, especially if it's thin lift, because the paving industry has tried to make that the pavement preservation of choice." "The public will, to a certain extent, accept cape seal in this area with chip seal and microsurfacing over it," he adds. "They still turn their nose up at it a little bit, but it's perceived as more acceptable because it's smoother. " "The name of the game in any surfacing project is to avoid hav- ing loose stone. For instance, if you're going to chip seal, it needs to be swept practically the same day. That's where I think it's going, at least where I'm working. The motoring public doesn't accept chip seal well, but if you can make it smoother, if you can sweep it up real quick, then the pavement main- tenance industry can have more success. You certainly have to be neat and produce a good looking product." Brunner Lay & "Quality First" since 1882 PAVING BREAKERS DEMOLITION TOOLS ROCK DRILLING Whether you need to break a sidewalk or the side of a mountain, we've got a durable, dependable solution for you. If you need tools for construction, mining, or demolition—we're the only name you need to know. Call (800) 872-6899 or visit BrunnerLay.com Your for Your complete source complete source complete source BREAKING rock i