Better Roads Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/440996
30 December 2014 Better Roads Applications & Innovations W hen looking up miscellaneous statistics, you learn that average life of a U.S. currency $10 bill is 4.2 years, and a common goldfi sh – properly cared for – will last 7 to 14 years before going belly up. When it comes to roadbuilding, the Iowa Department of Transportation expects to see a highway road surface last 20 years. That's one of the reasons why the Iowa DOT let the contract for a 16.037-mile road-resurfacing project for Iowa Highway 92 between Winterset and Greenfi eld, Iowa. The approximate 25 miles between the two cities sees an average 1,365 cars travel that highway road surface daily. The high- way was last worked on in 1994. Norris Asphalt Paving Co., Ottumwa, Iowa, was selected for the asphalt-paving portion of the project. The company is a Sheldon G. Hayes Award-winning paving contractor. The Sheldon G. Hayes Award is considered among the most pres- tigious paving awards in the asphalt industry and is granted after a two-year detailed evaluation of the workmanship of the subject roadway project. Norris Asphalt Paving has about 75 employees and on the Iowa Highway 92 project an 11-person crew was as- signed. The six-week project began at the end of May 2014. The company was responsible for the paving portion of the highway rehab. The stretch of Iowa Highway 92 is 28 feet wide – two 14-foot lanes. Plus, the highway was widened 2 feet on each side. Milling, roadbed prep The milling and roadbed prep work was subcontracted by Norris to other contractors. A 4.6-mile stretch on the East end of the project posed a challenge because it had a con- Behind the Resurfacing Stretch of an Iowa Highway The Iowa DOT has a 20-year life expectancy for its highways. Here's how one asphalt machine is helping it achieve strong IRI scores. Photo courtesy of Courtesy of Roadtec