Secrets of Prize Winning Pavements
I would like to 28 November 2009 Better Roads Thank... Careful attention to details, skillful use of the right equipment, and a dedication to safety during construction make these five projects award winners. Placement of a 1/2-inch asphalt leveling course and careful screed control helped the contractor win a Quality in Construction Award from the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA). Scotty's Contracting & Stone, LLC, won the award for 6.2 miles of Interstate 65 in Barren and Hart Counties, Ky. Scotty's bid included money to pave the full 10-foot outside shoulder on the Interstate, but the state decided not to pave the entire area. By only paving 4 feet of the outside shoulder, Scotty's real-ized some savings that were applied to paving the 1/2-inch leveling course. We took that savings and put it toward the leveling course over the full 32-foot width of pavement, which is really what helped us obtain the ride we did, says Jared Nix, quality control manager for Scotty's Contracting. The contractor paved the full 32 feet wide in two 16-foot pulls. Each of those pulls covered a 12-foot driving lane and 4 feet of shoulder. Scotty's had used a Roadtec milling machine to remove 1.5 inches of asphalt, so after the leveling course, the Blaw-Knox paver put back 1.5 inches of hot-mix asphalt (HMA). All the paving was done at night. The contractor could only close down to one lane between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. We paved during the day on the ramps, said Nix. Thanks to the use of a Roadtec Shuttle Buggy and a mobile mat reference on the paver, Scotty's achieved exceptional rideability and earned an incentive for it. The mobile mat reference has a bridge that goes over the screed and runs a reference on the uncompacted mat just placed. The use of a mobile mat reference on the Blaw-Knox paver helped to produce a smooth pavement on this section of Interstate 65 in Kentucky. q Photo courtesy of Scotty's Contracting Super Smooooth Delivery You need the right stuff to win a paving award. HighwayContractor by Daniel Brown, Contributing Editor