Norman Emerson & Sons Ltd, a leading Northern Irish supplier of construction materials that includes ready mixed concrete and quarry aggregates, were delighted to be the first customer to take ownership of the new Rapid Transbatch, compact mobile batching plant. The investment was in an effort to modernise their existing ready-mix production facilities at the company’s site in Ardmore, County Armagh.

Tandragee, County Armagh, June 12 2013 – Rapid are pleased to have supplied Norman Emerson and Sons Ltd with their batching plant requirements for over forty years. The new Rapid Transbatch is in fact replacing the very first batching plant ever built by Rapid, which the company purchased over forty years ago. This relationship serves to highlight Rapid’s long term commitment to quality engineering and absolute customer satisfaction.

Commenting on their purchase, Group Managing Director George Emerson stated “Rapid’s Transbatch has provided us with an excellent solution for our concrete batching requirements. Its high quality compact design, ease of mobility and fast set up has made it a superb choice. We are pleased to have yet again worked with Rapid and can attest to their professionalism and customer focused, can-do approach”.

Transbatch is the culmination of Rapid’s forty years of experience, and expands its celebrated existing portfolio of mobile batching solutions. Rapid’s Transbatch compact mobile batching plant offers outputs of 40m3, 60m3 and 100m3 per hour. Fully mobile, the Transbatch features stairs and access walkways which fold and dismantle for transport in a single load road towable unit. Fast set up in as little as five days with no foundation requirements helps to ensure that project timescales are met.

As standard, Transbatch features four 10m3 aggregate bins with pneumatic discharge doors, a 1000mm weighing belt and a 1750kg cement weigh hopper with aeration and pneumatic vibrator. Transbatch includes a built in control room positioned at the truck loading area and an automatic control system with load cells, starter panel and pneumatics panel. Twin additive meters with two pumps are also included with the plant, with the option to add extras if required.

The heart of the plant, Rapid’s powerful in built Twin Shaft Mixer, which includes extra thick long wearing chill cast tiles and paddles ensures a thoroughly homogenized mix. The Twin Shaft includes an easy to operate discharge door with two independent hydraulic rams.

Rapid’s dedicated and experienced in house spares department has the ability to provide Norman Emerson & Sons Ltd with all its wearing and replacement parts for the Transbatch, via a fast track service. High inventory levels and same day dispatch from stock on goods ordered before 11am (UK only) will ensure that the company’s spare parts requirements are consistently met in a cost effective, timely and efficient manner.

As a result of its ease of mobility Transbatch is ideal for remote location projects and general construction projects such as, but not limited to, road building, wind farm bases and warehouse flooring.

Notes to the Editor:
Rapid International ltd was established in 1969 in County Armagh, Northern Ireland by Robert (Bertie) Pickering & Jim Lappin. The respective families still retain ownership to the present day. The company is considered one of the world’s leading manufacturers of equipment for the concrete, construction and environmental industries, to include:
• Pan, Planetary & Twin Shaft Concrete Mixers
• Compact, Mobile & Fixed Concrete Batching Plants
• Mobile Continuous Mixing Plants
• High Pressure Mixer Washout Systems

Contact Details:
Address: Rapid International Ltd, 96 Mullavilly Road, Portadown, Co Armagh. BT62 2LX
Telephone: 028 38 840671
PR Contact: Kelly McCollum
Email: marketing@rapidinternational.com
Website: www.rapidinternational.com

The post History Repeats Itself for Rapid. appeared first on IBUILDROADS.

ibuildroads.com provides a gathering place where the accumulated experience of road builders and managers benefits others who need advice.

It provides a moderated forum for discussion of questions in the industry sectors of Bituminous Asphalt, Portland Cement Concrete, Pavement Preservation, Milling and Recycling, Erosion Control, Subgrade Mechanical Stabilization, Subgrade Soil Stabilization, and Engineering Services.

“In road construction, you are an expert on the problem you solved yesterday,” said Andy Pujats, president, “but tomorrow will bring another challenge to your project or your program. And today, other managers are encountering the same problem you just solved. ibuildroads.com brings everyone together as it leverages the experience of its stakeholders for the benefit of road builders, managers and users.”

In addition to interactive industry solutions, the site also provides a resource directory and an exhaustive industry event calendar with links. An opt-in newsletter is distributed. Interpretive case history articles also are provided.

With the introduction of online bidding, contractors and suppliers no longer can gather every month to network and discuss issues of mutual concern. ibuildroads.com bridges that gap via a nationwide network, providing questions, answers and solutions from a “hands on” perspective in an unbiased and educational manner.

Employers can use ibuildroads.com as a training tool for newly hired personnel. “Today’s construction environment requires immediate solutions to everyday problems, and ibuildroads.com has created a network foundation on which industry professionals can draw,” Pujats said. “From the initial bid, to the completion of the job, ibuildroads.com provides timely solutions to and from industry professionals.”

The highway, road and bridge industry continues to evolve, no matter what the application, and ibuildroads.com is growing and evolving to keep pace, Pujats said.

For example, the way industry information is received is transforming rapidly, he said. “Government regulations, mix design changes, new equipment requirements, and enhanced techniques are pushing our industry ahead faster than ever, and stakeholders are looking for information and solutions in real time,” Pujats said. “With the recent addition of the ibuildroads.com mobile apps, users can post photos, questions or answers directly from their smartphones or tablets. They can be in touch with their industry peers while in the field or in the office.”

The ibuildroads.com free mobile apps are available for download, with the Apple app available at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibuildroads/id540409237?mt=8&ls=1, and the Google Android app at https://play.google.com/store/search?q=ibuildroads.

As it enters its second year, ibuildroads.com will be enhancing its market capabilities, and will be introducing new features, boosting value to its users and optimizing market opportunities for its clients, Pujats said.

For more information, visit www.ibuildroads.com.

The post IBUILDROADS.COM Marks First Anniversary Online appeared first on IBUILDROADS.

We will take a look at what social media marketing means for the Asphalt Pavement Industry, how technology has changed the way you market your business, and how you can use the internet to connect directly to your customers through online social communities.

This comprehensive 1.5-hour workshop will leave you with an understanding of how social media works, why it is important to incorporate it into your marketing plan, and how it impacts overall industry message deployment. We will focus on the importance of understanding the differences between the platforms and their audiences.

What will be covered?

1) What is social media marketing (The BIG picture and why it is important)?

2) Comparing Twitter and Facebook (Differences between the two and how to utilize each platform to maximize your marketing efforts)

3) Preparing for online marketing (What you need to do first before launching your social media strategy)

4) Setting up Twitter and Facebook accounts (Step by step to get you started)

5) Establishing tools to help you get your social media marketing initiative up and running.

Who should attend?

Individuals who make decisions on their company’s marketing strategy.

* There is limited space so register early by emailing:
Karen Faber @ kfaber@asphaltroads.org or calling the APA office at 877.272.0077

The post APA Social appeared first on IBUILDROADS.

ARC uses Ecopave 400 multistage recycling system to hot-in-place recycle (HIR) Kelowna airport runway in summer 2012

To learn more about pavement preservation, visit FP2.org.


Resurfacing asphalt runways at busy airports with commercial air traffic is always a challenge for owners, project managers and paving contractors. When this work is required at single runway facilities, the difficulties are compounded by severely limited working hours, typically scheduled during the night.

In 2011, the City of Kelowna, B.C., tendered a combined hot in-place recycle / mill-and-inlay for Runway 16-34, its sole 2,600 x 61-meter (8,530 x 200-ft.) runway. The tender also specified milling and inlaying of pavement on three taxiways and localized areas of the ramp/apron.

YLW is the busiest single runway airport in Canada, with about 1.4 million passenger movements annually, and is a vital component of the economy of the central Okanagan region and services an area population of over 100,000.

The project could not impact the daytime flight operations at YLW, where typical daily aircraft movements include 64 scheduled passenger flights, mostly 737s and Dash 8s (Q400), and 20 to 30 cargo/freight movements. A local flight training school with 15 aircraft, and a vibrant general aviation community, also utilize the airport. In addition, a major aircraft maintenance company capable of performing scheduled checks and repairs on a range of aircraft up to 757s operates out of the facility, while the provincial air medevac agency overnights and maintains a number of its aircraft at YLW.

Constrained Work Schedule

To accommodate these aircraft movements, the runway shut down was limited to a single 5.5 hour period per 24 hour day; there could be no contractor access to the runway until 12 a.m., while all equipment had to be clear, the runway cleaned and swept by 5:30 am the following morning, and the runway re-opened for traffic at 5:55 am. Severe penalties would be imposed for any flight delays caused by the construction work, and in the event of weather-related re-opening delays.

The 2011 low tender, at C$6.4 million, far exceeded the budgeted amount for the work, and the project was cancelled. The city then issued a request for proposals, opening up the project to alternative approaches to accomplish the resurfacing.

For 2012, SNC Lavalin Inc.’s engineering proposal was chosen by the city. SNC Lavalin specified and managed a revised strategy of separating the runway work from the taxiway work into two separate contracts. The entire width of the runway would be resurfaced by hot in-place recycling (HIR), with the addition of a plant-produced, virgin asphalt mix including the addition of an anti-stripping additive. The taxiways would be repaired under a separate mill-and-inlay project, along with some areas of pavement re-construction.

Renovating the runway as a separate HIR contract allowed three regionally located hot in-place contractors to bid on the runway resurfacing by pricing directly to the owner without going through, or being sub-contracted to, general contractors.

Ken Fyvie, SNC’s airport pavement specialist, was tasked with preparing contract documents and specifications, and managing the two projects, while maintaining the airport’s operational requirements. Fyvie has extensive experience both with airport projects and hot in-place asphalt recycling, and believed that a 100 percent recycle of 50 mm (2 in.) of the runway, and adding 30 percent virgin asphalt would improve the existing in place mix design of the 26-year-old runway pavement.

The Kelowna Airport projects were again tendered in 2012 by Kelowna as a hot in-place recycle with ad mix on Runway 16-34 while, in a separate tender, the taxiway pavements would be rehabilitated as a mill-and-fill, along with some reconstruction. The work time limitations were increased by one hour over 2011, from 11p.m. to 5:30 a.m., and the onerous penalties for daily delays and delayed completion were removed.

ARC uses Ecopave 400 multistage recycling system to hot-in-place recycle (HIR) Kelowna airport runway in summer 2012

ARC Asphalt Recycling Inc., a Kamloops company specializing in HIR, submitted the low bid on the runway project at C$2.3 million, while the conventional milling and paving ramp work was later won by Peters Bros. Construction Ltd. of Penticton, B.C. at C $650,000. The cost of the two 2012 projects together was less than 50 percent of the 2011 tendered price when the runway and taxiway work were combined.

HIR Train at Work

ARC is a well-established HIR contractor with a reputation for high quality workmanship. The company’s experienced and skilled crew utilize a state of the art, Ecopave 400, multistage recycling system. ARC’s typical recycling train consists of a preheater to get initial heat penetration into the pavement and to remove residual moisture which may be present, followed by heater/millers, each capable of milling, grinding and windrowing 25 mm (1 in.) of RAP and adding a portion of the rejuvenating/recycling agent.

Following the second milling machine is a combined pick up machine/admix hopper/pug mill mixer pushed by the paver, in which the virgin mix is added to the recycled material and thoroughly mixed. The recycled asphalt mixture is then placed by a Cat AP 1050B paver and compacted by a Cat pneumatic roller and a Cat vibratory steel compactor.

As in all HMA paving, warm ambient temperatures allow more workability and time for compaction. In HIP recycling, the sun also provides valuable energy by heating the existing pavement surfaces. To provide more heat during night operations, ARC modified its recycling train by incorporating a second preheater, and by adding a third heater/miller. The extra preheater provided enhanced initial heat penetration and surface drying, while the additional grinder unit lessened the amount of material required to be removed by each unit, to achieve the specified 50 mm depth. Both additions would also increase the pace of production. A third roller, a rubber/steel combination also was utilized to ensure the required compaction.

To produce the required admix, ARC set up its 2005 Terex 150 tph asphalt plant just five minutes from the jobsite. Although adding 30 percent of virgin HMA in the HIP process only required approximately 200 tons per shift, the custom nature of the added material made it cost effective for ARC to use its own plant versus purchasing HMA from area stationary asphalt plants.

Passes 7,217-ft.-Long

Runway 16-34 had been extended within the past few years, so the full length didn’t need to be resurfaced. Each pass of the recycling train would be 2,200 meters (7,217 ft.) long. Passes would be 3.65 m (12 ft.) wide, and with overlaps, 18 passes would be required to complete the runway. With only 6.5 hours of runway time allowed per shift, which equaled a maximum 5.5 hours of production time due to moves on and off the runway, it would not be possible to complete a full length pass per shift.

ARC started the Project on 10 June 2012. Kelowna is in the center of the Okanagan Valley, with daytime temperatures in the 30 deg C (86 deg F) range possible in June, and the norm in July and August.

Spring 2012 in the region was colder and wetter than usual; the first half of the project saw average night time lows of just over 10 deg C (50 deg F) and sporadic precipitation. When July came, nighttime lows stayed in the mid- to high teens Celsius, while daytime temperatures were regularly in the high 20s to mid-30s.

The residual mat heat from hot daytime temperatures made a measurable improvement in productivity. Initial production in the cooler June temperatures made it only possible to complete about 1/2 of a pass per shift. The later, warmer weather allowed ARC to complete two full passes in three shifts; average production was between 1,400 and 1,500 m (4,593 to 4,921 ft.) of runway length per night.

To improve the existing mix design, the admix was coarsened, with a 19 mm (3/4 in.) maximum aggregate size, and about 4.5 percent asphalt cement. As there was potential for stripping in the existing mix, an antistripping agent was incorporated into the 150/200, group A admix asphalt cement. Tricor Refining’s Cyclogen L supplied by Pounder Emulsions was the specified rejuvenator, and was added at 0.4 liters per square meter (12.5 oz. per 1.2 square yard) or 0.33 percent by weight of the recycled mix component of the existing pavement.

The longitudinal profile of the runway also needed to be enhanced. Automatic slope and grade controls on each milling unit and on the paver contributed to achieving an excellent ride. The cut depth and ratio of admix had to be very consistent and the Ecopaver’s auto-add system was strictly monitored. Any variation could result in an unacceptable bump or dip, or changes to the recycled asphalt mixture properties. As there was at least one transverse joint within each pass, extreme care was required to make each takeoff and remain within the smoothness specification, 6 mm (0.24 in.) maximum deviation measured using a 4.5-m (14.76-ft.) straight edge.

To enhance long term performance, the longitudinal and transverse joints were both sealed using Reclamite Preservative Seal from Tricor Refining, LLC. manufactured and supplied by Pounder Emulsions.

In the HIP process, the paver moves continually, and a constant head of material is retained in front of the screed, so end-of-load segregation does not occur. Even with the coarsened admix utilized on the project, ARC limited segregation to three small locations, early in the project, all along the first pass, on the outer edge of the runway. These open areas were later sealed and sanded with CRF Restorative Seal, another Tricor product also manufactured and supplied by Pounder.

ARC completed the project on July 18, 2012, six weeks before the specified substantial completion date.

No Aircraft Delays

Not a single flight/aircraft delay occurred during the project. The owner was extremely pleased with the results of the project; not only with the excellent finished product, but with the lack of impact on airport operations. Garth Parker, ARC superintendent, Phillip Elchitz, YLW operations manager and SNC-Lavalin’s Fyvie all had positive comments about the hard work, cooperation and professionalism of the project team, as well as the other participants.

Fyvie and Elchitz both also had praise for the efficiency and organization of the
work done by Peters Bros. on the taxiways and apron areas during the second part of the 2012 airport pavement rehabilitation work.

The success of the project still comes down to bottom line cost; more than C$2.5 million was saved by recycling the existing pavement in-place. Although there are a myriad of environmental benefits to recycling the runway, the cost of construction and life-cycle costs are what the City of Kelowna is responsible for to its taxpayers. Experience shows today’s HIR technology is both less expensive compared to convention mill-and-fill processes, while life expectancy of recycled pavements is approaching what can be expected from new pavements.

Kallio is marketing and technical representative, Pounder Emulsions division of Husky Oil Ltd., Kamloops, B.C.

The post HIR Solves Cost Challenge to Runway Reconstruction appeared first on IBUILDROADS.

Traditional remote process monitoring relies on wired infrastructure or radio. In some cases, tapping into an existing network or programmable logic controller (PLC) is quite simple. When tanks, open channels, pipelines, or other monitoring applications are located at the same physical location as the company or municipality, the cost of wiring is typically low. The Guardian 2000 is aimed at a different target, addressing monitoring applications that are situated away from existing infrastructure. This segment, typically dominated by radio transmitters, can be covered much more economically and reliably with new wireless monitoring technology.

In a typical remote monitoring setup, the Guardian 2000 monitors by waking up at set intervals, powering up the connected measurement device if applicable (a flow meter, level transmitter, etc), and checking the process condition. If no trigger point is met, the Guardian 2000 powers down the connected device and then powers down itself. The Guardian 2000 wakes up to transmit data to the Monitor My GuardianTM online interface as programmed, once a day for example. If while making a routine check the Guardian finds a process condition change, it can either wake itself more frequently to make additional checks or if an alarm point is met, it will send text and e-mail alerts and report the findings on monitormyguardian.com.

Wastewater is an excellent example of an industry that benefits from wireless monitoring. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires the monitoring and reporting of overflow events. An overflow event occurs when more wastewater is produced than the pipeline and/or wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) has capacity to

handle. In this situation, wastewater flows into a combined sewer overflow (CSO) and is dumped into a body of water to prevent the pipeline from backing up. Since these locations are dictated by the pipeline and its proximity to a body of water, a couple options exist. One option is to run wire to the site, which in many cases is very expense. Another option is to log data locally and retrieve it manually. A traditionally popular option for CSO monitoring is the use of radio to transmit data, but the lack of reliability and the cost makes it prohibitive. The most convenient and cost effective option is the use of cellular and satellite technology. The Guardian 2000 provides constant access to data while only requiring a visit to the site once a year or less for battery replacement.

The City of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio chose the Guardian 2000TM to report overflow events measured by the Ranger 1000TM Ultrasonic Level Transmitter. The city’s pipeline runs through the Gorge Metro Park so accessing the CSO involves hiking a couple miles. Previously FLO-CORP would take that hike several times a year to retrieve the data log of overflow events for the city. With the new system in place under the manhole at the CSO, the city’s workers do not have to wait months to know what happened. At any time they can log onto monitormyguardian.com and retrieve their information. The GPS location of the Guardian 2000 gives a clear confirmation of which CSO data is being reviewed and far less man hours go into retrieving data.

The tank truck industry is also benefiting from wireless monitoring. In addition to remotely reporting data, the Guardian 2000 benefits this industry by reporting the exact location of the tank truck. The information collected varies by application and can include monitoring flow into the tank truck during pickups, flow out of the truck during deliveries, tank level, product temperature, etc. The device can be wired to the truck for power to eliminate the need for battery replacement. The Guardian 2000 grants business owners and inventory managers faster access to accurate process information. This information enables them to make better business decisions in everything from theft prevention to route optimization and more.

Recently the satellite version of our wireless monitoring system was installed alongside a Ranger 1000 Level Transmitter to offer overflow protection at a hydraulic fracking site. Frac fluid, which consists mostly of water, is used in the process of horizontal drilling for trapped shale gas. After use, this fluid must be stored onsite until reused in the fracking process or shipped offsite for processing. To accommodate this task, tanks are setup to temporarily store the fluid at the drilling site. Through the remote monitoring process described above, periodic checks are made and reported to ensure an overflow event does not occur.

Process monitoring helps save money and time while aiding in protecting the environment. FLO-CORP’s Guardian 2000 has improved process monitoring by bringing technological advancements in cellular, satellite, and GPS communications to the M2M process instruments market.

Learn more about the Guardian 2000 at www.flo-corp.com.

The post FLO-CORPS Guardian 2000 M2M For Industries appeared first on IBUILDROADS.

Recently updated to incorporate full weighing options for all materials – aggregates, cement and water, the new generation Rapidmix 400 CW offers record keeping that is automated, precise and detailed.

Fully mobile and self contained, the Rapidmix offers a complete plant powered by its own power source, with on-board compressor and generator. Fitted with a self erecting system, using hydraulics, the plant can change from travel mode to fully operational within a few hours. The Rapidmix 400 C/600 CW mixes up to 400/600 Tonnes per hour depending on application and provides feed rates that are fully adjustable for the aggregate, cement and water systems.

The Rapidmix is an ideal solution for a wide variety of environmental applications, including:

• ‘CTB’- Cement Treated/Stabilised Base
• Bentonite Enriched Soils
• Coldmix
• Contaminated Land Treatment
• ‘RAP’- Recycled Asphalt Paving
• Sludge Solidification.

Rapidmix and RAP (Recycled Asphalt Paving) at JFK Airport, New York

Background on RAP

The process of removing and processing existing asphalt paving material during, for example, resurfacing or reconstruction, results in the production of ‘Reclaimed Asphalt Pavements’ or RAP. RAP, which comprises of valuable asphalt binder and aggregate, provides an opportunity in the face of dwindling supplies of virgin aggregates and asphalt binders. The reuse of asphalt pavements is one environmentally conscious way of ensuring the ongoing cycle of valuable natural resources.

The correct use of RAP in asphalt paving mixes can provide both cost an energy savings and results in high quality pavement infrastructures with similar performance to that of pavements constructed with only virgin aggregates and binders.

Aside from asphalt paving mixes, RAP can also be used as a subbase, stabilised base aggregate, and embankment/fill material.

Rapidmix Utilised on RAP Project at JFK Airport, New York.

The Conti Group of New York utilised the Rapid Mix 400 to perform rehabilitation work on runways using RAP at JFK Airport, New York. The process of rehabilitation involved milling asphalt recovered from the demolition of old runways, screening it, and then mixing it in the Rapid Mix 400 with cement and water. Between 70 and 80 percent of the material used was from the old runway thus providing huge economic benefits to the airport as well as being more environmentally friendly.

Rapidmix Produces Cement Treated Base (CTB) in Florida

What is CTB?
Cement-treated base (Cement Treated Base) (CTB) is a strong, frost-resistant base for a concrete or asphalt pavement wearing surface. CTB is comprised of native soils, gravels/manufactured aggregates mixed with cement and water.

CTB is well known for providing a weather resistant base which actually gains strength with age. It can distribute loads over a wider area, reducing the stresses on the subgrade. It is typically used as a pavement base for roads, streets, car parks, airports, materials handling and storage areas.

The aggregate/granular material, cement, and water are typically mixed in a central mixing plant. Central plants can either be continuous-flow or batch-type pugmill mixers.

Rapidmix Gets to Work in Florida
Woodruff and Sons, a general contractor located in the state of Florida, USA, use the Rapidmix capabilities to produce high quality CTB using recycled concrete on a variety of projects in Florida and Northern Indiana.

You can read more about Rapid International here.

The post Focus on Rapidmix for Environmental Applications appeared first on IBUILDROADS.

Villanova University in southeastern Pennsylvania recently put this type of collaboration to the test, forming an ongoing partnership with five nearby municipalities. Starting in 2009, Villanova students interested in transportation engineering conducted several projects, under the advisement of university faculty, designed to address the needs of the five local transportation agencies. The projects included studies regarding traffic impacts, signal coordination, and infrastructure capacity.

One project in particular focused on a methodology to develop local inventories of traffic signs. The inventories are a tool that municipalities can use to help them comply with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requirements for minimum levels of sign retroreflectivity, as outlined in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD). The goal was to develop an inventory database that public agencies, including local DOTs, could use to manage their signing assets, ultimately leading to improved compliance with retroreflectivity standards.

The partnership between the university and the local DOTs resulted in an innovative approach to resolving a real transportation need while engaging students in a constructive manner to achieve the solution.

“Exposing students to real-world transportation projects helps them accelerate through the learning curve they face after graduation and joining the workforce,” says Greg Schertz, FHWA retroreflectivity team leader. “Incorporating relevant learning activities into civil engineering coursework can better prepare them for jobs and increase the likelihood of employee retention once they join the workforce.”

Understanding the Problem

According to FHWA, about half of all traffic fatalities occur at night, while only about one quarter of travel occurs after dark. Although intoxication and fatigue contribute to the high rate of nighttime crashes, driving in darkness is inherently hazardous because of decreased visibility. Retroreflectivity helps improve safety by bouncing light off of road signs from vehicle headlights back toward drivers’ eyes, making signs appear brighter and easier to read. However, retroreflective properties deteriorate over time, so DOTs need to monitor and maintain their signs to ensure that they remain clearly visible at night.

In the early 1990s, Congress passed a law requiring the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation to establish minimum retroreflectivity standards for traffic signs. After years of research and public involvement, FHWA published standards in the 2009 edition of the MUTCD. By establishing that transportation agencies must consider the performance of signs under their jurisdiction, the requirements help ensure drivers can see signs at night.

Agencies developing programs to manage traffic signs face considerable challenges determining how to track the total number of signs; location of each sign; the color, shape, and age; and retroreflective performance. These challenges represent a considerable change in the way agencies historically have managed their traffic sign assets. Developing traffic sign inventories has proven an important tool to help agencies manage their signs.

The Need for Sign Inventories

As reported in National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 431: Practices to Manage Traffic Sign Retroreflectivity, many DOTs have acknowledged the value of establishing a sign inventory to help maintain their signs and ensure that they are visible at night.

A review of studies related to sign retroreflectivity suggests that public agencies can use a sign inventory database to help manage their risk associated with the potential liability resulting from traffic crashes that occur at locations where signs did not meet retroreflectivity standards. According to the Institute of Transportation Engineers’Traffic Signing Handbook, results from a highway tort liability study in Pennsylvania showed that sign deficiencies were cited as “the principal factor in 2 [percent] of the sampled tort actions, second only to pavement deformities.” Further, the study found that in 41 percent of crashes involving a fatality or serious injury, sign deficiencies were cited as the primary cause.

NCHRP Synthesis of Highway Practice 157: Maintenance Management of Street and Highway Signs recommends that DOTs use a detailed field inventory to identify deficient signs, and prioritize and schedule maintenance activities. R.L. Carstens’ “Highway Related Tort Claims to Iowa Counties” (published in Transportation Research Record No. 833) indicates that a sign inventory is essential in proving the existence of a particular sign in a particular location at a specific time. The study goes on to say that an inventory can serve as a mechanism for documenting conformance with standards and logging updates as signs are added, removed, or replaced.

In addition to underscoring the legal implications of signs’ compliance with retroreflectivity requirements, FHWA’s Maintaining Traffic Sign Retroreflectivity: Impacts on State and Local Agencies (FHWA-HRT-07-042) shows the vital role that standard traffic control signs play in ensuring efficient and safe flow of traffic. “Evaluation of a Low-Cost Program of Road System Traffic Safety Reviews for County Highways” (Transportation Research Record No. 1819) also suggests that perhaps the most cost-effective countermeasure for enhancing traffic safety is to upgrade signs to meet the current standards for retroreflectivity and other features, such as sign height and letter size.

As reported by R. Troutbeck and J. Wood in their 1994 article “Effect of Restriction of Vision on Driving Performance,” published in the Journal of Transportation Engineering, vision provides more than 90 percent of the information used in driving tasks. With Americans living longer and continuing to drive later in life, well-maintained traffic control signing is more important than ever for keeping drivers alert and informed.

Establishing an Effective Partnership

Like many academic institutions, Villanova University emphasizes community service through its various engineering activities. One example of this approach is the university’s efforts to support nearby local public agencies by conducting transportation service projects. These partnerships not only help prepare students to apply theoretical knowledge in a real-world setting, they also benefit the local agencies by providing engineering services at no cost.

Projects performed in collaboration with the public sector by Villanova University’s faculty, who are licensed professional engineers, and students have included traffic impact analyses, intersection signal coordination and level-of-service analyses, and the development of tools for managing infrastructure assets. To date, these academic service projects have benefitted the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and a handful of municipalities in southeastern Pennsylvania, specifically Radnor, Tredyffrin, Upper Darby, West Bradford, and West Pikeland Townships.

For example, Dylan White, a senior at Villanova University, is developing a comprehensive pavement management database for Upper Darby Township using traditional condition inspection techniques and nondestructive testing with Villanova’s spectral analysis surface wave equipment. White states, “Investigating the reliability and accuracy of the nondestructive evaluation equipment is an exciting challenge with the potential to help municipalities reliably, quickly, and economically test their roadways.”

Upon completion of the projects, students present their deliverables, which include written final reports describing results along with inventory databases (such as traffic sign inventories and pavement management data) developed in Microsoft^® Excel^® for easy implementation by the townships. The deliverables also include recommendations to the public agencies and other project stakeholders.

Proposed Sign Inventory

In the case of the collaboration to develop a sign inventory system, the goals were threefold. First, the partnership would result in the development of a database that would provide the municipalities with an inventory of their regulatory signs and retroreflectivity values. Second, the faculty at Villanova University would accomplish their mission of providing an opportunity for students to conduct state-of-the-art, real-world research. Third, the students would gain first-hand experience working on a timely topic in the field of transportation engineering in collaboration with partners in the public sector.

The objective was to develop a sign inventory system while also integrating traffic operational parameters, such as crash and exposure data, to explore criteria for prioritizing sign inspections when agencies are unable to collect data from the entire population of signs. In general, the process included three major steps: (1) assessing available resources, (2) establishing a tiered ranking system and identifying signs that play a critical role in safety, and (3) measuring retroreflectivity and collecting other data for the sign inventory.

Step I: Analysis of Available Resources

The faculty and students at Villanova worked with each of the local public agencies, which are within approximately a 30-mile (48-kilometer) radius of the university, to analyze their financial and staffing situations to determine the resources available to support a sign inventory. For example, some of the municipalities do not have engineering departments and are limited in both staffing and budget. Subsequently, the researchers compared the size and scale of the available resources to develop a suitable process that any local agency could follow to develop a sign inventory.

Next, the research team reviewed the relevant data available from each agency, including annual average daily traffic, crash data and related roadway geometrics (for example, whether crashes occurred at intersections or midblock), and the presence and type of traffic control devices. Traffic counts were unavailable for some of the local roads.

Because crash data were available for all of the municipalities, the researchers applied crash analysis in defining tier levels. Note that the specific process for assigning a tier level and selecting threshold values for crash frequencies might not be applicable to other State or local agencies where the level of resources and the size of the jurisdictions might be significantly greater.

Step II: Tier Definition And Assignment

The research team determined that a tiered system would be the most effective way to streamline the collection of data for agencies that do not have existing sign inventories. The proposed tier system focuses on classifying signs into groups based on crash data and thereby prioritizing the locations for collecting data. By assigning traffic signs to tiers of importance as they relate to safety, the agencies could prioritize the signs to inventory first. Over time, the agencies can continue to collect data on sign attributes until they have recorded all sign assets for an entire jurisdiction.

The researchers determined the levels and criteria for tier categorization based on a comprehensive screening of the data. They assigned a crash frequency threshold for each tier-level assignment specific to each jurisdiction, which was determined in conjunction with each agency through analyzing the number of locations that produced different crash values.

Using this approach, tier I represents the locations where signs are the primary source of traffic control and where the localized history of crashes exceeds a frequency threshold selected by the agency. Thus, tier I assignments include regulatory signs at nonsignalized intersections. With this approach, public agencies can focus on signs sequentially, ensuring that they inventory at the highest priority locations first.

The numbers and types of traffic control devices, along with the roadway functional classifications (local, collector, or arterial roadways), contributed to determining a sign’s tier assignment. Thus, the agencies classified the signs as tier II or III where they identified crash record locations as midblock or at signalized intersections, respectively, while still exceeding the crash frequency threshold set by the local agency. The researchers developed the remaining tiers based on the type of sign (warning, guide, or informational) and the roadway classification.

After assigning all locations to a tier level, the researchers marked the locations on a map, and the university students proceeded to collect detailed information on the regulatory and warning signs at those spots. While onsite, the students inspected each sign for compliance with several elements of the MUTCD, including retroreflectivity level and the signpost’s distance from the edge of the pavement.

Step III: Complete Sign Inventory

The students developed the sign inventory database to be a living tool that the agencies can use over time in assessing and replacing signs or other assets. They designed the database to meet the recommendations outlined in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Asset Management Data Collection Guide (2006), which calls for inclusion of attributes such as sign type, age, and height; number of panels; post material; and year of installation. The retroreflectometer that the students used enabled them to collect a significant number of sign-related attributes, including each sign’s GPS coordinates.

After reviewing similar database tools produced by Local Technical Assistance Program offices, the researchers built their database to run on the Microsoft^® Excel^®platform so that it can easily integrate into each agency’s existing asset management system. For example, at the State level, the Pennsylvania DOT’s Sign Inventory and Management Program also exists in Excel file format.

Level of Effort

To provide an estimate of the level of effort required to produce this type of sign inventory system, the researchers documented the time required to complete the collection of tier I sign data in Radnor Township, PA. For one civil engineering student, collection and interpretation of crash data took about 25 hours, field measurement of retroreflectivity using a handheld retroreflectometer and the collection of other data took about 15 hours, and input of the field data into the sign inventory database took about 20 hours, for a total of 60 hours. Thus, it took just under 2 weeks to complete the crash data analysis, field measurements, and data entry for 86 tier I signs in Radnor Township, which was the largest of the four municipalities.

The development time reported represents the initial investment of reviewing incident data, measuring sign retroreflectivity with a handheld device, and entering sign data into an Excel spreadsheet. In the majority of cases, this initial step is also the most time consuming. Looking forward, the townships now can maintain the inventory over time and make updates to the spreadsheet as they replace failing signs, build new countermeasures, or notice a change in the conditions of existing signs.

The inventory method developed by Villanova’s faculty and students helped provide four Pennsylvania townships with a key tool that will be used to comply with the MUTCD and minimum retroreflectivity standards. The method also established a way forward for ongoing updates to each agency’s sign database.

Using academic service projects to overcome the barrier of limited funding could serve as a model for establishing comprehensive and sustainable sign inventory databases such as those called for in NCHRP Synthesis 431: Practices to Manage Traffic Sign Retroreflectivity. Each of the townships has been able to take strategic remedial action in replacement of key failing signs by directly using the sign inventories developed by Villanova students. As previously described, the database includes regulatory and warning signs at locations with a history of crashes and a lack of other traffic control devices. Even if the signs did not fail the retroreflectivity requirements, they may have had other deficiencies such as deteriorated signposts, signs without breakaway posts, and graffiti or vegetation overhang. This project enabled the municipalities to strategically remedy only the signs that needed addressing rather than unnecessarily wasting resources doing blanket replacements.

“Because a sign inventory is a living tool,” says Carl K. Andersen, leader of the Roadway Team, FHWA’s Office of Safety Research and Development, “it is critical that the tiered rating of a sign be updated and reclassified when replacement or repair occurs, or when other safety countermeasures are added to the roadway.”

It is intended that Villanova students will periodically assist the four townships in updating the sign inventories. This will be done either through a service project as part of Villanova University’s student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers or as part of an undergraduate independent study in civil engineering in which a student receives course credits.

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Juan Jose Guerrero, the plant superintendent, was replacing these V-belts and sheaves three times a month, to the tune of $240 for parts and an additional $500 per month minimum in lost time and labor. That does not take into account the damage done when downtime during a critical production cycle could possibly cause a late delivery.

The area Sales Engineer for Lovejoy, Inc. — the country’s leading company dedicated to the design and production of couplings and engineered power-transmission solutions — met with Mr. Guerrero to assess the situation. What Lovejoy recommended was replacement of their shaker’s failure-prone motorbase with a Lovejoy® ROSTA® MB 50 x 200 motorbase. This would keep a proper tension on the V-belts during start-up and under high-load conditions. Unlike a conventional motorbase, the Lovejoy ROSTA MB 50 x 200 utilizes an elastomeric torsion element as a pivot mount. This unique design allows the Lovejoy ROSTA MB 50 x 200 motorbase to continuously compensate for normal V-belt wear. This also eliminates V-belt slippage and rollover — problems that Granite Construction was experiencing with their conventional motorbase.

Since installation, this equipment has proven itself useful with no more downtime due to belt or sheave failure on this machine. The ROSTA motorbase paid for itself in just two months. Additional savings are achieved for the customer each month that he doesn’t have to replace any failed parts.

Lovejoy offered Granite Construction a 90-day money back satisfaction guarantee. However, the customer was so pleased with the Lovejoy solution that he ordered three more Lovejoy ROSTA MB 50 x 200 motorbases within the next 30 days for other applications.
The ROSTA motorbase helped this Granite Construction Company eliminate downtime, save on labor, and save money each month by improving the efficiency and profitability of its operations.

Is Your Screen Shaking Your Foundation?

A major aggregate producer in the southeastern part of the United States developed a serious problem in their coal mining operations. One of their tower shaker screens was vibrating so violently that it was unsafe to operate at full capacity.
Possible options to protect the tower from collapsing could include: reinforcement of the tower site, running the shaker at slower speeds, or a complete shaker screen replacement. The first option — reinforcing the tower site. It could also involve expensive materials, parts, and labor. The second option — running the shaker at slower speeds — causes a corresponding decrease in efficiency and profits. Plus even at a lower speed, this problem could still occur. The third option — replacing the screen — provides a temporary solution. However, if the shaker screen is replaced by one of the same design, it may also respond to the situation and level of stress by vibrating at an excessive rate.

The Result

Unwilling to settle for any of these conventional alternatives, the aggregate producer contacted Lovejoy, Inc., for an engineered solution. Lovejoy’s application engineers recommended replacement of the conventional coil spring suspension with Lovejoy ROSTA AB Oscillating Mounts. Unlike coil springs, Lovejoy ROSTA AB Oscillating Mounts utilize the vibration damping properties of engineered elastomers to reduce peak transmitted forces generated by the screen. This leads to vibration isolation exceeding 95% and, as a result, increases the life of side plates, frames, supporting steelwork mechanisms, bearings, and belts.

After a quick retrofit that minimized downtime, the producer now operates at full capacity with no worry of their tower being shaken apart.
An unexpected benefit of using Lovejoy ROSTA AB Oscillating Mounts is noise reduction. When comparing the basic shaker screen with spring coil suspension to a shaker screen outfitted with Lovejoy ROSTA AB Oscillating Mounts, the Oscillating Mounts have demonstrated significant noise level reductions. When the noise made by operating equipment rises above a certain critical decibel level, mining workers can only be exposed for so many hours. Reducing the noise level in an aggregate operation helps this company run their business more efficiently and economically because the company is now able to run a complete shift while still complying with MSHA noise regulations.

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Two big cold mills were used in tandem to prep busy I-10 for a hot mix asphalt overlay west of Houston.

The project involved a mill-and-fill surface overlay for the Yoakum District of the Texas Department of Transportation. “At the moment we are doing profile milling to eliminate wheel rutting and to provide a level surface for the overlay,” said Matt Downing, project manager and safety officer, Durwood Greene Construction Co., Stafford, Texas.

The 16-mile-long project was located in the vicinity of Sealy, Texas, some 50 miles due west from downtown Houston. It encompassed both east-bound and west-bound main lanes, including shoulders. Approximately 120,000 tons of asphalt was placed on the project.

The existing pavement structure was an approximately 17-year-old asphalt overlay over jointed concrete pavement. The asphalt overlay had developed rutting in the wheel paths and the underlying concrete pavement’s transverse joints had also reflected through the existing asphalt surface.

Extensive use of cold mills was not planned at first, but was later implemented to improve ride quality on the westbound main lanes.

“Originally we were just to mill the end points of the pavement at transverse joints, to provide smooth tie-ins at the bridges and end points,” Downing said. “We also were to mill underneath overpasses so we would not raise the elevation of the driving surface below bridges. But the State noted that preconstruction high speed profile ride data showed that the left westbound main lane had a high number of bumps and dips, in excess of 700, and wanted to see how profile milling could improve the ride, and that’s what we are doing.”

The pavement was being milled from 0.75 to 1.50 inches in depth, and Durwood Greene was coming back with an under seal and two separate 1.5-in. courses of HMA.

“The first lift is an inch-and-a-half compacted of what we call a ‘level up’ course, and the second lift is a final surface mix, also an inch-and-a-half compacted,” Downing said. “We are placing a standard Type D TxDOT hot mix, a performance-graded mix.” The same mix was used in each lift, and was provided by American Materials Inc., Jersey Village, Tex.

Both lifts were placed with Durwood Greene’s Vögele Vision 5203-2 10-ft. wheeled asphalt paver utilizing dual “big skis” for grade control. The Vögele Niveltronic control system was giving the contractor the smoothness it needed to satisfy TxDOT specs.

“A lot of what we like about the Vision paver is its non-contact skis,” Downing said. “They eliminate contact with the freshly laid surface and eliminate imperfections that can give you trouble with other systems.” Durwood Greene had already earned smoothness bonuses on this project using the Niveltronic system.

Large Cold Mills in Echelon

To expedite milling, Durwood Greene used two of the largest cold planers available, W 210 and W 2200-12 mills from Wirtgen America, Inc.

“The W 210 has a 7-ft., 2-in. drum and the W 2200 has a 12.5-ft., full-lane drum,” Downing said in September. “Both machines have the Level Pro system that allows the ground men to establish grade and slope,” he said. “The W 2200-12 is doing full width at the moment, starting on the inside lane with the first pass, and working to the outside.”

The milling and paving took place at night and the two cold mills operated in echelon, one in front of the other. Between 40 and 50 trucks were in rotation each night for the milling operations.

Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) was being stockpiled for use on the same project along the edge of the shoulders.

“We call it ‘shouldering-up’,” Downing said. “After we pave the shoulder we will put the RAP along the edge to stabilize it. It’s typically placed with a road widener, and then a single pass is made with a roller.” This provides an enhancement for the safety of the traveling public by addressing the issue of shoulder drop off.

“After we put the RAP down on the edge of the shoulder, we will shoot oil on it to help bind it together and hold it in place,” he said.

Oscillation Used in Breakdown

Besides the mills on this project, Durwood Greene also has a Wirtgen W 2100. In addition to the Vision 5203-2 10-ft. wheeled asphalt paver that was used on this project, a Hamm HD O130V tandem roller with oscillation compaction in one drum, and conventional vibration compaction in the other was used as a breakdown roller.

The firm was using oscillation in breakdown mode. Oscillation compaction is non-aggressive because it compacts with a gentle rocking motion, not a vertical pounding. Horizontal forces are transmitted from the drum into the pavement, and the result is better compaction in fewer passes, with less vibration-related wear and tear on operators and surroundings. While conventional compaction works by “bouncing” the drum on the ground, Hamm’s Oscillation technology ensures that the roller drums maintain constant contact with the surface for faster, more effective compaction

On I-10 the firm also was using a Hamm HD 140 VV HF roller with high-frequency vibration for intermediate rolling and a pneumatic roller to achieve final compaction.

While the contractor has other brands of pavers and rollers, the only cold mills it owns are from Wirtgen Group. “The company likes them,” Downing said. “We’ve had other cold mills in the past and have found the Wirtgen mills to be excellent. They are powerful, durable machines. We move a lot of material with the W 2200 and have used it on many recent projects. It will cover a lot of ground in a short period of time.”

At Conexpo/ConAgg 2011, the new W 250 was introduced to replace the W 2200.

Durwood Greene was doing its milling and paving on I-10 at night, as required by TxDOT. “We get the highway from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.,” Downing said, with lane closure fees assessed for failure to vacate a lane. Unlike some other states, Texas does allow driving on the milled surface.

http://www.wirtgenamerica.com/us/ – by Author Tom Kuennen

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