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Survey Finds Superpave Use Expected To Double This Year
States plan to build 3,211 Superpave pavements this year-double the 1998
number, according to a new survey by the Superpave Lead States team. This
figure represents 41 percent of States' total hot-mix asphalt road projects
this year. The third annual Lead States survey covered the State-level
highway agencies in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto
Rico.
Seven States-Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Maine, Mississippi,
and New York-have already fully implemented the Superpave binder specification
and mix design procedures.
Forty-seven agencies expect to fully implement the Superpave binder specification
by 2000, with two planning to complete implementation after 2000 and three
with undetermined plans.
Twenty-eight agencies, meanwhile, are on target to fully implement the
volumetric mix design procedures by 2000. Of the remaining survey respondents,
12 plan to implement Superpave mix designs after 2000 and 12 have undetermined
plans.
"We are pleased and gratified with the success of Superpave implementation,"
says Paul Mack of the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT)
and leader of the Superpave Lead States team. "It's a huge change
for States and contractors that is not easy to pull off."
Based on its survey, the Lead States team expects that 82 percent of all
hot-mix asphalt projects will be designed using the Superpave mix design
procedures by 2001. This is a huge leap from 1996, when Superpave projects
accounted for only 1 percent of total projects built that year.
"The reason that we are where we are today is because of the partnerships
between States, FHWA, AASHTO, and industry," says Mack. "The
partnerships have worked very well."
As more States become familiar with using the Superpave system, the Lead
States-Florida, Indiana, Maryland, New York, Texas, and Utah-have had
fewer calls for assistance. Survey respondents noted, however, that they
are still looking for guidance in resolving technical issues, such as
choosing the proper values for voids in the mineral aggregate (VMA) in
the mix. They also continue to look for assistance with mix designs and
verification testing and in establishing guidelines for Superpave use
on low-volume roads. As the Lead States team prepares to wind down its
work in 2000, it is working to transfer its many activities to the appropriate
AASHTO subcommittees, so that support for Superpave use will continue
without interruption.
For more information, contact Rick Dunn at FHWA, 518-431-4125, x240 (fax:
518-431-4121; email: richard.j.dunn@fhwa.dot.gov)
or Paul Mack at New York State DOT, 518-457-4445 (fax: 518-485-7074).
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