About the Asphalt Technology Team

The asphalt technology program within the FHWA's Office of Pavement Technology plays a crucial role in the development and delivery of new technologies to improve asphalt pavements. In the last decade, we have played a leading role in the successful nationwide implementation of Superpave. We:

• Work with our partners in industry (often through Expert Task Groups) to help oversee national asphalt research projects to assure cost-effective results;
• Work with the FHWA's Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center on final development of the new equipment, materials, tools and techniques that are developed through Federally supported research programs, to assure their immediate usability;
• Work in cooperation with the FHWA's Resource Centers and Division Offices to deliver the products of research to our customers and serve as sources of expert knowledge on new asphalt technology;
• Work with our partners and customers to determine the direction and goals of future research programs; and
• Work with our partners and customers to resolve issues of a national scope that are related to implementation of new technology.

The emphasis in the FHWA's FY 2001-2005 asphalt technology program is on continuing to work with our industry partners and the State highway agencies to make refinements and adjustments to the Superpave mix design and analysis system. Our goal is to fill the remaining technological gaps and more fully integrate Superpave with the mainstream asphalt pavement industry. We also are continuing to develop and implement programs and activities to assist States in implementing Superpave.

Mobile Asphalt Laboratory

Our staff includes some of the nation's leading experts on the Superpave system. The FHWA's Superpave Implementation Team achieved national recognition during National Engineer's Week 2000, winning the National Society of Professional Engineer's (NSPE's) Engineering Excellence Award for their accomplishments in implementing the Superpave System. This team provides technical assistance directly to customers who need help, and also provides technical support to FHWA staff providing technical assistance through FHWA's Resource Centers and Division Offices.

Another source of expert knowledge is the asphalt training courses we develop with our partners. A new one-day course on "Superpave Fundamentals" incorporating the latest modifications to the Superpave system was introduced in 2000 through the FHWA's National Highway Institute (NHI).

We manage the FHWA's Mobile Asphalt Mixture Laboratory (more commonly known as "the asphalt trailer"), which brings technical assistance on-site to contractors and State highway agencies across the country. Since 1993, the mobile laboratory has traveled to 42 states in every region of the United States to assist State highway agencies and asphalt contractors in implementing the Superpave mix design system. Equipped with Superpave mixture testing equipment and staffed by technicians with expert knowledge of the Superpave testing protocols, the mobile laboratory helped introduce Superpave to many States in its early years, and later helped "troubleshoot" Superpave projects on site. In recent years, the mobile laboratory's principle mission has been to assist with test validation by "shadow testing" (duplicating) mix design tests conducted by contractors and State highway agencies in their own laboratories.

In addition to traveling to approximately six States each year to provide on-site support to contractors and States, the mobile asphalt laboratory is involved in conducting testing related to final development of the simple performance test, and contributes strongly to refinement of specifications, test protocols, and QC/QA procedures.

For more information about the mobile asphalt laboratory, contact Matthew Corrigan.

In addition, we work with our partners to publish the latest information on Superpave in user-friendly formats. Our newsletter, Superpave Implementation Update, is the nation's leading source of technical, research, and implementation news about Superpave.

In cooperation with our industry partners, we also publish technical guidance for contractors, pavement engineers, and laboratory technicians.

Recycled Asphalt Pavements

FHWA is an international leader in recycled materials policy and the Asphalt Technology Team provides national leadership and technical expertise in the use of recycled materials for flexible pavement construction and rehabilitation. In cooperation with Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center, the Resource Center and the Division offices, the asphalt recycling team provides technical assistance, materials and design expertise, and equipment training to the following partners and customers:

• FHWA Pavement engineers, leadership and management;
• State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) including Puerto Rico, local highway agencies including district and county engineers;
• Private industry, national and local pavement organizations, consultants, contractors; and
• Academia.

In particular, we provide guidance for engineering policies and standards and are instrumental in advancing state-of-the-art technologies and innovations regarding recycled asphalt pavements. For more information on recycled asphalt pavements, please see Asphalt Pavement Recycling with Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) and Pavement Recycling or contact Audrey Copeland.