Post by melody on Apr 8, 2014 13:03:36 GMT -5
Joint Legislative Conservation Committee
4/7/14, 12:00 p.m., Room 8E-B, East Wing
By Mike Howells, PLS
Chairman Hutchinson announced several staff changes for the committee. He advised Michael Nerozzi has been hired to take over for retiring communications specialist Geoff McLaughlin. Additionally he said Denise Plummer will serve as the committee’s new administrative assistant.
Chairman Hutchinson recounted Pennsylvania’s “mixed success” in the use of “crumb rubber” in road paving. He suggested it has worked in other states, and ought to work in Pennsylvania too. He said the issue is especially pertinent because of ramping up roadwork activity.
Greg Brouse, quality manager for New Enterprise Stone and Lime Company, and its subsidiary Eastern Industries, offered an explanation of asphalt rubber, a blended liquid of asphalt and recycled tire rubber used in asphalt pavement.
Discussing “asphalt 101,” Brouse said Pennsylvania roadways are primarily “dense graded,” containing roughly equal parts stone and sand and held together with asphalt. He said the product is economical and versatile, and uses skid resistant sandstone, limestone sand, and liquid asphalt as the “glue” to adhere the main components. Brouse explained asphalt is the “bottom of the barrel” residue obtained after refining crude oil.
Brouse said the new mixture they have developed is 80 percent liquid asphalt and 20 percent ground tire rubber. He said that in the past, the Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the paving industry have resisted rubber for several reasons.
He cited the 1991 ISTEA Act which included a mandate to use rubber in pavements enacted. Brouse said in response,
transportation departments and the industry fought back against the requirements. He said a lack of understanding and extra costs have presented further obstacles. Brouse noted his company has worked on a lot of pavements over that time and has had no failures to date.
Brouse said that in the past, rubber was used as a “kind of stone ingredient” in the mixture, comprising just 1.3 percent of the total product. He said rubber is needed now to help with the growing infrastructure crisis, and the economics of using asphalt rubber are changing due to innovation and the work of public servants, including PennDOT Deputy Secretary for Highway Administration Scott Christie, and District 3 District Executive Sandy Tosca, dedicated to its implementation.
Brouse reported recent research has verified the potential of asphalt rubber, confirming decades of use in other states,
including Massachusetts. He noted several projects in Pennsylvania have used the new material, including I-78 between Harrisburg and Allentown, SR 15 in Snyder County, and onramps on the Sunbury side of the SR 61 bridge.
Speaking to his confidence in rubber asphalt, Brouse said it is “the first mix I would warrant.” Among other positive
characteristics, he said if water penetrates the surface it will not fall apart nearly as quickly as dense graded or other types of product.
Discussing cost, Brouse said regular asphalt is $550 per ton, and $675 mixed with a plastic polymer. He said rubber asphalt material is $525 because his company has the means to mix it. He said the added cost would come when someone else has to blend it, at which point it would cost $800 per ton for 10,000 tons. He said the ingredients are cheap but the mixing process is expensive, and spoke to the importance of being able to build an in-house mixer.
Brouse reported using more of the better mix will further decrease costs, and result in better, longer lasting roads.
“We are going to be fighting to keep these roads in shape,” he said.
Chairman Hutchinson asked where the ground tires come from. Brouse said the tires are purchased from recycling plants such as Mahantango Enterprises, Inc, located in Liverpool, PA.
Rep. Miller asked whether the thinner form of rubber asphalt available for production could be used instead of microseal as a stopgap on deteriorating highways. Brouse said the thin pavement will be better than microsurfacing, but what is wrong with the roadways is very deep and requires more work. He indicated some pavements are “too far gone” following long periods of water violation and freeze-thaw cycles.
Rep. Bloom asked what happens in the tire recycling process. Brouse said the steel and other non-rubber ingredients are removed. It was indicated there is a “solid supply” of tires available for use in creating rubber asphalt and other products.
Former Deputy Secretary for Highway Administration Gary Hoffman said the federal Highway Administration, the National Asphalt Pavement Association and other groups are doing myriad work on rubber asphalt mixtures. “There is a lot of potential,” he said.
The next meeting of the committee will be May 5, and will feature a presentation on the TreeVitalize program.
4/7/14, 12:00 p.m., Room 8E-B, East Wing
By Mike Howells, PLS
Chairman Hutchinson announced several staff changes for the committee. He advised Michael Nerozzi has been hired to take over for retiring communications specialist Geoff McLaughlin. Additionally he said Denise Plummer will serve as the committee’s new administrative assistant.
Chairman Hutchinson recounted Pennsylvania’s “mixed success” in the use of “crumb rubber” in road paving. He suggested it has worked in other states, and ought to work in Pennsylvania too. He said the issue is especially pertinent because of ramping up roadwork activity.
Greg Brouse, quality manager for New Enterprise Stone and Lime Company, and its subsidiary Eastern Industries, offered an explanation of asphalt rubber, a blended liquid of asphalt and recycled tire rubber used in asphalt pavement.
Discussing “asphalt 101,” Brouse said Pennsylvania roadways are primarily “dense graded,” containing roughly equal parts stone and sand and held together with asphalt. He said the product is economical and versatile, and uses skid resistant sandstone, limestone sand, and liquid asphalt as the “glue” to adhere the main components. Brouse explained asphalt is the “bottom of the barrel” residue obtained after refining crude oil.
Brouse said the new mixture they have developed is 80 percent liquid asphalt and 20 percent ground tire rubber. He said that in the past, the Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the paving industry have resisted rubber for several reasons.
He cited the 1991 ISTEA Act which included a mandate to use rubber in pavements enacted. Brouse said in response,
transportation departments and the industry fought back against the requirements. He said a lack of understanding and extra costs have presented further obstacles. Brouse noted his company has worked on a lot of pavements over that time and has had no failures to date.
Brouse said that in the past, rubber was used as a “kind of stone ingredient” in the mixture, comprising just 1.3 percent of the total product. He said rubber is needed now to help with the growing infrastructure crisis, and the economics of using asphalt rubber are changing due to innovation and the work of public servants, including PennDOT Deputy Secretary for Highway Administration Scott Christie, and District 3 District Executive Sandy Tosca, dedicated to its implementation.
Brouse reported recent research has verified the potential of asphalt rubber, confirming decades of use in other states,
including Massachusetts. He noted several projects in Pennsylvania have used the new material, including I-78 between Harrisburg and Allentown, SR 15 in Snyder County, and onramps on the Sunbury side of the SR 61 bridge.
Speaking to his confidence in rubber asphalt, Brouse said it is “the first mix I would warrant.” Among other positive
characteristics, he said if water penetrates the surface it will not fall apart nearly as quickly as dense graded or other types of product.
Discussing cost, Brouse said regular asphalt is $550 per ton, and $675 mixed with a plastic polymer. He said rubber asphalt material is $525 because his company has the means to mix it. He said the added cost would come when someone else has to blend it, at which point it would cost $800 per ton for 10,000 tons. He said the ingredients are cheap but the mixing process is expensive, and spoke to the importance of being able to build an in-house mixer.
Brouse reported using more of the better mix will further decrease costs, and result in better, longer lasting roads.
“We are going to be fighting to keep these roads in shape,” he said.
Chairman Hutchinson asked where the ground tires come from. Brouse said the tires are purchased from recycling plants such as Mahantango Enterprises, Inc, located in Liverpool, PA.
Rep. Miller asked whether the thinner form of rubber asphalt available for production could be used instead of microseal as a stopgap on deteriorating highways. Brouse said the thin pavement will be better than microsurfacing, but what is wrong with the roadways is very deep and requires more work. He indicated some pavements are “too far gone” following long periods of water violation and freeze-thaw cycles.
Rep. Bloom asked what happens in the tire recycling process. Brouse said the steel and other non-rubber ingredients are removed. It was indicated there is a “solid supply” of tires available for use in creating rubber asphalt and other products.
Former Deputy Secretary for Highway Administration Gary Hoffman said the federal Highway Administration, the National Asphalt Pavement Association and other groups are doing myriad work on rubber asphalt mixtures. “There is a lot of potential,” he said.
The next meeting of the committee will be May 5, and will feature a presentation on the TreeVitalize program.