Texas DOT Interstate 10 Project Recognized with AEMA Past President's Award

Caption: Accepting this award at the 2018 AEMA-ARRA-ISSA Annual Meeting were Scott Roe and Derik Huber of Kiewit Construction and Tom Flowers of Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Inc., pictured with AEMA President Mark Ishee.

GLEN ELLYN, IL, March 15, 2018 – At the 45^th Annual Meeting of the Asphalt Emulsion Manufacturers Association (AEMA), February 20-23, 2018 in Indian Wells, CA, the Texas Department of Transportation, Kiewit Construction, and Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Inc. were awarded the 2018 AEMA Past President’s Award for Emulsion Excellence for the Interstate 10 Full-Depth Reclamation with Asphalt Emulsion project in Ozona, Texas. This award is presented in recognition of a specific project utilizing asphalt emulsions completed in the past calendar year and is awarded to the agency, the contractor, and the emulsion manufacturer of the winning entry.

When Lewis Nowlin, Junction Area Engineer, took over Crockett County, Texas, about 4 years ago, Interstate 10 had very little preventive maintenance done to it.  So little in fact that, although the speed limit in that area was 80 mph, advisory speed plaques of 65 mph were posted. The pavement was very rough with IRI’s as high as 150 and alligator cracking was visible.

In July 2016, a project to perform full-depth reclamation on the east bound and west bound lanes of a 10 mile stretch on I-10 around Ozona. After visiting other pavement design professionals, the San Angelo District decided to use asphalt emulsion FRD instead of a cement treated base. The use of the emulsion treatment included benefits of moisture resistance and increase flexibility in the pavement.

With rain starting to fall and the pavement beginning to deteriorate during the milling process, TxDOT and Kiewit Construction needed to quickly think of a new solution to repair the pavement. Due to this section of I-10 built through a playa lake region with clay subgrades, TxDOT used an emulsion treatment. FDR was used to repair the outside and inside of the west bound lanes and the outside of the east bound lanes.

Kiewit Construction used two reclaimers to expedite the work, and after finishing the emulsion treatment process milled the treated based, laid 2” of hot mix on the driving land, seal coated the entire roadway and then overlaid with 2” of hot mix.  The ride on this stretch of interstate was improved from an IRI of 151 to as low as 23, and speed limits were returned to 80 mph.

ABOUT THE ASPHALT EMULSION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION (AEMA):

The Asphalt Emulsion Manufacturers Association (AEMA), founded in 1973, is an international non-profit trade association of asphalt emulsion producers and sellers, suppliers, users, research personnel, public officials, consulting engineers, and contractors working together to promote the increased and more efficient use of asphalt emulsions.

AEMA is a founding member of the Pavement Preservation & Recycling Alliance along with the Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association and the International Slurry Surfacing Association. PPRA is a partnership of leading industry associations (AEMA, ARRA, ISSA) to advance sustainable, eco efficient, and innovative pavement applications.

To learn more, visit www.aema.org or call us at 630-942-6579.