California Asphalt Pavement Association
Vol. 15, Issue 15 || April 11, 2022
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Greetings!
This weekly report contains news and information of interest to the asphalt pavement industry, customers and agency partners in California. Please feel free to distribute this newsletter to others who may be interested in asphalt pavements. To provide feedback or story ideas click HERE. Having difficulty viewing this newsletter? View as Webpage
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Special report: Accelerating pace of change highlighted at CalAPA 'Tech Tune-up' event in Brea
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Attendees at CalAPA’s “Tech Tune-up” educational workshop last week in Orange County could be excused if the program elevated their blood pressure somewhat. The recurrent theme of each presentation was the quickening pace of change in the world of asphalt pavements and the challenge for the industry and public works officials to stay on top of all the changes.
The good news, however, is that there was a renewed commitment to collaboration and information-sharing to elevate standards, means and methods to deliver high-quality transportation system improvements for the benefit of all Californians.
Caltrans District 7 Director Tony Tavares kicked off the April 5 event at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Brea, attended by industry, agency and academia representatives, by noting his agency’s emphasis on the impact of what it does to the everyday lives of all Californians.
“We are becoming a more people-centric organization,” Tavares said. Within broad foundational principles of safety, equity and climate change, he said the department remains focused on SB1 implementation and a “fix-it-first” emphasis to improve and maintain the state’s pavement network.
“That is one of our highest priorities – fix it first,” Tavares said. “Keeping our highways, our roadways, safe and in a state of good repair, continuing to advance SB1 and all of the federal funding that will be coming our way. We are focused on fix-it-first and delivering these transportation projects.”
Tavares is a familiar face to the asphalt industry, having served previously as chief of the Caltrans Division of Maintenance statewide and later as District 4 director, which covers the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been head of District 7, which covers Los Angeles and Ventura counties, since November of 2020.
He said the department will be “continuing with innovations and efficiencies – looking for those opportunities. And that’s a lot of partnerships with industry. You bring that practical aspect, how to deliver a project, how to deliver asphalt, how to change the specifications, and using our folks and academia, all working together, to find those innovative methods and also being efficient in how we deliver these projects.”
At the same time, the department is listening to communities via many different forums to do its best to ensure that improvements to the transportation system work for all Californians. He said the department is looking at how it can be more sustainable and contribute to the state’s ambitious climate change goals.
Noting that asphalt surfaces about 95% of freeways, highways, local roads, parking lots and other paved surfaces in California, Tavares told the asphalt industry representatives present, “you play a very big role in what we’re doing to maintain our system in a state of good repair.” In specifically noting the work of the joint Caltrans-industry Pavement & Materials Partnering Committee, he said, “We’ve been able to deliver some very exciting specifications and innovations because of your input.”
Tavares outlined the expected work that will be coming up in the months and years ahead, including some infrastructure work that is in the pipeline as Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympic Games.
Other speakers at the event covered an array of topics that have, as Tavares noted, experienced rapid change in recent months and years. Those topics included, e-Ticketing implementations for construction materials, Warm Mix Asphalt, trends in Hot Mix Asphalt specifications, a recently published model asphalt pavement specification for local agencies, Cold In-Place Recycling and Cold Central Plant Recycling.
CalAPA Technical Director Brandon Milar, P.E., gave an overview of the asphalt industry’s ambitious net-zero carbon initiative known as “The Road Forward” and unveiled earlier this year. Many of the innovations moving forward in the asphalt space have a link to environmental and climate-change goals. A previous Asphalt Insider story about that initiative is HERE.
CalAPA’s Environmental Committee Co-Chair, Scott Taylor with Taylor Environmental Services, provided a roundup of various air-quality and water-quality regulations that have been put in place in recent years or are being proposed, including some via legislation in Sacramento. His talk was titled, “Be aware, prepare or despair.” Echoing a theme by Tavares and other event speakers, Taylor stressed the importance of engagement and collaboration to raise everyone’s awareness of new and proposed laws and regulations, and practical ways to ensure compliance. A special issue of CalAPA's association magazine, California Asphalt, that delved into the association's engagement on environmental and regulatory issues is HERE.
The event, coupled with a golf outing April 6 at the Black Gold Golf Club in Yorba Linda, was sponsored by Albina Asphalt, Astec, Butler-Justice, Inc., Diversified Asphalt Products, Ingevity, Nixon-Egli Equipment Co., Pacific Geosource and Pavement Recycling Systems, plus exhibitors Trans-tech, Nixon-Egli Equipment Co. and the Western Regional Asphalt Pavement Preservation association.
More photos from the "Tech Tune-Up" event are posted on the CalAPA Facebook page HERE. Golf outing photos are HERE. All upcoming association events are listed on the CalAPA calendar page HERE.
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Matthew Vallee, HaulHub, delivers a presentation on eTicketing at the CalAPA Spring Asphalt "Technical Tune-up” Educational Workshop on April 5 at the Embassy Suites in Brea. |
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Brandon Milar, P.E., Technical Director of CalAPA (center) with Cal State University Long Beach students (left to right) Alif Hossain, Franklin Nolpho, Greg Kolosov and Angaelos Hanna at the CalAPA Spring Asphalt "Technical Tune-up” Educational Workshop on April 5 at the Embassy Suites in Brea. CalAPA members sponsored the attendance of the CSULB students as part of the association's strategic goal to mentor the next generation of professionals. |
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Mimi Le, MCK Services, poses a question during the CalAPA Spring Asphalt "Technical Tune-up” Educational Workshop. Scott Taylor with Taylor Environmental Services, a conference presenter, is seated behind her. The event was attended by industry, agency and academia representatives from around the state. |
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CalAPA Membership Directory & Buyer's Guide arriving in mailboxes |
An indispensable resource, the 2022-23 edition of the CalAPA Membership Directory & Buyer's Guide is now arriving in mailboxes.
Produced for CalAPA by Construction Marketing Services, which also publishes the CalAPA association magazine, California Asphalt, the Membership Directory is an exclusive benefit of CalAPA membership and includes updated contact information for all CalAPA members, plus a reference section that will be a resource all year long.
The Buyer's Guide section of the Directory is an easy way for CalAPA members to identify companies that provide goods and services to the asphalt industry in California. It is a handsome complement to the searchable, on-line directory of members by product and service, which can be accessed HERE.
For advertising information, click HERE for a current advertising rate sheet, or contact Kerry Hoover with Construction Marketing Services at (909) 772-3121. An archive of past issues of California Asphalt magazine can be found HERE. |
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CalAPA opposes bill that adds cost, complexity to transportation planning & project delivery |
CalAPA's legislative engagement at the Capitol in Sacramento has been ramping up this Spring on two fronts: fighting to protect transportation funding, and opposing legislation that adds needless cost and complexity to transportation planning and projects development while providing no clear value.
Earlier this year the association lambasted a Newsom administration proposal, as part of its draft state budget, to enact a "pause" to a fuel tax inflation adjustment, which could drain transportation coffers of more than a half-billion dollars that otherwise would be used to for desperately needed road and bridge repairs. The association's reaction, widely covered by the news media, called the proposal a "budget stunt" and "highway robbery." A previous Asphalt Insider article on this topic is HERE.
The latest focus of the association's pugilistic Legislative Committee are bills introduced in the Legislature that the association deems needless, overly complex and adding cost to transportation projects and planning with no clear value apparent.
In once such example, Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, D-Burbank, chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, has introduced AB2237, which attempts to link an already Byzantine transportation planning system with an overlay of climate-action plans that have been proliferating in every corner of local and state government of late. Information about the bill can be found HERE.
"Rather than bring additional clarity, it will only create even more confusion and run the risk of desperately needed transportation improvements developed by and for local communities to be hijacked by faceless bureaucrats not accountable to anyone," CalAPA's letter of opposition to the bill states. The association's position builds on its criticism of the buzzword-larded "Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure" (CAPTI) rolled out last year by the California State Transportation Agency. A previous Asphalt Insider story about CAPTI is HERE.
CAPTI and AB2237, CalAPA stated, "promulgates wrongheaded thinking with regard to reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) over Level of Service (LOS), a more accountable metric that speaks to direct impacts to the quality of life of communities in desperate need of improvements in transportation infrastructure."
"Even more troubling," CalAPA's letter goes on to state, "the notion of an anonymous tribunal of self-appointed experts redirecting transportation funding is sure to infuriate the millions of Californians who voted to safeguard transportation dollars for their intended purposes (Prop. 69 and Prop. 6 of 2018)."
CalAPA's Legislative Committee continues to monitor and take positions on a myriad of problematic bills at the Capitol in keeping with the association's longstanding position that legislation is seldom the best remedy for real or imagined problems that distract from the core mission of fixing California's neglected and distressed pavements.
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Missed last week's newsletter? An archive of recent issues is available on-line 24/7 |
A constantly updated feature of the CalAPA website is an archive of recent issues of the association's weekly e-newsletter, the California Asphalt insider. The archive is HERE.
Many of our readers tell us they receive the newsletter from others, or see it on social media, such as via our Facebook or LinkedIn pages. if you want to make sure you never miss an issue, you can subscribe to receive your own personalized copy every Monday morning HERE. The newsletter is distributed free to CalAPA members, non-members, public agency personnel, academia and anyone else who wants to learn more about asphalt pavements. The editor welcomes story ideas. Those would like to submit an article to be included in the newsletter should request a copy of CalAPA's submission guidelines.
To provide feedback on the newsletter or any other matter, click HERE to call up our feedback form. All comments receive a prompt reply. |
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Each week we highlight a word, acronym or other term commonly used in the asphalt pavement industry in California.
COLD IN-PLACE RECYCLING (CIR): A process in which a portion of an existing bituminous pavement is pulverized or milled, and then the reclaimed material is mixed with rejuvenation oils or emulsions, emulsion or other new binder and, when needed, virgin aggregates (to ensure correct grading). The binder used most often is emulsified asphalt with or without a softening agent. The resultant blend is placed as a base for a subsequent overlay or surface treatment. The reclaimed material can also be mixed with rejuvenation agents without the addition of new binder.
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Paving Pointer of the Week |
Each week we highlight a key point or best practice of interest to asphalt paving crews, inspectors and others working in the field. We welcome suggestions. More tips can be found in our "Asphalt Parking Lot Construction Checklist" HERE. Information on the CalAPA "Quality Paving Certificate" program is HERE.
ASPHALT MIXTURE: Ask yourself: Is this the correct mix type for the project and the layer you are constructing? Verify that the truck delivery ticket matches the approved mix design.
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Each week we highlight a term that is specific to climate-change issues related to the asphalt pavement industry. This feature is intended to raise awareness of the asphalt industry's climate-change initiatives and the specialized terminology that goes with them. More information on the "Road Forward" asphalt industry climate initiative can be found HERE.
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE: Three factors measuring corporate sustainability and ethical impact.
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“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not the absence of fear."
-- Mark Twain
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CALAPA CALENDAR:
View all CalAPA events HERE.
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'Asphalt Pavement 101' class (Virtual)
April 27 & 28 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. each day
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Registration Open!
CalAPA Annual Dinner
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Jonathan Club, 545 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles
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Welcome back!
"Day at the Races" at Del Mar Race Track, Del Mar
Saturday, July 23
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There's never been a better time to join the California Asphalt Pavement Association! Members receive insight and advanced notice on critical issues that impact every company's bottom line. CalAPA members also receive invitations to exclusive member-only events, in-depth "Member Alerts," our comprehensive asphalt market forecast for California, discounts and industry-specific networking opportunities not available anywhere else. CalAPA's new searchable on-line membership directory helps connect potential customers with member companies. Click HERE to download our Member Service brochure. Click HERE to view Vol. 1 of recent testimonials. Not convinced? Click HERE to view Vol. 2 of recent testimonials. Click HERE to send us an e-mail inquiry, or contact Russell Snyder with CalAPA at (916) 791-5044. |
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We hope you enjoy CalAPA's Asphalt Insider newsletter. We are committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information on technical issues, regulation, news, analysis, events and trends in California that is of interest to the asphalt pavement industry and our various agency partners. Click HERE to contact us with any comments or suggestions.
Sincerely,
Russell W. Snyder, CAE
Executive Director
California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)®
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The "Asphalt Insider" is an official publication of the California Asphalt Pavement Association. For more information or to inquire about membership, call (916) 791-5044, or click HERE to contact us. Copyright © 2022 California Asphalt Pavement Association -- All Rights Reserved. The CalAPA name (No. 5,621,794) and logo (No. 5,621,795) are registered trademarks with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
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P.O. Box 981300, West Sacramento, CA 95798
1550 Harbor Blvd., Suite 211, West Sacramento, CA 95691
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