Engineering Department recognized for Innovative Pavement Design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: November 30, 2021
Contact: Brandon Strand (608) 255-3114
Madison – The Wisconsin Asphalt Pavement Association (WAPA) announced today that the City of Kaukauna was the recipient of the 2021 Local Government Asphalt Award for advancing innovation in asphalt pavements. The Engineering Department was recognized at a ceremony during the association’s 62nd Annual Conference at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells.
The City of Kaukauna has historically reconstructed their streets using concrete pavements but were exploring more cost-effective alternatives. Kaukauna made the engineering decision to design a pavement replacement project throughout the city that would be practical, provide the shortest interruption to local residents and businesses, and most importantly provide a durable end product which was possible with asphalt pavement.
The 9,000 ton asphalt paving project consisted of milling old roads and adding new surfaces to the roadway as well as pulverizing full depth on a section of well-traveled streets including the main truck route to the city’s famous paper mill, Thilmany Paper (Ahlstrom-Munksjö).
The City of Kaukauna achieved the goal of circumventing the need for a costly full reconstruct of the roadway and kept the cost low for local businesses while providing a surface that was robust and could handle significant loading. Through design and numerous options, the city was able to optimize each portion of the work where cracking and stability will not be an issue.
“We commend Kaukauna for innovatively designing projects to ensure cost savings without sacrificing pavement performance,” said Brandon Strand, Executive Director for WAPA. “They are stretching their budgetary dollars to pave more miles with the same level of funding and are an example for how other municipalities can maximize their own road improvement programs.”
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“Asphalt. Wisconsin rides on us.” Established in 1948, WAPA is a statewide, non-profit organization representing the interests of the asphalt industry on a wide range of issues related to pavement design, construction, maintenance, specifications, costs, marketing, and policy at the local, state, and federal levels. WAPA’s mission is to promote quality asphalt pavements that are safe, sustainable, durable, and cost-effective.
For more information, please visit www.wispave.org or contact Brandon at strand@wispave.org