This Executive Update features guidance for asphalt parking lots, new NAPA task groups, updates to WAPA's asphalt pavement design guide, and award-winning Wisconsin asphalt pavement research.
Parking

 Parking Lot Guidance

As part of WAPA's involvement in the growth and use of all types of asphalt pavement in Wisconsin, we have focused on developing and sharing guidance on asphalt parking lots. Recent and upcoming efforts are highlight here. 

NEW from WAPA - Parking Lot Design Guide

Earlier this month, WAPA published our all-new Asphalt Parking Lot Design Guide This companion to WAPA's Asphalt Pavement Design Guide  (recently updated -- read more below) focuses on all phases of asphalt parking lot design.

The guide is organized into five chapters:
  • Assessment and Planning
  • Subgrade and Drainage
  • Construction
  • Maintenance
  • References
Also included is a comprehensive 61-point Inspection Checklist to help an on-site inspector identify key processes and follow best practices to produce a quality parking lot.

Print copies of the design guide are available upon request.

Parking Lot Brochure

You can read more about the benefits of use of asphalt parking lots in our one-page brochure Asphalt: The Smoothest Way To Welcome Customers. This brochure was developed with the Asphalt Pavement Alliance and highlights such benefits as speed of construction, performance, cost, aesthetics and sustainability.

Commercial and Industrial Parking Lot Training

WAPA Member Pavement Consulting i LLC has worked with the Asphalt Pavement Alliance to develop a  -day training course on commercial and industrial parking lots. The first offering of the course will be held in Naperville, Illinois on April 17-18.

The program will emphasize pavement and materials design as well as best practices related to construction. The focus audience is commercial developers, owners and project managers, contractors, architects, consultants, and geotechnical and testing firms. 10 professional development hours may be earned by participants. See the full brochure for details.

Please note that the early-bird registration rate ends on March 15, and space is limited, so reserve your spot today. Future locations for the training in 2018 (dates TBD) include Kansas City and Minneapolis.


Groups

 New NAPA Task Groups

WAPA participated in the annual National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) meeting in February. See the conference program for full details of the event.

As always, it was an outstanding opportunity for us to connect with our peers at other state asphalt associations, industry leaders, and national experts. Together we're working toward advancing asphalt technology and advocating for secure funding and broad use of asphalt.

Although we need no reminder that NAPA is a forward-facing and innovative association, the fact was evidenced by a regrouping and consolidation of committees into task groups for 2018.

Where the committees had organically grown to meet the changing needs of the asphalt pavement industry, significant overlap prompted NAPA to refine seven of these committees down into Four Task Groups under the Pavement Economics Committee.

The four new task groups and their broad goals are:

Legislative Task Group -- Position asphalt as the sustainable and economic material of choice for lawmakers and other government decision-makers through legislative advocacy.

Life Cycle Assessment -- Ensure that asphalt pavements are recognized as the pavement of choice for environmental and social sustainability; address issues involving quantification of the impact of pavements on the environment and society.

Life Cycle Cost Analysis -- Provide guidance for conducting and improving LCCA, estimating costs, and cost-saving factors or inputs used in or influencing pavement type selection, including accurate salvage value data, remaining service life, analysis periods, price adjustment clauses, and proper pavement design.

Mixture Quality and Performance -- Improve mixture quality and performance and increase the use of recycled materials, warm-mix asphalt, Thinlays, and other technologies while maintaining quality and reducing costs to maintain competitiveness. Look across all markets including highways, airfields, and local roads.

With ongoing participation from the same highly engaged committee members, these task groups are well positioned to continue to drive NAPA forward across all of these critical areas.

Lastly, as a side note, WAPA is very pleased to report that a WAPA staff member or a representative of a WAPA member company sits on each of these four task group -- a claim that no other state can make! This kind of involvement helps us serve the association and everyone involved in asphalt in Wisconsin.
Guide

 Asphalt Pavement Design Guide - Updated for 2018

In early January, WAPA released our new and updated 2018 Asphalt Pavement Design Guide.

Like the 2016 edition, the guide builds on core information provided in Wisconsin DOT's Standard Specifications to address a wide range of topics related to asphalt pavement design in Wisconsin.

The key 2018 updates include the following items:
  • Incorporation of the latest WisDOT design guidance found in the 2018 standard specifications recently published by WisDOT.
     
  • A new chapter, Using WisDOT Specifications on Non-WisDOT Projects, which outlines the impacts of including or omitting selected WisDOT specification items for smaller, non-WisDOT asphalt pavement projects.
     
  • Additional updated guidance and links throughout the guide.
This publication communicates the fundamentals and fine points of asphalt pavement design, construction, and rehabilitation. It is intended for use by architects, engineers, developers, owners, and officials at all levels of government.

If you have any questions, or if you wish to receive a printed copy of the 2018 Asphalt Pavement Design Guide, please let us know.
AAPT

 AAPT Honors Wisconsin Research

One of WAPA's five core values is Innovation -- Making well-designed pavements that are smooth to ride and built to last by implementing research and innovation. Toward that end WAPA participates on the Wisconsin Highway Research Program (WHRP) flexible pavements committee.

WHRP has long been at the vanguard of driving asphalt pavements to excel through research. This year a WHRP research project will be recognized by the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists (AAPT) as the best paper presented at its 2017 annual meeting.

Walter J. Emmons Award -- Best Paper, 2017 AAPT Annual Meeting


Ramon Bonaquist, Advanced Asphalt Technologies, LLC
Barry Paye, Wisconsin DOT
Carl Johnson, Stark Pavement Corporation

It comes as little surprise to us that this award is a product of a collaboration of an engineering/testing lab, our state DOT, and one of WAPA's producer members. This type of teamwork toward developing improvements in asphalt pavements is typical among the members of Wisconsin's asphalt pavement community.  It is rewarding to see this recognized at the national level.

We offer a heartfelt congratulations to Ray, Barry and Carl. They will be honored at the AAPT 2018 Annual Meeting, to be held March 18-21 in Jacksonville, Florida.

 Save the Date!

As a parting message for our first newsletter of 2018, I'm pleased to announce the date and location of this year's annual conference.

WAPA's 59th Annual Conference and Business Meeting
November 27-28, 2018
Madison Concourse Hotel
Madison, Wisconsin

As we move closer to the event, more information will follow on our website, in our newsletters and by email. For now, please save the date and plan on joining us after Thanksgiving in Madison.

As always, if you have any questions about this information or if we can be of assistance in any other way, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Thanks, and have a great spring!