Executive Director Message - December 2017

A Quick Look Back on 2017 to Know What is to Come for 2018

I believe the association is not alone in saying that 2017 was a pretty busy and crazy year. The amount of work for almost everyone I know reached unprecedented levels in 2017, and, I’m afraid to say that 2018 looks to be just as full and amazing with all the work that is to come.

2017 for the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association (UAPA) brought about a heavy focus on seeing through to implementation a number of the specifications that were worked on 2016. In addition to record numbers at the Utah Asphalt Conference, the year saw UAPA reach out to all corners of the state through our partners and others in providing regional conferences, plant tours, lunch and learns, in-house briefings, site visits, and live demonstrations of the latest technology and trends that our industry has to offer.

Because of all these activities, active committees, and strategic goals not yet met, the fact of the matter is this: UAPA has matured to the point now that some changes are needed. That’s why I am excited to announce that in 2018 UAPA will be securing its own office space and looking to hire an office manager to help with all that we are doing and will yet do in the near future and beyond.

This, no doubt, is a very big step for the association that involves some risk, but I am glad to have the full support of UAPA’s Board of Directors as we move forward into this uncharted territory for the association.

There will certainly be bumps along the way, but there is so much more ahead of us that such steps must ultimately be taken. I’m so excited to see these changes and many more through in 2018, and am very grateful and honored to have worked with Association Solutions as a partner in helping to get UAPA where it is today.

We may change an address and have a different view from the new office window, but the goals and values of this association will remain the same through our committed, unified voice for industry. Here’s to 2018!

-Reed Ryan

Executive Director

The Utah Asphalt Pavement Association

Executive Director Message - November 2017

End of the Road School, but Not the End of Top-Notch Educational Opportunities

Dear Members and Friends of UAPA,
As most of you have likely heard, the Utah League of Cities and Towns (ULCT) will not longer be hosting the Road School in St. George each spring. While such change is often difficult, I want you to know that ULCT remains a great partner of the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association (UAPA) and that just because one opportunity is no longer available that other opportunities do not exist to meet your needs.
Below I’ve offered a brief summary of what UAPA currently provides to both members and potential members of the association. We’ve built this association around providing the best educational opportunities to you, and that will not change moving forward. In short, I hope you will take advantage of these opportunities and, in the meantime, let me know how UAPA can best meet the needs of the great opportunities that were provided through the Road School. Road School will be missed, but I am confident that by working together UAPA can continue to provide great opportunities for networking, social outings, and education in the road construction industry here in Utah.
I am grateful for all you do for this association. I look forward to seeing many of you at the 2018 Utah Asphalt Conference in February. Until then, please do not hesitate to let me know if there is anything I can do for you.
-Reed

The Utah Asphalt Conference
The Utah Asphalt Conference (UAC) takes place each year in the early spring. The 2018 UAC will be on February 21-22, 2018, at the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy, UT. The UAC offers over twenty-eight educational breakout sessions with CE credit hours available for PE license renewals. Tracks at the conference include Pavement Preservation; Asphalt Basics; Construction and Engineering; Safety, Aggregates, and Asphalt Production; and Industry, Innovation, and Design. In addition to the educational sessions, the UAC offers the chance for attendees to network with roughly one thousand attendees and close to one hundred exhibitors with thirty thousand square feet of equipment on display both inside and outside of the exhibit hall.
Registration for city and county employees begins at $125. Conference partners include the Utah Department of Transportation, the Utah Chapter of the APWA, the Utah League of Cities and Towns, and the Utah LTAP. More information regarding The Utah Asphalt Conference can be found by visiting the website for the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association’s website at: www.utahasphalt.org

The Southern Utah Asphalt Seminar
The Southern Utah Asphalt Seminar (SUAS) takes place each year in the fall at the Dixie Center in St. George, UT. This year’s conference will take place on the 13th (networking golf outing) and 14th (conference) of November.
This regional event is open to attendees from across the state and typically covers four to five educational sessions (CE credits for PE license renewal available) along with regional spotlights from local government representatives and Region Four of the Utah Department of Transportation. Educational topics for this year’s conference include emulsions; patching best practices; road preparation prior to paving; and hot plant operations with a tour.
Registration for all attendees is $75. More information regarding the Southern Utah Asphalt Seminar can be found by visiting the website for the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association’s website at: www.utahasphalt.org

The Uintah Basin Asphalt Summit
The Uintah Basin Asphalt Summit (UBAS) takes place each year later in the spring, typically towards the first part of April.
Similar to the Southern Utah Asphalt Seminar, the UBAS is a regional one-day educational event that is open to attendees from across the entire state. The date for the 2018 Summit has not been set, but the event is typical held in the new county convention center in Vernal, UT. The UBAS also offers CE credits for PE license renewal.
More information regarding the Uintah Basin Asphalt Summit can be found by visiting the website for the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association at: www.utahasphalt.org

UAPA Lunch and Learn Series
Throughout the entire year, the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association (UAPA) offers free Lunch and Learn seminars for city and county employees. Topics presented this year included asphalt binder history and basics; micro surfacing; paving and compaction principles; and APWA specification revisions.
These events typically take place in the months that UAPA is not hosting a larger educational event or the two months (July and December) where holidays fill up the calendar. Similar to the larger events UAPA holds, these events are education-based and are not a sales pitch for attendees to use one product or process over another.
All UAPA Lunch and Learns are free to attend with lunch provided by the association. More information can be found on these events by visiting the website for the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association at: www.utahasphalt.org

Executive Director Message - August 2017

I am not sure where summer has gone, but I can tell you things have no indication of slowing down for the asphalt pavement industry for the foreseeable future. Between a record year for the association’s golf tournament and a very successful luncheon and plant tour hosted by UAPA, the APWA, and Geneva Rock Products, August was great month for all things UAPA. In addition to the events above, I also attended a special conference for the directors of all the state asphalt pavement associations in the country. I’m excited to incorporate some of the ten pages worth of notes that I took into what we are doing with UAPA. I was also pleased to learn just how far we have come as an association within the relatively short timeframe of six full years of existence. We’re certainly on the right track, but there is more we can and will do!

Moving forward, I hope you will join us for our next UAPA Lunch and Learn happening on the 21^st of September at Honnen Equipment. We should have great discussion about paving with an eye towards quality and, as always, lunch is on us, so come out!

Looking ahead, we also have the Southern Utah Asphalt Seminar happening on the 13^th and 14^th of November at the Dixie Center in St. George. Along with the 2018 Utah Asphalt Conference (Feb, 21 -22) right around the corner!

Times are busy, but good. Stay safe. Maintain quality. And expect the best of yourself and others and I’m confident that we will finish this construction season just as strong as we began it a few short months ago – we’re almost there for 2017!

Executive Director Message - June 2017 - Even at Full Blast, Think Safety!

It seems as if everything is on full blast this time of year. Simply put, there is a lot going on with the association this month. We successfully held another Lunch and Learn in June on asphalt binder, we're gearing up for the golf tournament in August, we're working through some additional specification work on preservation treatments, working to get a meaningful certification program up and off the ground, and we are trying to get out and visit job sites, projects, and demos. While there is a lot going on, my one request this month is that we all take an extra minute to focus on safety.

Executive Director Message - May 2017 - One Asphalt Specification to Rule Them All…and Put More Oil Back Into the Mix

Hey, a guy can dream, can he not? Oh, that such a proverbial “silver bullet” existed when it comes specifying, producing, and constructing quality asphalt mixes. It would simplify production, reduce waste, and increase proficiency across the board from design to construction and even preservation!


Unfortunately, no such specification to rule them all exists (at least not one that I am aware of!), but I do believe that industry and owners, by working together, have taken a much-needed critical step in the right direction over the course of the last few years. Indeed, after many meetings, lots of discussions, and maybe even a few shed tears (mostly on my part), I firmly believe that UAPA, UDOT, and particularly the Utah Chapter of the APWA have worked very hard to produce a set of 2017 standard asphalt specifications that will meet the needs of Utah. So while our bullet is not quite silver, I do believe that now, more so than ever before, we have developed quality specifications that can and should drive our industry as the “go-to standards” in Utah for the years to come.


If I may, I would like to focus on just the APWA Standards. By simplifying the APWA Specifications through, among other things, targeting air voids, changing calculations for the absorptiveness of virgin aggregate and RAP, and bumping binder grades to account for the use of RAP in your mix according national standards, we now have standard specifications that will meet the needs of every city and county in Utah. By narrowing our specs to five or six go-to mixes based on the application, we can and, by all accounts, we will build better roads, reduce waste, and become more efficient both as industry and owners in what we do. By working together, we can go from the over four hundred iterations of city and county specifications across the state to under ten mixes that will handle most, if not all, applications for cities and counties in the state.


It is that sentiment that drove us last week to hold the fist UAPA Lunch and Learn of 2017. At that meeting, we had over one hundred people in attendance to discuss opportunities and challenges in specifying, producing, and constructing asphalt mixes along the Wasatch Front. I am very grateful to Waylund Ludlow (Geneva Rock Products), James Inglis (Granite Construction), Doug Watson (CMT Engineering), and many others who offered valuable insight and time as we prepared for the May Lunch and Learn presentation. As Waylund, James, and Doug led the discussion, I was impressed with their candor and willingness to share their perspective on what has happened in the Utah market over the course of the last ten to fifteen years. I was also really taken back by the slides Doug shared that illustrated the unbelievably high amount of mixes you could produce across the Wasatch Front based on previous specifications. Simply put, such a continued proliferation of different specifications is not sustainable, nor warranted.


That’s why UAPA’s invitation to take a fresh look at the 2017 APWA Standards for the production of hot mix asphalt (HMA) for cities and counties in Utah is a key priority for our association in 2017. So much so, we have even shared a letter from either the presidents or vice presidents of all of the major companies (or parent companies) that produce asphalt in the state.  Click HERE to view the letter.


My invitation and challenge to you, if you are representative from a city or county (including consulting engineering firms that represent cities and counties!) that builds, designs, bids, preserves, or manages roads, is to take a look at this letter and then give me a call. I am happy to visit with you about this development in specifications, talk to you about where your current specifications may be improved, and, more important than anything else, just be with you to listen to you speak about your roads, understand what you are seeing, and work together to meet the challenges and opportunities you are facing – in a nutshell, that is UAPA’s commitment to industry and that is my commitment to any of you that would like to take me up on this invitation.


We are off to a great start to the construction season. Stay safe. Be aware. And be sure to come home to the ones you love each night.


Best regards,

Reed

W. Reed Ryan
Executive Director
The Utah Asphalt Pavement Association

Executive Director Message - April 2017

Snow, Snow, Go Away (for now)...

Welcome to Springtime in Utah! What a winter we had this past year! I, like many Utahns, think we all had our fair share of snow this past winter. The moisture, however, is certainly welcome, and I'm grateful that we may not face the same extreme conditions this summer that we've experienced in recent years.

All of the snow this year has certainly kept UDOT, cities, counties, and others busily engaged in maintenance, plowing, and keeping the traveling public safe. It's no secret that in all of this, our roads have taken nothing short of a beating.

That's why I am excited for our first UAPA Lunch and Learn event this year happening on the 18th of May. I hope you will join us for an important presentation and discussion on New and Important Changes to Standard Specifications for 2017. Each  of these changes, geared towards an eye on durability, should help each of us in our jobs to specify, produce, and inspect asphalt mixes across the Wasatch Front. If you are a city, county, or private owner that would like to know more about how to improve your specifications, I would strongly encourage you to attend this Lunch and Learn in May. By working together, as industry and owners, I am confident these new specifications will produce great asphalt mixes that are both stable and durable for applications across the Wasatch Front and all of Utah. Come learn more on the 18th! See you there!

-Reed Ryan

Executive Director Message - December 2016 - Go Ahead, It's OK to Brag a Little...

As we close in on the year that was 2016, I can't help but be grateful for another incredible year of growth and support for the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association (UAPA). Come January, it will be five years since I took this job. The time has flown by, but the lessons have been many and we have accomplished much together. 

That's why I hope you will take some time in the New Year to look back and nominate either a project or one of your peers for the awards that will be given out at the 2017 Utah Asphalt Conference (Feb. 22 - 23 at the South Towne Expo Center). Awards for nomination include the Industry Leader of the Year Award, Project of the Year (Small), and Project of the Year (Large). 

Over the past five years, I've learned we are an industry that quietly and professionally goes about doing the best work possible without much fanfare and without much publicity (unless something goes wrong!), so I think it is important that we use the awards at the Utah Asphalt Conference to go ahead and brag a little. Simply put, we work hard. Many of you give your entire professional careers to this industry and you certainly give countless hours over the course of the season year in and year out to ensure the very best for your project, your company, and the state of Utah. So, go ahead, it's OK to brag a little . . . just click on the links below to find out how you can help to showcase our very best at the Utah Asphalt Conference in 2017! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

-Reed

Executive Director Message - November 2016

The 2016 Southern Utah Seminar - A Moment to Say Thanks  

Happy Thanksgiving! This month we have a lot to be grateful for (it finally snowed!). The season is winding down (at least for a few weeks) and we are busily getting ready for the 2017 Utah Asphalt Conference. Before we get there, however, I’d be remiss if I did not mention the 2016 Southern Utah Asphalt Seminar (SUAS) hosted by UAPA in St. George just over a week ago.

With 150 attendees, 15 vendors, and multiple sponsors, this year’s Seminar was our most successful educational event in the area to date! Now in its third year, I can’t help but appreciate and be grateful for what the SUAS has turned in to for not only for UAPA, but for the community that is our industry in Southern Utah. The keynote address from Mark Owens with Landmark Testing this year provided an amazing perspective on just how far the area has come and what is on the horizon as the area continues to grow. The best part of Mark’s remarks, however, came when he recognized all of the individuals who, through many years of dedicated work and service, have made this special corner of Utah what it is today. Plus, who doesn’t like free .22 shells as a giveaway!? Brilliant! 

In addition to Mark’s comments, we had four great educational sessions (CE Certificates coming soon!) and even a live demo that featured crack sealing best practices - thanks Scott! 

As mentioned above, all of this would not have been possible without our event sponsors, so special thanks to our Black & Gold Sponsor, Sunroc; our Black & Silver Sponsors, Honnen Equipment, Summit Energy, Wheeler Machinery, Western Rock; and our Black & Bronze Sponsors, Coughlin Company, Ingevity, Kimball Equipment Company, and Crafco, Inc.

I hope the rest of this week and month finds you surrounded by those closest to you as we kickoff in earnest the holiday season. Through it all, take a moment to be grateful and give thanks. For me, that was the biggest takeaway from the SUAS this year. Thank you to everyone that helped make the Seminar a huge success! 

-Reed

P.S. The Networking Golf Outing on the 14th wasn't bad either!!

LEARNING IN PROGRESS 2017

Collaboration toward Comprehensive Maintenance Leadership Training

Have you thought about collaborating with other transportation agencies to meet your workforce development needs? Discover the benefits of NHI's Maintenance Leadership Academy (MLA) and learn about collaborative hosting options from NHI's recent article in Public Roads, FHWA's bimonthly magazine.

Learn More

Tips for Finding Partners

• Talk to neighboring states that share similar challenges, geography, or weather.
• Invite neighboring states that use different processes or approaches.
• Invite regional AASHTO peers.
• Ask NHI to hold seats for neighboring states.

To talk to an NHI training professional about the MLA or about regional collaboration, contact us at 1-877-558-6873.

New & Updated Courses

Highway Safety
FHWA-NHI-380120: Introducing Human Factors in Roadway Design and Operations (ILT)

Hydraulics
FHWA-NHI-135041: One-Dimensional Modeling of River Encroachments with HEC-RAS (ILT)
FHWA-NHI-135092: Highway Hydrology: Basic Concepts and Methods Web-Based (WBT)
FHWA-NHI-135094: Culvert Hydraulic Analysis and Design Program (HY-8) (WBT)

Freight and Transportation Logistics
FHWA-NHI-139011: Fundamentals of Freight Data Workshop (ILT)

Pavements and Materials
FHWA-NHI-131140: Hot In-place Recycling (WBT)
FHWA-NHI-131142: Full Depth Reclamation (FDR) (WBT)

Structures
FHWA-NHI-130105A: Introduction to FRP Materials and Applications for Concrete Structures (WBT)

FHWA-NHI-130105B: Construction Procedures and Specifications for Bonded Repair and Retrofit of Concrete Structures (WBT)
FHWA-NHI-130105C: Quality Control of Repair and Retrofit of Concrete Structures Using FRP Composites (WBT)

Transportation Performance Management
FHWA-NHI-138004: MAP-21 Transportation Performance Management Overview (Including FAST Act Updates) (ILT)

Transportation Planning
FHWA-NHI-151056: Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS): Concepts, Data Collection & Reporting Requirements (ILT)

Executive Director Message October 2016

Join Us for the 2016 Southern Utah Asphalt Seminar!

As the season begins to wind down I hope you will consider joining us at the 2016 Southern Utah Asphalt Seminar happening on the 14th and 15th of November at the Dixie Center in St. George. On the 14th we’ll have the opportunity to socialize and network at the Seminar’s official golf outing happening at Sky Mountain Golf Course in Hurricane. Then, on the 15th we will have a day’s full of education covering topics from the importance of inspection to the use, construction, and design of thin asphalt overlays. We’re also very excited to partner with the Dixie Center in offering a crack seal demonstration in their parking lot. We already have over ninety attendees registered, fifteen vendors, and seven sponsors. Special thanks to Sunroc for being our Black and Gold Sponsor at this year’s seminar and to all of our presenters that will help to make this year’s seminar the best one yet! See you in St. George in November!

Although the Perpetual Pavement Concept was first articulated in 2000, many asphalt pavements that were constructed long ago function as Perpetual Pavements.

For example, many full-depth and deep-strength pavements were built around the country in the 1960s and 1970s.

Perpetual Pavement Award Nomination Form

The Asphalt Pavement Alliance instituted the Perpetual Pavement Award program in 2001 to recognize State Agencies and other owners of pavements that had the foresight to build pavements according to these principles. To qualify for the award, the pavement must be at least 35 years old and must have never had a structural failure.

The first winner of a Perpetual Pavement Award was the New Jersey Turnpike, which was 50 years old at that time. Between 2001 and 2013, a total of 93 pavements qualified for the award. Winners include interstate highways, rural roads, and airport runways. The easternmost winner is in Connecticut, and the westernmost is on one of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.

• In addition to having served for 35 years with no structural failure, additional requirements for the award include:
• Pavement must have hot-mix or warm-mix asphalt binder and surface layers.
• No rehabilitation or series of rehabilitations over the preceding 35 years that has increased the total pavement thickness by more than 4 inches. Thus, the overall structural gain during the 35 years of a pavement’s life preceding the nomination cannot be more than 4 inches.*
• Resurfacing intervals of no less than 13 years on the average.*
• Minimum project length is two (2) miles for all roadway types.
• In the case of “staged construction,” the 35-plus year time frame against which the award criterion is evaluated begins when all stage construction is completed.

Download Form

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Perpetual Pavement Award Nomination Form for Municipal Roadways

Until now, the Perpetual Pavement Award program focused mainly on Interstate/US and State routes, Turnpikes, Farm to Market roads and Airports. This year we are excited to announce award criteria for Municipal Roadways and Residential Streets. To qualify these pavements must be at least 35 years old with no structural failures and a minimum project length of 1,200 feet (or 4 continuous blocks).

Municipal streets are noted for undergoing extreme traffic loading conditions and asphalt pavements have provided years of service to municipalities throughout the US. This award intends to recognize those pavements that have demonstrated outstanding performance.

Download Form

In Our Opinion: Utah Recognized for Transportation Infrastructure Investment

Deseret News editorial 

Published: Oct. 4, 2016 12:05 a.m.Updated: Oct. 3, 2016 7:08 p.m.

Motorists who find themselves frustrated by frequent confrontations with a slalom course of orange barrels along a stretch of road repair should look on the bright side — Utah is gaining a national reputation for taking care of its transportation infrastructure in a way that has made other states envious, and it has enhanced its image as a top place for new business growth.

A recent report by a nonprofit think tank gives Utah high marks for investing in state road projects in a survey that shows an increase in spending on transportation needs much greater than in any other state in the last year. A report by the Reason Foundation, which describes itself as a promoter of “libertarian principles,” elevated Utah in its rankings of performance and cost effectiveness in road management from 29th in the nation to 13th, a massive jump not matched by any other state. The primary reason is an increased rate of investment in transportation, which other state governments have looked upon with jealousy.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper recently led an expedition of business and civic leaders to Utah to take note of the state’s relatively high rate of expenditures in transportation upkeep. Utah spends about $660 million a year on road expansion, while Colorado spends about $159 million. The results include less congestion, safer conditions and a general benefit to statewide commerce.

The Utah Department of Transportation has successfully managed to eke out more funds from the state budget by convincing lawmakers that investments in transportation conditions will pay for themselves by facilitating more private business development and a commensurate increase in the tax base. Indeed, Utah was ranked as the best state in the nation for business this year by the cable channel CNBC, which cited investments in infrastructure as one of the key metrics in the analysis.

The lesson is that you can’t take care of infrastructure needs without biting the budget bullet and freeing up the needed cash. Following the state’s suit, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski made it a priority in her first budget to increase spending on road upkeep in the capital city after years of restraint. Since 2008, the city has diverted funds typically used for road maintenance to other needs. The mayor proposed, and the City Council approved, a $7.75 million appropriation of state-allocated funds for needed road work, a significant sum that will help reverse a trend of deteriorating conditions. Municipal transportation officials have estimated that two-thirds of the roads in the city are in “poor” or “very poor” condition.

Certainly, investment in infrastructure comes at a cost. State and local budgets contain many other priorities, all of which carry good arguments for increased spending. Utah policymakers have come to realize that putting money toward highways and city streets is not a winner-take-all game. A modern and functional infrastructure is a hallmark of a strong local economy, and keeping the roadways in good shape can literally help pave the way toward sustained economic growth.