Representatives from the Rubber Manufacturers Association, Tire Industry Association, Rubber Pavements Association, Rubberized Asphalt Foundation, National Asphalt Pavement Association and Liberty Tire Recycling met with John Baxter, the associate administrator for infrastructure of the Federal Highway Administration at the U.S. Department of Ttansportation Building in Washington, D.C. on May 23, 2013.
The purpose of the meeting was to encourage the FHWA to update its document, the State of the Practice – Design and Construction of Asphalt Paving Materials with Crumb Rubber Modifier (FHWA-SA-92-022) to reflect innovations and changes that have occurred in the rubberized asphalt industry since the original publish date of May 1992.
It was determined during the meeting that a new guide will be produced that will capture the best practices in design, construction, application, testing, storage and handling of rubberized asphalt materials in use today. The guide will help agencies and contractors that are exploring the implementation of rubberized asphalt technologies of various kinds by providing specifications and quality control procedures that have been successfully used around the globe.
Examples of innovations:
- The use of recycled tire rubber as a modifier in performance graded asphalt
- Sustainable polymer modification
- Quieter pavement designs
- Warm mix technologies in combination with rubberized asphalt
- Binder stabilizers (fiber replacement) to prevent drain down in permeable, porous and open graded mixes
- Use of RTR with RAP and RAS
- Reduced thickness designs for highly modified asphalt rubber mixes
The chairman of the RAF, George Way, and executive director of the RPA, Mark Belshe, have been tasked to provide an outline of the guide to the FHWA to begin the development of the new document so that it can be made available at the soonest opportunity.
The FHWA has recognized the cost saving advantages of other recycled content asphalt materials recently in the Every Day Counts program and it is hoped that the new guide can help state agencies and contractors to rapidly deploy innovative rubberized asphalt technologies that provide cost savings and longer performance lives.
Headquarters of the U.S. DOT in Washington, D.C.