On Friday, August 8, President Obama signed into law the $11-billion, ten-month Highway Trust Fund patch that Congress passed on July 31 to extend funding for the federal surface transportation law, MAP-21, through May 2015. H.R.5021, Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 is a temporary fix that avoids a cash crisis in the Highway … Read more
Mark Gottlieb, Secretary of Wisconsin DOT, took the opportunity to spotlight WAPA and Wisconsin’s asphalt industry at a national research summit held in Madison on July 22. Gottlieb addressed a group of some 80 individuals representing the state research directors at a meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Gottlieb discussed … Read more
We are saddened by the loss of Payne & Dolan’s Ned Bechthold, who passed away on May 9. Please see the full obituary for Ned and visit the memories and condolences page. Ned will be dearly missed by all who knew him.
Nothing More Costly Than Not Funding Transportation. When both Republicans and Democrats agree on something as big as transportation funding, that means it’s important. In keynote addresses, Gov. Scott Walker and President Barack Obama highlighted the importance of investing in our infrastructure and all the industries that rely on a strong transportation system. With federal … Read more
WAPA is among a long list of organizations, associations and companies supporting a proposed amendment to the state constitution to create a transportation fund. If approved, the amendment would require that revenues generated through the use of the state transportation system be deposited into a fund for the exclusive purpose of funding the state’s transportation … Read more
In the Fall 2013 issue [PDF] of Wisconsin Asphalt News, we discussed the benefits of asphalt mixes with increased levels of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and recycled asphalt shingles (RAS). The message: With the right engineering and attention, neighboring states are making this technology work. We can now report that exciting developments are happening here … Read more
Thin asphalt overlays are generating a lot of excitement nationally. The article Thinlays for Pavement Preservation in the March/April 2014 issue of NAPA’s Asphalt Pavement magazine spells out the strategies for extending pavement life through the use of thin asphalt overlays. The article explains that these thin overlays are “specifically engineered for preservation [and] can … Read more
Asphalt is already the most recycled product in the world, and one particularly green technique allows it to be reused on the spot. Cold in-place recycling (CIR) is a rehabilitation technique where existing pavement is incorporated straight into a new pavement. With CIR, an old pavement is converted to RAP by milling, planing or crushing. … Read more
WAPA welcomes Deb Schwerman as our new Director of Engineering. Schwerman brings more than 20 years of experience to the position, having worked both for state government and in industry. She brings a wealth of technical knowledge on asphalt pavement materials, mechanistic design, construction processes, and specifications and will be a great asset in the … Read more
General session presentations from WAPA’s most recent annual conference are now online. WAPA thanks all presenters for taking the time and effort to share their expertise.