IOWA 143 WMA OPEN HOUSE A SUCCESS!

Despite being delayed by a day due to rain, the Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) hosted by Tri-State Paving, Inc. (a division of Oldcastle Materials), the IDOT and the APAI was a well received event. The open house began with presentations by Larry Mattusch of APAI and Kent Dahl of Tri-State Paving describing the benefits of WMA and welcoming the almost 30 attendees who came to learn about WMA.

The presentations continued with Kevin Carlson of Jebro explaining how Sasobit® was added to the asphaltic cement and how it behaved in the field. Mike Orzech of Sasol gave a short presentation explaining what Sasobit® is and its ability to reduce the viscosity of the binder. Only 1.5 lbs of Sasobit® is necessary for addition to 1 ton of asphaltic cement to produce the desired results.

The final presentation was given by Cathy Satterfield a highway engineer with the FHWA office in Matteson, IL. she explained the need for and construction of safety edges on pavements.

The group boarded buses to visit the plant site near Ashton to watch the WMA being produced at approximately 230 degrees. The trip to the job site on Hwy 143 outside of Marcus allowed attendees to see the WMA being placed and the easier compaction that WMA provides for the contractor.

This was a great day to watch a wonderful product being placed. Thanks go out to all of those involved in making this day such a success. To Kent Dahl of Tri-State Paving for making all of the arrangements for the meeting and transportation, to Kevin Carlson and Mike Orzech for their explanations about Sasobit® and the Warm Mix process. Also thanks to the crew from FHWA (Cathy Satterfield, Jerry Roche, and Kevin Korth) who explained the function and application of the safety edge. And last, but not least, thank you to all of those who took the time out of their busy schedules to attend this informative meeting.

Please mark your calendars for the final WMA Open House on Wed, October 21 at the Merle Hay Rd Holiday Inn beginning at 10 AM. This demonstration will feature the Des Moines Asphalt WMA paving project on Hwy 69 using the “foaming” process. Call the APAI at 515-233-0015 or email to apai@apai.net to register for this free event.