TOPS News:
June 2022 |
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TOPS Offers Technical Assistance
Since establishing the Targeted Overlay Pavement Solutions (TOPS) Every Day Counts team in 2021, FHWA has provided technical assistance to 10 States. Does your agency need help writing or reviewing an asphalt overlay specification? Contact FHWA Senior Asphalt Engineer Tim Aschenbrener.
HiMA Extends Pavement Life in Virginia
Asphalt and concrete have been used as driving surfaces for more than a century, but continuous increases in traffic volume, axle loads, and tire pressures have led to greater demand for high-quality pavement mixtures that can resist distresses. When installed properly, overlays can maximize previous investments and effectively extend the service life of pavement structures.
 VDOT placed this HiMA lane (right) and kept the left lane as a control lane in 2014. (Source: VDOT)
That’s why the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has experimented with targeted overlay pavement solutions (TOPS). The Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC) recently published a report with results from laboratory and field performance evaluations of highly modified asphalt (HiMA), one of several products featured in the Every Day Counts TOPS initiative. VTRC initiated the study in 2014 to evaluate HiMA constructability, laboratory performance, and initial field performance. As part of this effort, in 2015, VDOT placed dense-graded and stone-matrix asphalt HiMA overlays at several locations over existing jointed concrete pavement and cracked asphalt pavements to mitigate reflective cracking. The use of HiMA binder in a stone-matrix asphalt mix type was the first of its kind nationwide. The objective was to assess the viability of using HiMA mixtures in Virginia as a reflective crack mitigation technique or as a tool for increased crack resistance on high-volume facilities.
VDOT researchers say the HiMA test sections showed the most promising performance 5 years after construction (2015-2020) regardless of traffic level and the pre-existing pavement conditions compared to conventional polymer-modified asphalt (PMA). They determined that HiMA extended the life of pavements 34 percent compared to PMA.
Check out a TOPS Webinar
The TOPS team has hosted three webinars in recent months including:
Stone Matrix Asphalt and Highly Modified Asphalt Webinar
Learn about SMA and HiMA and hear presentations from Georgia and Florida.
High-Performance Thin Overlays and Crack Attenuating Mixture Webinar
Learn about HPTO and CAM and hear presentations from New Jersey and Texas.
An Overview of Concrete Overlays Webinar
Get an introduction to concrete overlays, understand the challenges and value proposition, learn how to get started, and more.
To learn more about TOPS, contact Tim Aschenbrener (asphalt) and Robert Conway (concrete), EDC-6 team co-leads.
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