 Rac and Roll tour leader Gary Hildebrand, 32 year veteran of Caltrans Maintenance, gives the buses orders to move out to kick-off the four-day review of A-R projects in the state. Sixteen sites, including 12 gap-graded and two open-graded projects, a variety of maintenance strategies at the Yolo CIWMB test sections, two municipal A-R three-layer systems, both over 10 years old, and a Sacramento County project were inspected. The tour also included a visit to a Manhole Adjusting blending site as well as a tour of a tire recycling plant. "Because California is such a big state we sometimes forget how much A-R we have out there," he said. "Caltrans has been using Asphalt-Rubber since the 1980's and we have a lot of turnover in our districts so we decided to take a tour of the entire state to look at some projects. We had around 100 participants, including representatives from every district as well as the California Integrated Waste Management Board and RPA. It was a great success. It should create more interest in using this public process that has been proven through years of research and evaluation by our state." |
 A-R is quieter. Theron Roschen, sr. civil engineer, Sacramento County, briefs the tour participants on the noise reduction studies conducted on the six-year-old A-R pavement on Sacramento's Alta Arden Expressway. The study, started in 1993, includes four reports. The latest report concludes that the A-R pavement has maintained its noise reduction qualities by an average of 4 dBs while the conventional asphalt control section dropped to a OdB reduction after four years. The six-year study maybe obtained from the on-line RPA Reports Library. |
 High Binder Open-Graded A-R Friction Courses are good! George Way, ADOT discusses his agency's routine use of A-R open-graded mixes on Arizona highways and interstates. Thanks to the technology transfer between ADOT and Caltrans, similar mixes are now being used on PCCP freeways in California. |
 Martha Gildart, CIWUB, learns how many tires were utilized in the SD 78 San Marcos ramps from Cliff Ashcroft, Manhole Adjusting, Inc., who serves as cochairman of the Califomia Task Force. |
 Cities use A-R too! Below, participants gather around Cliff Ashcroft, Manhole Adjusting, Inc., for a briefing on a three-layer system in Costa Mesa. The 1/2"+ conventional asphalt leveling course, 3/8" A-R SAMI, and 1 1/4" gap-graded A-R overlay with 8% binder content was used in lieu of total reconstruction. It has been maintenance free for 10 years. |