November 30, 2008 No. 1108

DECEMBER TxDOT TONNAGE

The TxDOT highway letting is scheduled for November 4-5, 2008. The total tonnage of hot mix being let is113,546.

November 27 – 28 Thanksgiving Holiday

TxAPA Office will be closed. See you again on Monday, December 1st.

SPECIAL PROVISION 341-020

One of the changes to Item 341 in the new Special Provision 341-020 deals with temperature requirements. Table 11 in Item 341 has been deleted and was not replaced. This table gave minimum mix temperature requirements for the different grades of PG Binders before entering the paver. By deleting table 11, this allows the contractor to place Warm Mix Asphalt at lower temperatures than regular Hot Mix Asphalt. Even though there is no minimum temperature requirement for placement of Hot Mix Asphalt, under 341 E. 2. Mixing and Discharge of Materials, the discharge temperature of the mix must stay within 25f of the target mixing temperature.

The following chart (Table 10a) provides the Minimum Pavement Surface Temperatures for each of the PG Binder grades. There is a footnote to these temperatures allowing these temperatures to be lowered 10f under certain circumstances.

Below are excerpts taken directly from Special Provision 341-020.

Article 341.4. Construction, Section G. Placement Operations, Section 1. Weather Conditions is voided and replaced with the following:

1.Weather Conditions. Place mixture when the roadway surface temperature is equal to or higher than the temperatures listed in Table 10A, unless otherwise approved or as shown on the plans. Measure the roadway surface temperature with a handheld infrared thermometer. The Engineer may allow mixture placement to begin prior to the roadway surface reaching the required temperature requirements if conditions are such that the roadway surface will reach the required temperature within 2 hrs. of beginning placement operations. Unless otherwise shown on the plans, place mixtures only when weather conditions and moisture conditions of the roadway surface are suitable in the opinion of the Engineer.

Article 341.4. Construction, Section G. Placement Operations, Section 1. Weather Conditions is supplemented by the following:

Table 10A

Minimum Pavement Surface Temperatures

Minimum Pavement Surface Temperatures
in Degrees Fahrenheit
High Temperature Binder Grade / Subsurface
Layers or Night Paving Operations / Surface Layers Placed in Daylight Operations
PG 64 or lower / 45 / 50
PG 70 / 551 / 601
PG 76 or higher / 601 / 601
1. Contractors may pave at temperatures 10°F lower than the values shown in Table 10A when utilizing a paving process including WMA or equipment that eliminates thermal segregation. In such cases, the contractor must use either an infrared bar attached to the paver, a hand held thermal camera, or a hand held infrared thermometer operated in accordance with Tex-244-F to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Engineer that the uncompacted mat has no more than 10°F of thermal segregation.

Article 341.4. Construction, Section G. Placement Operations, Section 3. Lay-Down Operations. Table 11 is voided and not replaced.

If you have any questions, feel free to call Kyle Swaner at 512-312-2099.

PARTNERS IN QUALITY

As many of you are aware, TxDOT and TxAPA team together to hold Partners in Quality Meetings in several areas of the state. These meetings are highly successful and foster good working relationships, which in turn enhances the quality of our services and product. They are conducted during a working lunch. An agenda is agreed upon and set, concentrating on successes, current issues and any significant changes to specifications and test procedures that affect that particular TxDOT district where these meetings are held. They begin at 11:30 and usually end around 1:30 to 2:00 in the afternoon. They are very informal and open discussion is encouraged. Currently we hold regular quarterly meetings in Houston / Yoakum, Beaumont and San Antonio. Our next Partner in Quality Meeting will be in San Antonio on December 2nd, 2008. On January 21, 2009, Mario Jorge, District Engineer with the Pharr District is hosting our first Partner in Quality meeting for 2009. It will be held at the MCM Elegante Hotel in McAllen. If you would like to see one of these advantageous Partners in Quality meetings in your area, please call Kyle Swaner at 512-312-2099.

2009 BASIC PAVING AND COMPACTION SEMINARS

The Paving and Compaction Seminars for 2009 have been set. These seminars are for everyone and are free of charge. A flyer with all the information and locations will be mailed to you in November. Please find a location closest to you and register for one of these informative seminars.

Here are the dates and cities:

1-26-2009El Paso, Texas

1-28-2009Lufkin, Texas

1-29-2009Humble, Texas

2-24-2009Longview, Texas

2-25-2009San Antonio, Texas

2-26-2009Buda, Texas

3-24-2009Longview, Texas

3-25-2009Waco, Texas

3-26-2009Grand Prairie, Texas

4-13-2009Amarillo, Texas

4-15-2009Odessa, Texas

4-16-2009Abilene, Texas

We encourage everyone to attend one of these meetings. City, County and Engineering officials are also invited to attend. Please return your Registration Form as soon as possibleand call Kyle Swaner at 512-312-2099 if you have any questions.

HMAC QUALITY CONTROL TECHNICIAN AWARDS PROGRAM

The Hot Mix Asphalt Center and the Texas Department of Transportation are initiating a program to recognize Quality Control/Quality Assurance Technicians for their efforts to achieve excellence in the performance of their assigned duties.

This will be an annual program to award achievement in Hot Mix Materials Design and Testing by HMAC Certified technicians. QC/QA technicians are an invaluable part of our industry. Good quality begins with the technician and good technicians need to be recognized. This program will honor those who strive to be better than the rest and to those who dedicate their career to helping the industry be the best it can be.

One technician will be chosen from each level of certification, (1A, 1B and Level II). To be considered for selection, a candidate must be nominated by an Industry partner. As an example: A TxDOT certified technician must be nominated by either a Contractor or Consultant partner, A Contractor technician must be nominated by either a TxDOT or Consultant partner. A Consultant must be nominated by a Contractor or TxDOT partner. This process will be referred to as Cross Nomination.

The Nominators can be Owners, Supervisors and peer Technicians. The program is designed where the nominator will take ownership of the nominating and evaluation process. Once someone decides to nominate a technician, that person will call HMAC and request the nomination form. HMAC will then send the nomination form and four evaluation forms to the person who is nominating a technician.

IT IS UP TO the nominator to choose three additional people who knows and will fairly evaluate the nominee, in addition to the nominator. These can be anyone who has personal knowledge of the nominee.

HMAC will then send four evaluation forms to the nominator. These evaluations shall be completed independently and evaluators are prohibited from sharing ideas and thoughts about the nominee to the other evaluators. In the majority of cases, the nominator and evaluators will have personal knowledge and working experience with the nominee. Please rely on this personal knowledge. The nominee will be evaluated in an array of different subjects on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest. The evaluation forms have descriptions and definitions of the different subjects.

This is not a Hot Mix Center, TxAPA or TxDOT selection process. This is a program for the industry, by the industry. We want YOU to tell us who receives this award.

Nominations will be accepted beginning annually from January 1 thru March 31. The evaluation process will be from April 1 thru June 30 of each year. A committee comprised of TxDOT, HMAC, Industry and Consultant partners will review these forms, calculate the scores and name the winner in each category.

The awards presentation will take place at the annual Texas Asphalt Pavement Association meeting in September of each year. Winners will be recognized and awarded a plaque and a HMAC awards shirt. In addition, the winners will be acknowledged at the Partners in Quality Seminars held around the state during the year.

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We are very excited about implementing this long needed program. With your cooperation and involvement, we expect a very successful HMAC Quality Control Technician Awards Program.

Kyle Swaner

Director of Technical Programs

December 2008 HIGHWAY LETTING - SCHEDULED PROJECTS

# / COUNTY / HWY /

DESCRIPTION

/ TONNAGE
1 / ECTOR / IH 20 / Facility Upgrades to meet freeway standards / 42,395
2 / FORT BEND / SH 99 / Construct 2 Lane Southbound Frontage Roads / 2197
3 / FREESTONE / VA / Structures and Base / 68
4 / HARRIS / SH 288 / TSM IMPROVMT / 7656
5 / HUDSPETH / SP 148 / Mill & Overlay / 56,446
6 / JASPER / US 96 / Misc, Bridge Rail, MBGF & RIPRAP / 1767
7 / TARANT / IH 20 / GR, DR, Base & Pavement / 3017
TOTAL / 113,546.