It’s a Wrap: Regional Asphalt Seminars Complete
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As fast as they started, they were over. In 12 days, three seminars were held across the state. From Roanoke to Fredericksburg, and from Fredericksburg to the newest location, Williamsburg, more than 500 people attended. This year’s audience was very well represented by contractors, VDOT personnel and consultants.
This was the 9th year of the asphalt seminar series. While some of the topics have been consistent over time – the 
information has changed. Following the format from recent seminars, safety took center stage as the first presentation. Trenton Clark (VAA), covered topics discussed at the VAA Safety Forum in December, the status of the OSHA Silica Regulation and concluded his talk with the recently released NAPA video on distracted driving (watch4.us). Following the safety presentation, Ken Arthur – Boxley, Todd Rorrer (VDOT) and Bryan Smith (VDOT), discussed lessons learned from the 2017 paving season. To conclude the morning, VDOT employees made four presentations on 2017 Payment Incentives (Rob Crandol), MITS/Plaid (Angela Beyke), Specialty Mixes (Sungho Kim) and Specification Changes. Unlike past years where numerous asphalt related specification changes were being outlined and detailed, Rob Crandol took less than 20 minutes to cover a few key changes to Section 210, 211, 313, 315 and 317. During the morning session, attendees took advantage of the texting option to pose various questions to presenters.
information has changed. Following the format from recent seminars, safety took center stage as the first presentation. Trenton Clark (VAA), covered topics discussed at the VAA Safety Forum in December, the status of the OSHA Silica Regulation and concluded his talk with the recently released NAPA video on distracted driving (watch4.us). Following the safety presentation, Ken Arthur – Boxley, Todd Rorrer (VDOT) and Bryan Smith (VDOT), discussed lessons learned from the 2017 paving season. To conclude the morning, VDOT employees made four presentations on 2017 Payment Incentives (Rob Crandol), MITS/Plaid (Angela Beyke), Specialty Mixes (Sungho Kim) and Specification Changes. Unlike past years where numerous asphalt related specification changes were being outlined and detailed, Rob Crandol took less than 20 minutes to cover a few key changes to Section 210, 211, 313, 315 and 317. During the morning session, attendees took advantage of the texting option to pose various questions to presenters.
The afternoon theme was Innovation and Research. Five presentations were given on topics ranging from mix design to e-tickets. Dave Bradeson (Chemung Contracting), discussed his experience with using e-ticketing on a 2017 plant mix schedule and their plans to use it on other VDOT contracts. Mike Dudley (VAA), made a brief presentation on the results of the contractor lab Round Robin Phase I and the plans to investigate sampling procedures on variability in Phase II. Carter Iseman (VAA), and Danny Poole (Superior Paving Corp), outlined the status of VECAT and how VECAT resources can be used to train employees. Additionally, Carter gave away VECAT Ball Caps to people who could answer a few trivia questions. Finally, Ben Bowers and Kevin McGhee (VTRC), discussed current research efforts. Ben discussed results of lab performance testing on current mix designs and plans for a High-RAP study in 2018. Kevin presented on a new electronic data collection system in 2018 for use in collecting density data. Like the morning session, the afternoon ended with a panel question and answer session.At the conclusion of the seminars, attendees were asked to complete a survey. The survey polled attendees about their favorite presentation and suggestions for 2019. The top three presentations for 2018 were – 2017 Lessons Learned, E-Ticketing and Safety. Suggested topics for next year ranged from more construction techniques to innovations. Be on the watch for the 2019 seminars, dates and locations will be announced later this year. To get a copy of the presentations, visit the VAA website or the VDOT Website on the Materials Division page under Documents and Downloads.
