from On the Move, Fall (September) Quarter 1998, Volume 11, Number 3
Go back to "The Utah Technology Transfer Center On the Move Fall 1998 Newsletter"
Excellent cooperation and pooling of resources among the Uintah County Road Department, the
Uintah County Special Services District and the Community Impact Board provided the funding
resources for improvements to 50 miles of roadway in Uintah County. Mother Nature's provision
of native asphalt and the excellent asphalt plant facilities of Ned B. Mitchell, Inc. contributed
significantly to this accomplishment as well.
The commendable initiative of Mr. Lonnie Hogan, Uintah County Road Superintendent, and Ms.
Kathleen Erickson, Uintah County Special Services District, marshalled these resources under the
proactive direction and guidance of the Uintah County Commissioners and Uintah County Special
Services Board. Mr. Hogan leveraged LIB funds to acquire the necessary equipment and
provided the labor and equipment operators to perform the work.
Equipment included a Caterpillar 350 road reclaimer, a Caterpiller 1050 paver and a 12 ton
vibrating steel wheel roller. Technical assistance and on-the-job training was provided to the new
paving crew by the Utah T² Center and Mr. Wade Betenson, Pavement and Materials Engineer
for UDOT.
The Caterpillar road reclaimer allowed Mr. Hogan to rehabilitate and strengthen the existing road
base of 150 miles of roadway prior to paving. This is expected to pay major dividends over the
service life of the Uintah County road system.
Native asphalt was mined from Uintah County's pit and combined with crushed gravel at a 70-30
ratio (70% crushed gravel to 30% native asphalt) to improve the gradation of the native asphalt
mix. The resulting mixture was processed through a drum mix plant with 1% by weight of AC-20
added to stiffen the mix and improve its initial stability.
Several proportioning and mix refinements were made to optimize the quality of the mix during
production. Testing conduced on the mix by UDOT headquarters materials lab registered
Marshall stabilities approaching the level of conventional hot mix asphalt (i.e. plus or minus 2000
lbs).
The asphalt mix was delivered in belly-dump trucks to the various paving sites. A Barber-Green
pickup machine was used to place the mix in the paver for laydown. The extendable screed paver
allowed placement at varying roadway widths. Paving widths varied from 10 feet to 15 feet with
finished mat thickness averaging 3 inches.
Production rates throughout the season averaged approximately 1100 tons/day. Direct materials
costs including processing and the addition of 10% AC-20 average $9.00 per ton. Overall paving
costs averaged $19,000 per mile for a 3 inch asphalt pavement 24 feet wide.
The collective efforts of Uintah County's County Commissioners, the Special Services District and Community Impact Board are an excellent example of local agencies partnering and pooling their resources to provide service to the public. Each person involved in this endeavor is to be commended. (See related article, Hats Off.)