While traveling in the Better Roads Bus out west, I came across a breakthrough in pavement preservation especially targeted for residential roadways.  This same product however can be used as a wearing surface for hot-in place recycling and cold-in place recycling, and I let the owners of the Holbrook Asphalt firm know that this may also be an area that they want to invest in doing some additional R& D. Just goes to show you once again, perception…  Had I not driven 84,000 miles across this great country, I may have never discovered some of these products and services.  Again, this is something new to me, but these folks in Utah, Arizona and Nevada have been using High Density Mineral Bond for over a decade. If you haven’t heard of this product yet, I am almost certain you will as demand for this type of preservation treatment is growing nationwide.  Again, classified officially as a High Density Mineral Bond with a specification produced by the American Public Works Association.  It’s more commonly known as HA5® as that is the name of the only product at this time currently meeting the High Density Mineral Bond specification.  People ask me all the time, Blair why is this here HA5® such a game changer in the world of pavement preservation?  Well I may very well be one of the biggest skeptics out there, and after seeing what I saw, and talking to the folks that have been using this treatment in the states that we visited, I can tell you why! In fact, I can let you watch the same thing I saw during my time teaching at the Utah Road School and going out on the field trip with all the folks there.  (Who doesn’t love a good field trip!?) Check out the YouTube video right here http://youtu.be/RJOrVVZ4Dcs and/or the photo below:

Premium Seal Coat Left/HA5® Right – Both In Service 4 Years After 30 years in construction it takes me a lot to get excited, you sure can see in the graphic above, it is easy to identify the difference in longevity and performance of the two treatments.  And by the way, this type of proof of performance is what I subscribe to most.  That is… in field… real world performance evaluation rather than laboratory test results.   One of my main mentors, Dr. John Emery used to always say to me, there are three ways to do a job Blair, “you have got the classroom, you know the books, then you have the laboratory results of how things should go, and then most importantly, you have what actually goes on out there in the field!”This is an untouched picture of a high-end subdivision road with HA5® installed compared to a premium asphalt emulsion sealer.  Both treatments were installed within one week of each other around 4 years back.  Initially, the differences were minimally discernable.  However, after four short years, the HA5® is still effectively preserving the pavement and will for many years to come while the non-HA5®treated section is exposed to the environment and is experiencing oxidative damage once again. The overarching benefit of the preservation treatment however is the HA5®’s ability to reduce the aging characteristics of the asphalt pavement.  In fact recently, an independent engineering firm reported 9x less cracking in the HA5® treated section compared to the section receiving what has been considered premium asphalt seal coat. The bottom line here is that the residents of this, and every other subdivision in America and the world, embrace the deep black color as there desire aesthetics
above all desires with their roadways.  Public agencies benefit from lowering their cost of pavement ownership by preserving the good roads and keeping them out of the critical zone of no return. Effectively extending the life of our asphalt roadways and reducing the need for major rehabilitation or reconstruction impose fewer costs imposed on taxpayers.  To view additional videos of the entire tool box of treatments such as this High Density Mineral Bond treatment be sure to register your book at http://www.thebookonbetterroads.com/register.

Call if you have questions at 404-323-5974 or email
blair@ipmaacademy.com
Our warmest thanks to all of those loyal clients who have attended our workshops, purchased our books, DVDs, audio CDs, listened to our podcast, watched our training videos, gone through the  IPMA Academy Accredited Pavement Manager Certification Program, and most importantly hired our firm to help them save millions!
Sincerely,

Blair Barnhardt, APM
The International Pavement Management Association

Author of the Amazon #1 Best Seller,
‘The Book on Better Roads’

GO FOR IT! #infrastructure