Newsletter

The Asphalt Pavement Association of California’s Central Valley Technical Committee Meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 17^th beginning at 9:30 am. This months meeting will be held at the offices of Vulcan Materials Company in Bakersfield, CA. Their office is located at 8517 Panama Lane, Bakersfield, CA. This month, APACA Technical Director, Rita Leahy, will be discussing smoothness, its affect on pavement condition, its use in pavement management, state of the art equipment for measurement, etc. This is an educational opportunity to improve your understanding of this important pavement quality – bring your questions!! These are Joint Agency / Industry discussions - Agency representatives are encouraged to participate in these meetings to share their views and concerns with Association members.

For additional information on the meeting, please contact Committee Co-Chairs John Redfeairn @ (661) 862-5198, Mike Goddard @ (661) 858-7701 or Rita Leahy (APACA) @ (916) 239-8315. (Return to Top)

High Desert Technical Committee Meeting

This months APA of California's High Desert Technical Committee meeting will be held on Thursday, June 18^th beginning at 9:30 am at the offices of the City of Victorville. This months meeting will include a special presentation on Microsurfacing, Slurry Seals and Chip Seals by Iain Jack, the Technical Director for Western Emulsions. The meeting will be held in Conference Room C at the City of Victorville at 14343 Civic Drive, Victorville.

For additional information on the meeting, please contact Committee Co-Chair’s Domingo Gonzales @ (760) 255-5156 or Tim Saenz @ (626) 856-6190 or the Association office at (949) 855-6489. (Return to Top)

Warm-Mix Asphalt and Recycling Symposium

Last week the National Asphalt Pavement Association held a Symposium on Recycling and Warm Mix Asphalt in Sacramento. The symposium attracted attendees from 38 states (including the District of Columbia), Canada, France, Guam, Guatemala, Mexico, the West Indies and a large audience on the internet via web conference. During this 2 ½ day symposium presentations were made by a wide variety of individuals including the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), several State DOT representatives and a variety of contractors.

The session was opened by Caltrans Director Will Kempton who welcomed everyone to the event and made some comments about what is going on in California and the importance to both agencies and industry of pursuing these new technologies from environmental, technical and cost effective perspectives. The opening day was moderated by APA of California Technical Director, Rita Leahy, who also assisted NAPA in the organization and coordination of the symposium. APACA member Bill Thorpe (Paramount Petroleum) discussed the asphalt binder supply situation and Charlie Rea (CalCIMA) discussed the aggregate supply situation in California. APACA Member Steve Escobar (Asphalt Pavement & Recycling Technologies Inc.) participated in a panel discussion on Agencies Perspectives on RAP along with Terrie Bressette (Caltrans), Tom Baker (Washington DOT) and Elizabeth Hunt (Oregon DOT). After this session, it was clear that California is certainly behind on their approach to the acceptance of higher percentage RAP mixes and the use of asphalt shingles

The second day was devoted entirely to the topic of recycling, both asphalt pavements and shingles. APACA member Hans Ho (Telfer Oil Company) contributed to the cast of presenters with a presentation covering the proper and effective use of polymers.

The final day was devoted to Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) and covered the advantages of using this new technology from an environmental, energy and practical perspective. Caltrans’ Cathrina Barros and APACA member Brandon Milar (Telfer Oil Company) participated in a panel that discussed state DOT experiences with WMA. David Jones (University of California Berkeley) reported on the Caltrans test of WMA using the Heavy Vehicle Simulator that is currently underway.

After 2 ½ days listening to and discussing recycling and WMA, much valuable information was presented and everyone learned something. There is much to be done in California and we will continue to encourage these new technologies and procedures. We will encourage our agency counterparts to learn from other agencies across the country so that we can accelerate the implementation of these technologies while maintaining or improving the quality of our pavements. If you have an interest in getting more involved in any of these efforts, please contact the Association office. (Return to Top)

California Struggles to Balance Budget

The Governor’s revision of the proposed budget which was submitted last month contained a diversion of money from Proposition 1A (2004). Proposition 1A (2004) was intended to protect revenues collected by local governments (cities, counties, and special districts) from being transferred to the California state government for statewide use. The Governor’s proposal to borrow $1.9 billion from city and county governments has been the cause of some significant concern from local municipalities and would significantly impact their local programs. Last Friday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger backed away from his plan to raid local governments for $1.9 billion to help balance the state's books. Members of the Legislature's bipartisan budget committee Friday criticized the idea of borrowing from local governments, saying it would exacerbate the state's long-term financial problems. The $1.9 billion would have to be repaid with interest within three years. Schwarzenegger said his finance department was already looking for ways to replace any borrowing from municipalities. Schwarzenegger finance director Mike Genest said the administration had "scraped the bottom of the barrel" to find acceptable spending cuts. That could make identifying new cuts, and selling them to the Democrat-dominated Legislature, particularly difficult. (Return to Top)

Day at the Races

This years Summer Event will be held Saturday, July 25^th at the Del Mar Race Track in San Diego where the “Surf meets the Turf”. The Native Diver skybox has again been reserved for this year’s event. Come and enjoy this private box, a special chef prepared buffet and private betting windows. The track opens at 12:00 noon with the first post at 2:00 pm. Reservations are available for $90 per person. If you are interested in this year’s event please watch for the official announcement in the mail, or you can call the Association office @ 949-855-6489 for more information. Please Note - Reservations are Required! (Return to Top)