Brown Bag Lunches

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TxAPA Brown Bag Lunches are a new tool that Marketing Committee Chairman Derek Angel suggested we add to our Educational Outreach efforts in 2011; therefore, I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you a little about this new tool in our arsenal.

Brown Bag Lunches are educational opportunities for TxAPA Membership to be able to reach new audiences, such as cities, counties, regional mobility authorities, consultant engineers, etc. through the use of TxAPA staff. If you have a specific need with an entity or can identify an organization that we should visit, please contact us so we can make the necessary arrangements. Or if you want to arrange a Brown Bag Lunch for TxAPA staff, please contact us. During these luncheon meetings, TxAPA staff will make a 30-45 minute presentation on the benefits of our industry. We will then open the floor for a question and answer session with the attendees.

I currently have a presentation developed that can be used for these lunches titled "The Complete Package" in which I explain the benefits of Special Provision 341-024 (soon to be replaced by Special Specification 3224). In the presentation, I explain that through the use of binder substitution, reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), reclaimed asphalt shingles (RAS), and warm mix asphalt (WMA) that owners, engineers and contractors can obtain economic, engineering and environmental benefits. The use of these tools has some obvious and some not so obvious economic benefits. Obvious economic benefits include the reduction in virgin material required in these mixes. Not so obvious economic benefits included fuel savings at the hot mix plant, as well as on the project site.

"The Complete Package" also explains that engineering benefits can be gained through the use of this new Special Specification. It will be demonstrated that the use of WMA can be a compaction aid that can help the owner gain a finished product that has proper densification. Producing asphalt mixes at lower temperatures can also lead to less initial oxidation of the mix, which can lead directly to extended life of the pavement. Lower production temperatures also lead to less asphalt absorption by the aggregate, which leaves more asphalt available in the mix, which will lead to better performance of the mix.

Environmental benefits such as the reduction in the use of virgin materials through the use of RAP and RAS, and a reduction in fuel consumption at the asphalt plant and on the roadway through the use of WMA will be demonstrated in "The Complete Package." TxAPA will also show that the use of RAP, RAS and WMA individually or in a variety of combinations can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 23.6 percent over hot mix asphalt produced without any of these tools.

I also explain that the above tools will be available to TxDOT and their contractors in the other various asphalt specifications in the fall of 2011. The TxAPA presentation will show how all owners, contractors and engineers can benefit through the use of tools such as binder substitution, RAP, RAS and WMA, which will be contained in the new Special Specifications.

Please note that while the above example uses Special Provision 341-024 and Special Specification 3224 as its basis, we can create presentations that fit a particular need you may have or a particular topic you want discussed. The presentations can cover a variety of topics. As an example, if we wanted to give a presentation just on the environmental benefits of our industry we would include a discussion on tire rubber modified asphalt cement.

So as you conduct your weekly business, please be on the lookout for Brown Bag Lunch candidates. If you know of one or if you come across one, give me a call so we can make the necessary arrangements to meet with the audience that you have identified.

Thanks in advance for helping to get out the message on the benefits of our Industry. (dkopp@txhotmix.org or (512) 312-2099)