Our Colleagues at Asphalt Industry of Kentucky (PAIKY) have produced an excellent five-part video series describing the basics of asphalt. This series provides brief explanations of various aspects of asphalt production and placement.
This 5th video looks at the technology and testing that lies behind the scenes when producing a quality road surface. Ensuring that the asphalt mix continually meets specifications really is an exact science!

We know that it's early in the year to be talking about the Fall Conference & Asphalt Expo, but we are so excited about this year's event! The 2017 Fall Conference and Asphalt Expo will build upon the success of last year. The 2017 Keynote speaker will be Mr. Harold Mullen – Executive Vice President for the Texas Asphalt Pavement Association (TxAPA). Mr. Mullen will address "Quality through Partnership" and highlight the partnerships between the asphalt industry in Texas and the Texas DOT in their quest for quality.

April is VAA Membership Directory month! We are currently in the process of updating the 2017/2018 directory in preparation for printing. The directory is distributed to all VAA Members and VDOT Districts. Make sure your company listing is shown exactly the way you prefer. Advertising space is still available, but time is running out! Contact Charlotte Burden at cburden@vaasphalt.com to make changes to your listing and to place advertising.

Citizen Boards The Air Pollution Control Board met on March 16, and adopted the final regulation amendments related to particulate matter (PM2.5) Implementation (9 VAC 5-30,80 and 160). The Board also approved for public comment proposed fee increases to the Title V permitting program. The Board will meet next on June 22. The State Water Control Board was scheduled to meet on March 30. Due to the illness of a Board member, the Board did not have a quorum and the meeting was postponed. The Board plans to hold the meeting at a later date, but no date has been set yet.

Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Commissioner Charles Kilpatrick, P.E., announced that Bart A. Thrasher, P.E., will be the agency’s new Richmond District Engineer. "I’m pleased to announce that Bart A. Thrasher, P.E., will be leading VDOT’s Richmond District," said Kilpatrick. "He brings extensive skills in pioneering solutions to address transportation challenges across the Commonwealth."

On April 13, the VDOT/VAA Statewide Asphalt Co-Op met in Charlottesville to discuss several, wide-ranging asphalt-related topics. These items ranged from timely submission of lab results and production flags to round robin testing and proposed ride specification changes. VDOT’s Construction, Traffic Engineering, Research (VTRC), and Materials Divisions provided updates. Specification changes related to 2018 maintenance paving contracts will be finalized soon after the July Co-Op meeting. Currently, very few changes are anticipated, but those expected are related to operations, contractual language and traffic engineering items. Changes to the SM-4.75 and SM-9.0 will be considered as part of a sub-division mix initiative.

The VAA provided a summary on the VECAT program since all classroom sessions had been completed. VAA also expressed a desire to collect and report field data such as density testing results electronically. Finally, VAA gave an overview of the plans for the 2017 and 2018 Fall Conferences. Many issues addressed by the Co-Op are being effectively resolved through the use of small sub-committees chaired by VDOT and VAA members.

July 16-19, 2017

Chicago, IL

Regional Golf Tournaments