Road pavement preservation should always be top of mind to help extend the life of asphalt roads and make the best use of limited budgets.

Pavement Technology, Inc. has been caring for roadways for more than 50 years. We leverage the best solutions and offer exceptional products to take care of roads. Rejuvenating asphalt is the cornerstone competency on which our company was built. 

For example, we offer Reclamite^® asphalt rejuvenator, the original Maltene Replacement Technology (MRT) for restoring and preserving the durability of asphalt. Based on the innovative research of Witco Corporation’s Fritz Rostler, Reclamite rejuvenator restores the reactive maltene components that asphalt pavements lose due to the high-temperature manufacturing process and subsequent field aging, penetrating the surface deeply to protect against air and water intrusion. 

Learn more about Reclamite rejuvenator and why it’s an outstanding option for government agencies and private communities that are responsible for achieving the highest life-cycle return on their road preservation investments. 

When you focus on pavement preservation, you are being proactive in maintaining your pavement. New construction will eventually be necessary. But properly treating roads can help you keep them in service and last as long as possible. 

Preservation is essential because roads will deteriorate the more they’re exposed to traffic (both volume and weight) and UV-related oxidation. In short, pavement preservation slows down the deterioration process. Why not keep your roads as safe as possible for as long as possible? 

We work closely with road departments daily to ensure that preservation projects match their long-term strategic goals. The projects are always well planned for each community, including timely resident notifications. Experienced crews combined with the proper treatments ensure success.  

Maximize your road maintenance budget by extending the service life of your roads. We would be happy to partner with you to address your road needs in a timely manner. Contact us today or call 1-800-333-6309. 

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Bringing Maltene Replacement Technology (MRT) to the public works sector is the cornerstone competency on which our company is built. We also introduced America’s first titanium-dioxide-enriched asphalt rejuvenation product to assist public works professionals and contractors concerned about reducing emisison-related pollutants, mitigating Urban Heat Island effect, accelerating surface water dispersion, reducing vehicle-generated microplastics, and extending roadway life.

Using Reclamite® asphalt rejuvenator, the original MRT, restores and preserves asphalt durability. Through the innovative research conducted by Witco Corporation’s Fritz  Rostler, Reclamite rejuvenator enables asphalt pavements to recover the reactive maltene components lost due to the high temperatures used in asphalt product and subsequent field aging related to oxidation and weathering. Reclamite rejuvenator penetrates the surface and guards against air and water intrusions while also regenerating the asphalt surface. 

We have been perfecting the application of this technology in real-world conditions since 1972, contributing significantly to the commercialization of this asphalt rejuvenator.  

Our PlusTi^TM A.R.A.-1 Ti^® asphalt rejuvenator / sealer gives road departments the added benefits of Photo Catalytic Technology (PCT).  
 
As America’s first TiO₂ photocatalytic rejuvenator/sealer for asphalt roadways, PlusTi^TM A.R.A.-1 Ti^® combines Maltene Replacement Technology (MRT) to revitalize and seal aging asphalt with Photo Catalytic Technology (PCT) that removes nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOC), and other airborne vehicular exhaust pollutants. 
 
The solar-reflective top surface reduces heat absorption and related radiative forcing (RF) by materially reducing the convective re-release of UV radiation that would otherwise contribute to the heat island effect common in our urban centers. The chemistry also slows down pavement oxidation, thereby further extending the service life of treated surfaces. 

Pavement preservation is an important part of any infrastructure maintenance strategy. It involves a range of solutions that are designed to extend the life of pavement and protect it from damage. 

Contact us today so we can discuss your needs. Or call 1-800-333-6309. 

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Agencies routinely turn to PTI to meet all their pavement preservation needs and maximize their budgets. We offer long-term, environmentally responsible technologies to rejuvenate roadways, stabilize joints, restore asphalt seals, suppress dust and restore recycled asphalt, including solutions that reduce pollution related to vehicle emissions. 

All of those services require the precision and know-how developed through years of practical experience. Our company knows these treatments are critical tools in the asphalt road maintenance toolbox. These tools will extend the time before total pavement replacements.

Asphalt preservation methods can help to extend the life of asphalt pavement by slowing down its natural deterioration due to weathering and aging.  

If you want to stretch your maintenance budgets over more years, you need to make sure asphalt rejuvenation is always top of mind. We’re ready to help you ensure that your roadways last much longer. Contact us today so we can address your specific needs.

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Instead of the standard format for a Frequently Asked Questions article, we’re going to flip it. Here are the top questions you should be asking about the Asphalt Surface Treatment you’re considering using.

Question 1: Is this stuff safe?

We’ve all heard the “safety first” mantra repeated ad nauseum and many companies do personify it. The number one question we should always ask before specifying or allowing the application of a material is: “does this material carry any human health or environmental hazards associated with it’s use?” The Safety Data Sheet (SDS) should be produced before any contractor is allowed to apply material to any pavement. What is in Safety Data Sheets? According to OSHA, “the SDS includes information such as the properties of each chemical; the physical, health, and environmental health hazards; protective measures; and safety precautions for handling, storing, and transporting the chemical.” It should ideally look like this, with very little in the way of hazards to people, pets, or the environment.  

What we don’t want to see present in the material on an SDS are specific health risks such as cancer, the presence of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), highly flammable or unstable chemicals, or highly regulated chemicals. On a “clean” SDS, you’ll see mostly “Not Classified,” “Not Regulate,” and perhaps an occasional “Not Available.” 

Question 2: What is the long-term performance of the product?

When you ask the contractor or supplier this question, the ideal response would be to send you to some independently researched reports and laboratory results, before and after pictures, case studies, or even some good old-fashioned testimonials from other public works agencies, DOTs or property managers who have had success with the material.  

The further back such third-party data goes, the better. When I say “third party,” that means it’s not just the company’s own marketing materials. Good “third-party” or independent data comes from public agencies, universities, accredited labs or testing firms, or even industry trade associations. The data in them may have been provided by the contractor or supplier, but the data cannot have been generated by the organization that is making the material. 

Question 3: What does it do and how does it work?

Lastly the idea with this two-part question is to better understand whether the asphalt surface treatment being evaluated is the right tool to address the dominant distress or mode of failure on the pavement to be treated. Is this tool being applied at the right time and will it successfully preserve the pavement?  

There are lots of great pavement preservation tools available, but what separates a good asphalt treatment from a bad one (assuming questions one and two were answered satisfactorily) is the selection of the right tool at the right time in the lifecycle of the pavement. If the aim is to rejuvenate the asphalt while it’s in good condition, the key element is that the rejuvenator should be penetrating the pavement, restoring to it the maltene fractions of the asphalt that are oxidized over time.  

Understanding how a material works, and what its short-term and long-term performance outcomes will be, is critical to making a sound decision. A short-term improvement in aesthetics is of little use if a material’s long-term outcome is detrimental to the pavement.  

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The taxpayers who ultimately pay for good and bad roads alike trust us to be good stewards of their hard- earned dollars. What we know to be true is that while good roads cost money, bad roads cost more. Therefore, keeping our roads in good condition rather than waiting until failure is critical to providing the public a safe and efficient transportation system.

To further dispel common pavement preservation myths is a public service I’m happy to perform! As Executive Coordinator of the Florida Pavement Preservation Council, it is my duty to help educate public works professionals around the United States. So here goes.  

Myth One 

Only agencies with good pavements should be using pavement preservation treatments. 

This is one of the longest running myths out there. It’s actually true when the sentence is rearranged like this: “Only agencies that use pavement preservation will have good pavements.” Unless you happen to be blessed with unlimited funds, the sure-fire path to a good road network is utilizing pavement preservation. Just like any other asset we value and thus preserve, roads need preventive care to ensure small signs of wear and distress are caught before they become more serious.

For example, in preventive medicine the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” No wonder today’s healthcare system focuses as much on preserving wellness as it does on treating disease. So should we! 

Waiting for small distresses to beget large failures by turning a blind eye rather than proactively addressing these issues is the very definition of dereliction of duty. If we task our public works staff with the job of maintaining our infrastructure, we must enable them to do their jobs by providing the necessary resources and support while holding them accountable for the results.

So, unless your agency has a blank check and no one to answer to – it’s past time to ditch this myth and accept responsibility for keeping our roadways healthy. 

Myth Two 

We can’t afford to do pavement preservation right now. 

When money gets tight, as it often does, this popular myth will crop up. The truth is, you actually can’t afford not to! That’s because utilizing “the right treatment on the right road at the right time” is the only economical way to navigate challenging budgetary constraints. 

It’s often said that for every dollar spent at the top of the deterioration curve we save between six and ten dollars over the life of a roadway. Actual savings can be even more pronounced than that!

Using top-of-the-curve treatments helps stretch precious dollars in tight times. It’s the agencies who understand the value of well-timed preservation whose road networks outperform those of the “worst-firsters.” 

Imagine the folly of buying a new fleet of vehicles only to immediately cut all preventive maintenance such as oil changes and tire rotations out of the annual budget. Allowing the entire fleet to deteriorate to failure in order to purchase all new equipment would result in the swift termination of any decision makers and elected officials who decided to put this ill-conceived myth into policy. 

Myth Three 

Our agency’s policy is “fix the worst roads first.” Always was, always will be. 

Why is it so many agencies have adopted this dictum?

“Worst-firsters” believe, despite ample evidence to the contrary, that it actually makes sense to fix their worst roads first. They are wrong.

Adopting this philosophy is the road to ruin, and is one of the most insidious myths in all of public works. Nowhere is more failure wrought effortlessly than actively deferring all preventive maintenance until the condition of the pavement is so bad there is literally no other option than to reconstruct the entire road.  

For our industry, taking this approach is akin to being called a “flat earth’er.”  

The internet is packed with great data that promotes optimized road preservation strategies. Every one of them incorporates preservation as part of the equation.  

That doesn’t imply that traditional paving should be eliminated in favor of preservation. Many successful agencies allocate 50 to 70 percent of their budget to reconstruction and resurfacing, while routinely yielding two to three times the number of lane miles treated for preservation purposes, thereby reversing decades-long PCI (Pavement Condition Index) reductions.

Myth Four 

New roads don’t benefit from pavement preservation. 

A road as new as one year old couldn’t possibly need any preservation, right? That myth is also about to be busted!

The truth is that assuming any road is only one year old is itself a myth. That’s because almost all asphalt mix sold today contains 25 percent RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement) or even more. This recycled asphalt is comprised of binder that is decades old and extremely oxidized. It’s lost most of its elastic properties before it even arrives at the job site.

Studies have shown that the day new asphalt road is paved, its effective age is already two years old. This is why strategies at the top of the curve work so well. Using a maltene-based rejuvenator will extend the life of asphalt pavement by as much as five years for each treatment.

Elsewhere on this website, you can find documents and videos that verify the value of asphalt rejuvenation. For five decades, PTI has captured stunning examples of treated vs. untreated road segments, demonstrating that one treatment can result in as much as a 20- point difference in PCIs!  Such examples and numerous industry and academic studies bolster the wisdom of applying Maltene Replacement Technology (MRT) to roads that are from one to three years old.

Myth Five 

Pavement preservation is a relatively new and untested roadway network strategy. 

This myth helps explain why some public works professionals are hesitant to incorporate pavement preservation strategies into their programs. However, a deeper dive into the history of these treatments reveal how badly busted this myth is!

Here are the actual invention dates of a handful of proven preservation treatments:  

As you can see, every one of these major preservation treatments has been around nearly half a century or much longer. Any reluctance to include them in your arsenal of pavement preservation techniques is based not on experience or scientific data but on myth.

Conclusion 

Myths such as those summarized in this article are damaging to the public works profession and in many cases have institutionalized poor decision making that is deleterious to our nation’s infrastructure. It is past time to shatter these and other pavement preservation myths.

History is firmly on the side of pavement preservation. If we refuse to adapt to today’s realities by embracing sound engineering principles in favor of myth-based habits, we will be doing a grave injustice to our communities’ most valuable fixed asset. 

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Our roadway network serves as the circulatory system for our society and the lifeblood of our economy.  During the Great Recession, many local agencies were forced to defer infrastructure related spending.  Asphalt paving in many states dropped by over 40 percent between 2006 and 2012.  This understandable but unfortunate choice led to substantial deterioration in our roadway systems, leading to the increased costs associated with inevitable system rehabilitation.

The sad truth is that the longer we wait to act, the more road rehabilitation costs us. Fortunately, as spending began to increase over the last few years, so has the number of roads that are in good enough condition to preserve through proactive preventive maintenance.

By preserving pavements while in they are still in relatively good condition, we can lower the life-cycle cost of a mile of roadway significantly. The adage is “good roads cost money, bad roads cost more.”

Today, as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens a return to budget shortfalls, pavement preservation is becoming even more important. By focusing more attention to preserving roads that were resurfaced over the last few years can extend the life of the pavement and dramatically improve pavement condition, as seen in the chart below. If we invest money now to preserve our capital investment in pavement over the last few years, we’ll be better positioned to weather any short-term reductions in infrastructure funding.

Unfortunately, the public’s perception is quite the opposite.  Citizens complain about roads that have lower PCIs (the condition rating for pavements) and wonder why their Public Works Department is doing something to their “perfectly good” roads instead of “fixing” their problem roads.  Community members inevitably influence public policy – which is why we see the “worst first” strategy employed so frequently. 

The Cost-Saving Value of PM

The value of preventive maintenance is considered to be settled science in most other facets of life.  Using some creative examples will help put preservation in perspective.  For instance, every lane mile of resurfacing costs roughly the equivalent of a 2021 Corvette Stingray.  At a cost of over $60,000, imagine the logic behind not changing the oil in your brand-new Corvette until the paint starts to fade and peel. Yet that is how we treat our roads, even though oxidation begins to cause damage to the asphalt on day one, which is invisible to the naked eye.

With any asset, the life-cycle cost is lowest when that asset is properly maintained.  Consequently, when it comes to our roadways, by spending money at the “Top of the Curve” we are able to touch more miles more frequently thereby lowering the total cost of ownership. 

A maltene-based asphalt rejuvenator that puts back the light oils that allow the binder in asphalt pavement to remain pliable and resist fatigue can rejuvenate pavements while they are still in a good state of repair.  For the cost of a single mile of asphalt pavement, your agency can treat eight miles of existing asphalt roadways adding approximately five years to their service life. That is the equivalent of getting a 20 percent discount on every ton of asphalt the agency lays!  That is why a “top of the curve” approach is routinely encouraged by the Federal Highway Administration and has been adopted by hundreds of public agencies across the country since Maltene Replacement Technology (MRT) was introduced in the 1970s.

Processes such as rejuvenation provide state DOTs, cities, counties and private communities alike a low-cost treatment alternative with an excellent return on investment (ROI).  Using preventative maintenance treatmentsworks by rejuvenating the asphalt binder and sealing the existing roadway from water intrusion, without obliterating existing pavement markings. 

The Right Product at the Right Time

When is the proper time to apply an MRT rejuvenator?  The correct answer is while the pavement is in good condition. Typically, that’s between one and four years after initial paving. By treating roads before distresses like cracking and raveling occur, agencies can extend the service life of their asphalt pavement for five years or more.

Not only that, but residents can also drive on the treated road in as little as 30 minutes. By keeping our good roads in good condition, we can “flatten the curve” for now, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and before the next round of budget tightening begins.

Use the Right Treatment on the Right Road at the Right Time – beginning now.   With so much uncertainty about future strains on funding, take advantage of this opportunity to innovate by using MRT to bring about positive change for your most valuable fixed assets – your roads!

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Pavement Technology, Inc. is a Gold winner of the 2021 FLCAJ Readers’ Choice Award! In its eighth annual voting over 11,000 ballots were cast and PTI ranked near the top.

Look for your March issue of the Florida Community Association Journal this spring for more details.

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The Florida LTAP Center in partnership with the Florida Pavement Preservation Council are hosting a webinar series on “Pavement Management Plan Development and Implementation – Preservation and Beyond.” This is your opportunity to get a better understanding of pavement preservation strategy and techniques.

Agencies of any size will learn how to:

• Analyze roadway conditions and deploy effective asset management techniques
• Identify distress conditions and transition to needs-based pavement management planning
• Define and review pavement preservation techniques using agency success stories to demonstrate the efficacy of various preservation strategies
• Ensure long-term asset management

Instructors for this five-webinar course will be NCPP Local Agency Coordinator Larry Galehouse and PTI’s own techincal representative and FPPC Executive Coordinator, Chris Evers.

This training is without charge. Attendees will be awarded 1.5 PDHs for each of five webinar segments, or a total of 7.5 PDHs for completing the entire session.

The online webinar begins August 4th and space is limited, so register for one or more sessions today.

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