FAHR Industries was featured in the February 2000 issue with the self-powered FAHR Roadcrusher Forester C-2000. It’s a portable rock crusher with applications in road construction and rehabilitation, forest road development, secondary road resurfacing, and asphalt reclaiming. Economical and environmentally friendly, the Roadcrusher processes concrete, asphalt, and rocks up to 16 in. in diameter, making material into smaller, usable aggregate. The 14,000-lb. unit is mounted onto the front end of a wheel loader and has a rate of movement of about 1,000 ft./hr. It can process up to 1,050 cu. yds. of material per mile, depending on the amount in-going. The Roadcrusher has been used by a number of government agencies and professional contractors, and came in at No. 8 on the Top 20 list last year, and is the only repeat product for 2000.

Applied Polymerics distributes several road repair products that readers wanted to know more about. Now marketed under the Fibrescreed line of road and airfield products, these include a hot-poured asphalt and concrete repair material with a 22 to 25% bitumen content, polymers, graded filters, and aggregates producing an impermeable, voidless mass solid at ambient temperatures. It was developed as a repair for areas where severe cracking has occurred in both highway and aircraft pavements. Ideal applications include the treatment of reflective cracks in black top overlays and veneer surfaces. Another Fibrescreed product is equally suited for the repair of joints and severe cracks in concrete highways and pavements.

Cordonator is the trade name for a new traffic channelizer design, shown right, from Cogent Enterprises, Inc. that is the same size as conventional traffic barrels, accommodating ballast and beacons currently in use. The big difference is that Cordonator folds flat to 4.5-in. thick and can ship with lantern attached, meaning less worker time in traffic during setup and retrieval. Shipping, handling, and storage costs are dramatically reduced, too. The handling characteristics alone will make cordoning work zones easier and more productive, according to the developer, and Cordonators won’t roll when hit. The products recently gained acceptance from the Federal Highway Administration under NCHRP-350 for category one devices.

Increasing environmental concerns prompted Pike’s Peak Highway Department officials to contact Pennzoil-Quaker State Company to assist in conquering the dust problems at the famous landmark. The results of the product applications were featured in a story in our January 2000 issue. PennzSuppress D was developed primarily as an effective dust suppressant and soil stabilization product, while PennzSuppress EC was designed to handle erosion-control projects. The formula was found to be non-carcinogenic, non-mutagenic, non-flammable, and non-corrosive. Environmental testing confirmed that the products are effective in controlling dust emissions, are not harmful to ground water, and have low aquatic-toxicity levels. In other words, when properly used, the products do not pollute the air or water, adversely impact wildlife in rivers and streams, or inhibit plant growth. A combination of wetting agents, emulsifiers, and bonding agents, the formula contains no volatile organic compounds or ozone-depleting substances and is classified as non-hazardous, non-toxic, and non-carcinogenic according to federal EPA and OSHA guidelines.

Produced in flake form, Calso 98 is a safe deicer that compares favorably to calcium chloride and magnesium chloride, according to Calum, Inc., marketer of the product. It’s also used for dust control on unpaved roads. The product’s exothermic heat-releasing property and its hygroscopic ability to absorb moisture combine to make it a powerful melting agent. When used alone or in a blend, Calso 98 delivers fast and effective melting action down to -22 degrees F. Independent test results show that at 5 degrees F, the deicer is 12% more effective than flake calcium chloride, and 13 times more effective than road salt when the temperature drops to -4 degrees F.

Shell Chemicals’ Kraton Polymers offer a range of high-performance materials that, when added to asphalt, can help prevent cracking and rutting on road surfaces. Extreme high and low temperatures and rapid temperature changes are a major cause of surface damage. Because the polymers help asphalt retain flexibility at high temperatures, they also help reduce rutting and wear and tear, keeping road surfaces smoother for longer. Fewer cracks in the surface also improve the water resistance of the road and cut down on moisture damage, further reducing long-term maintenance needs. Applications for roads include being used as a major compounding ingredient or additive in modified asphalts, polymer modification, and adhesives, sealants, and coatings, among others. There are currently more than 75 grades of the polymers within Kraton D and G series. Each grade in both series has distinct performance benefits that make the elastomer particularly well-suited to specific applications. The polymers are elastic and flexible, have a wide range of properties, are easy to process, have good electrical properties, and are reprocessable. The G-series polymers give the added advantages of increased oxidation and weather resistance, higher service temperatures, and increased processing stability.

Developed by Urecoats Industries Inc. from another product for the roofing industry, Ureseal 200 Rubber Sealant Membrane has been formulated as a sealer that can be applied to pavement-type surfaces, including roads, parking lots, and driveways. The asphalt sealant’s purpose is to enhance longevity while maintaining pavement integrity. Though the product won’t be available until early next year, laboratory studies have found the black, enriched formulation to have a protective lifespan of 10 years, or more. Both it and the roofing product, Urecoats 100, are designed to be sprayed on existing substrates using an application technology now in final testing. The RSM is an ultra-high-quality urethane fluid rubber substance that will not allow water penetration, protecting the surface to which it’s applied from natural weathering, acid rain, and additional problems. It’s made from urethanes, crumb rubber from recycled tires, and other additives. The formulation gives the product greater strength, flexibility, elasticity, and a higher degree of resistance to chemicals and moisture than other coatings and sealants in the marketplace today, the company says.

Here’s a different aspect in crack repair techniques. It’s the latest addition to the E.H. Wachs Company’s vacuum family — the Crack-Vac Road Crack Vacuum. This vacuum-system design incorporates features tailored specifically to asphalt paving and crack repair. Conventional crack repair methods involve preparing the surface for proper adhesion by cutting the crack and blowing out the resulting debris with a stream of high-pressure, compressed air prior to sealing and filling. This produces a variety of public health and property damage hazards arising from both projectiles and the recently recognized proliferation of fugitive dust, as identified in the EPA’s PM-10 standards. The Crack-Vac eliminates these hazards and has also been deployed in other applications benefitting from the size, positioning, and dumping characteristics of the tank, the company says.

SealMaster calls Liquid Road the ultimate coating system for roads and streets because it replenishes the pavement binder that is lost through oxidation and weathering while providing a highly durable slip-resistant durable surface treatment. It consists of an application of two coats of a high-performance mineral and fiber reinforced asphalt emulsion blended with polymer and specially graded aggregate.

For millions of workers, there is no escaping the heat and exposure to heat stress. But Ergodyne’s new ThermalWear Vest maintains an optimum 55 degree F temperature for cooling the body and helping to reduce the risk of heat stress injuries. Government tested and proven effective, the vests are made with a non-toxic, non-carcinogenic cooling substance that safely draws excess heat from the body.

A new sickle bar capable of cutting tree limbs up to 4 in. in diameter is called the Timber Cat and comes from Alamo Industrial. Its smooth, powerful action leaves a clean, finished cut and the heavy-duty cutting blade is made of T-1 steel, 0.625-in. thick, and continuously milled for additional strength. The cutting bar is operated by a direct-coupled hydraulic cylinder and the blade cycles 60 times/min. Cutting tree limbs along road rights-of-way is now possible without the fear of material being thrown.

Attachments International’s Quick Hitch Asphalt Cutter attaches to a backhoe dipper stick in half a minute and allows for maximum down pressure. It’s ideal for tight working conditions or where precision cuts are required. The company also offers the Severe Service Rotary Wheel Asphalt Cutter incorporating a new, heavy-duty, high-speed bearing system that makes it perfect for long, continuous cuts. The chromium cutting wheel gives a 300% increase in life, the company says.

TraffiCAD is a Windows-based sign-making software from Chromatek. It offers libraries of blank signs and pre-made symbols such as arrows and pavement markings. TraffiCAD has over 1,000 pre-made signs designed to MUTCD specifications with auto-kerned highway typefaces B, C, D, E, F, and Emod in 1966 and 1977 series. TraffiCAD offers the following advantages: complete file import and export capabilities, instant metric conversion, automatic bleed traps for screen printing, superior black and white scanning conversion, and automatic color scanning conversion. The software runs on Windows 95, 98, and NT 4.0.

Davidson Plastics’ T3B Plastic Type III barricade system is a lightweight, flexible barricade system that is designed to reduce worker set-up/retrieval time (reducing exposure to road hazards) and to protect drivers should impact occur. The highly visible system’s lightweight parts will not bounce into traffic or into the work zone on impact, and the unit design allows a vehicle to pass safely over it, if necessary. The barricade can withstand multiple impacts and also features easily interchangeable parts to speed the return to service when damage does occur.

Off The Wall Products introduced a lightweight, portable barricade system that can be easily handled by one worker when empty, but, when ballasted with up to 1,000 lbs. of water, can function as a more effective barrier than concrete jersey walls or drums. The system interconnects to form a solid fence around the work area, and provides the added benefit of highly reflective markings.

Reflexite North America came in at No. 18 with its Brilliance Series reflective trim.  New standards from the American National Standards Institute/ISEA provide the first-ever guidance on appropriate protective apparel for visibility.  Brilliance Series surpasses new standards with highly reflective trim that uses enclosed microprismatic technology to enhance daytime brilliance, as well as improving visibility when wet.  Reflective tapes also surpass new standards for durability and washability. 

Lumimark/Master Builders introduced a pavement marking system for concrete highways and bridges which features markings that become an integral part of the pavement, adopting the durability of concrete. Developed in a joint venture between Master Builders, Inc. (construction chemicals) and Lumimark (paving), the system involves blending glass beads and pigment into a pavement mix which is installed into grooves cut in the concrete.

Rounding out the Top 20 is Rain Line Corporation’s new pavement striping with improved rain visibility that can be embedded to reduce damage and wear from snow plows. The system can be applied at 3 to 5 mi./hr. Drying time is as little as two minutes.

"People [will] typically save 65% of the vehicle time at the CTO versus a conventional intersection," he says. "The delays at a conventional intersection serving 50,000 cars a day is equivalent to holding 12 people permanently hostage. The CTO can liberate two thirds of them."

It requires the least land acquisition cost of any roadway upgrade. It can make an F-rated road into a C-rated road with no widening. With road widening, it makes sustainable A-rated roads. Going from F to A grade nearly triples average commute speed. If you widen a road with conventional intersections, you might get only a D rating for your effort, and you’ll soon sink to an F-rating as growth continues, Clayton says.

The CTO ramps work oppositely from elevated freeway overpass ramps. You decelerate uphill and accelerate downhill so they can be shorter and steeper and use less space. The design is also good for energy savings, noise reduction, pollution reduction, and vehicle wear and tear. The architectural elements are massed at the center of the road to reduce the visual impact. The building shadow would rarely fall outside the right-of-way. It’s no taller than a grocery store, so it can fit in many urban and suburban environs.

The CTO design uses two-phase clocks instead of the four-phase clock of a conventional intersection. The two levels are clocked independently. This means it has a wide turning range intersection to adapt better to different traffic flows. Unlike a conventional intersection, the CTO can’t be jammed or choked. The conventional four-phase clock has red lights longer than the green lights. It has to jam under heavy loads. The CTO has green lights as long as the red lights. It can’t be jammed, and it won’t choke from over-flowing left turn lanes on long greens. The CTO may be the best choice for upgrading to intelligent intersections that adapt to traffic demand. You can’t really tune a network of conventional intersections — their turning range is too narrow. But, you really can tune a network of CTOs.

"Some people actually believe they need two left turn lanes on this thing," Clayton says. "Of course, that is not true. The left-turning capacity of a CTO is 50% greater than a triple-left turn. Its minimum turning volume is about 300 cars per hour. I do not know the upper limit volume, but designs in excess of 1,000 cars per hour are possible. It depends on bottlenecks on the feeder/receiver lanes."