Iowa Concrete Paving Association awards $8K in CCEE scholarships February 20, 2012 By Chris Neary

 

Four students from the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering (CCEE) recently earned scholarships at the 48th Annual Iowa Concrete Paving Association (ICPA) Workshop. Construction engineering sophomore Justin Menke, environmental engineering PhD candidate Joel Sikkema, civil engineering senior Caitlin Weber and civil engineering senior Jacob Weiss were honored at the ICPA Workshop awards, held February 2 in Des Moines.

Sikkema was awarded the $5,000 James Cable Graduate Fellowship. He plans to use it to support his research in photocatalytic concrete pavement, both for field and lab research equipment and materials. Photocatalytic concrete converts nitrogen oxides into nitrate, acting as an air purifier while serving as a road surface.

 

The...

“Gypsy Pavers” Hit Central Texas Homeowners

 

Out-of-town asphalt contractors offer great deals on re-paving driveways, but are leaving some homeowners in the dust.

Reporter: Josh Wucher Email Address: josh.wucher@kwtx.com

WACO (February 19, 2012) -- Out-of-town asphalt crews or so-called "gypsy pavers" have arrived in Central Texas.

Some local businesses and even several homeowners have been targeted by groups of itinerant asphalt contractors who say they have some leftover asphalt from a job they just finished and can offer a great deal on re-paving the driveway.



Read the full story here: http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/Gypsy_Pavers_Hit_Central_Texas_Homeowners_139671753.html

Primus Green Energy Produces High-Octane, Renewable, Drop-In Gasoline Company's Easily Scalable Technology Employs Improved, Proprietary Versions of Proven Processes

HILLSBOROUGH, N.J., Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Primus Green Energy Ltd., the developer of renewable gasoline based in Hillsborough, N.J., has announced that it has produced its first sample of renewable drop-in gasoline through a proprietary combination of biomass conversion technologies that transforms herbaceous and woody biomass, in conjunction with natural gas, into high-octane gasoline. The gasoline produced from the Primus technology, which is virtually indistinguishable from gasoline produced from fossil fuels, can be used directly in engines as a component of standard fuel formulas and does not require costly engine modifications, overhauls of the fuel delivery infrastructure or changes in consumer behavior.



The gasoline produced is a high...

Drive for Newest Technology at the Heart of Russell Standard Research and Development drives road surfacing company to develop latest technology PITTSBURGH, Feb 13, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Russell Standard, the leader in proprietary paving solutions, processes and machinery continues its drive for excellence through the ongoing development of road surfacing technologies. Addressing issues that face the paving industry is the basis for the company's approach, which has led to the development of a variety of proprietary and licensed road surfacing products.

"As a leader in our industry, our goal is to develop products that address our customers' needs," said Matt Johnson, president of Russell Standard. "Each customer is unique with different specifications and requirements and, we feel, it is our responsibility to address their issues as we continue to improve communities through better infrastructure."...

Pittsburgh mulls re-entering paving business

By Bob Bauder, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEWWednesday, February 8, 2012Last updated: 10:14 am Seven years after Pittsburgh sold its asphalt plant because buying from a private contractor is cheaper, the city's public works director wants to build a $4 million plant to drastically increase the amount of paving done yearly.

Public Works Director Rob Kaczorowski said the city needs to pave about 800 miles of streets immediately, but has money for only about 30 miles this year.

"We could probably produce asphalt substantially cheaper than we buy it," he said. "Instead of paving 30 miles of streets each year, we think we can do 60 miles of streets."

Financial overseers of the cash-strapped city, taxpayers and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's administration all said officials should figure out if getting back into the asphalt business makes financial sense before making any move. The city...

Tunnel vision: Pavement poured in Devil’s Slide tunnels

February 03, 2012, 05:00 AM By Bill Silverfarb Daily Journal staff



It won’t be long before motorists fill the tunnels at Devil’s Slide with traffic as crews poured the last bit of concrete pavement yesterday to mark another significant milestone for the nearly 5-year-old project.

Actually, it will be a while before cars can enter the tunnel but yesterday’s completion of the two roads will now allow crews to jump to the next phase of the project — connecting the two southern tunnel portals with Highway 1.

Caltrans is hoping to have the tunnels open to traffic by the end of this year and be completely off the site by March 2013, said senior engineer Tom Gray.

“We are looking for ways to improve the schedule,” Gray said.

The project is behind schedule and over budget as Caltrans had intended to open the tunnels to traffic in early 2012 but tunnel soil movement required months of reinforcement work, putting the...

press release

Feb. 1, 2012, 10:00 a.m. EST

GM Wentzville Plant to Build New CNG Vans for AT&T Order shows AT&T's "continued commitment to alternative fuels and to investing right here in Missouri," says AT&T Missouri President John Sondag ST. LOUIS, Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Fresh on the heels of the announcement that is has deployed its 5,000th alternative fuel vehicle, AT&T* announced today that it plans to take delivery of 1,200 Chevrolet Express dedicated compressed natural gas (CNG) cargo vans to be deployed to AT&T service centers nationwide. It is the largest-ever order of GM CNG vehicles.

"St. Louis is home to AT&T's Fleet Operations and we have more than 200 alternative fuel vehicles in the state," said AT&T Missouri President John Sondag. "This order shows AT&T's continued commitment to alternative fuels and to investing right here in Missouri."AT&T,...

Recycled tires become part of road at NASA White Sands Test FacilityBy Esmeralda Almanza For the Sun-News

Posted:   02/01/2012 02:50:49 AM MST





First, the NMSU Civil Engineering Department publishes a study showing rubberized asphalt as a viable option for New Mexico paving, providing a viable use for the estimated 2 million scrap tires created by New Mexico residents annually.

Now the NASA White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) has resurfaced more than 200,000 square yards of facility roads using rubber asphalt for the first time.

"Although we've never done a project like this before, we decided to go with an asphalt rubber chip seal pavement preservation system because it gives us a longer life span for the cost," explained Matt Kenney, facilities engineer and master planner for this project.

In just one week, with only minor disturbance to traffic, the project was complete. "For us this was better than doing an overlay because we didn't need to close ...