The Asphalt Pavement Alliance (APA) has announced that the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) has won a 2002 Perpetual Pavement Award for a section of Interstate 40 in Oklahoma.
To qualify for this award, a pavement must meet strict criteria and demonstrate hot mix asphalt’s (HMA) long-life characteristics, excellence in design, quality in construction, and value to the traveling public. It also must have been constructed at least 35 years ago. Engineers at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) evaluated the nominations and a panel of industry experts validated the winners.
“I’m delighted that a 5-mi. stretch of I-40 in Oklahoma City is being recognized for its longevity by the Asphalt Pavement Alliance,” said Herschal Crow, Oklahoma secretary of transportation. “That stretch of pavement has had only one overlay and one surface treatment project since it was put down in 1962. At 40 years old, it’s been around longer than a lot of our professionals at ODOT. As part of the urban Interstate system, it carries over 38,000 vehicles a day. It’s an exceptional example of the quality that can be achieved when ODOT and contractors work together.”
“It is an honor to be selected for this award, considering the thousands of miles of top-quality, perpetual asphalt pavements across the country,” said Casey Shell, engineer for ODOT’s Division 4 where the highway is located. “This I-40 project is a representation of what can be achieved with quality Oklahoma contractors, Oklahoma materials, and cooperation between ODOT and our contracting partners.”
The award-winning section is between milepost 160.2 and 165.5, .5 mi. (.8 km) east of Douglass to .5 mi. (.8 km) west of Choctaw. Although the road was designed for only 13,000 vehicles per day, it now carries approximately 45,000 vehicles,16 percent of them trucks.
Peter Kiewit Sons Inc. originally built the road in 1962 on a roadbed of fine, sandy loam soil. The company laid a road base of 8-in. (20 cm) sand asphalt HMA; a 3-in. (7.6 cm) layer of HMA with a maximum aggregate size of 1.5 in. (3.8 cm); and a 1.5-in. (3.8 cm) finishing layer of HMA with a maximum aggregate size of .5 in. (1.2 cm).
The road was resurfaced in 1975 with a leveling course grade of 14,700 tons (13,230 t) of asphalt concrete with a maximum aggregate size of .5 in. (1.2 cm) and with 6,500 tons (5,850 t) of a .75-in. (1.9 cm) Open Graded Friction Course (OGFC) surface. Another .75-in. (1.9 cm) OGFC layer was added to the road 1988.
“Even though this pavement has been punished by more than 35 years of heavy use, motorists are still using the original pavement structure. The only maintenance has been periodic renewal of the surface,” said Pete Alex, APA co-chairman. “The extraordinary performance of this pavement is worthy of attention.”
“Perpetual Pavement is an industry standard which is extremely well represented by this pavement,” added Luke Stango, APA co-chairman. “Long life, durability, and exceptional performance are hallmarks of hot mix asphalt. This pavement is a testimony to high-performance asphalt as a marriage of excellent design and quality construction.”
ODOT will be honored at the APA’s Asphalt Pavement Conference: Superpave 2003 during World of Asphalt 2003, March 17 to 19 in Nashville, TN.
