- Understand common design and construction features important to performance.
- To design and recognize specification and construction activities that can improve the performance of pavements.
- Understand the primary components of hot mix asphalt concrete, aggregates, subgrade, and other construction materials and how they contribute to performance.
- Recognize appropriate contractor and supplier quality control and agency quality assurance procedures and their applicability/adequacy.
- Communicate and promote good road design, specification, inspection, and construction practices.
This course begins with an overview of flexible pavement design and construction and the key factors for effective construction inspection for roadways and highways. The asphalt concrete material is then “deconstructed” to describe the source, function, and key properties of asphalt cement and aggregates. Asphalt mix design has gone through some significant changes recently; the course will cover a brief history of asphalt mix design, the current methods, and future direction. Once the asphalt mix design has been established, it must be produced in an asphalt plant.
The course will discuss the different types and components of asphalt plants; best practices for asphalt transfer from the plant to conveyance vehicles; key components of asphalt spreaders (along with common issues that may impact the life of the asphalt concrete pavement); asphalt compaction techniques and jointing best practices; and finally, examples are provided of both good and poor practices highlight the need for proper asphalt production, transportation, and placement and its potential impact on the life of the pavement.
- Pavement network owners and administrators;
- Engineers and technicians involved in the design, evaluation and management of pavements;
- Construction inspection and testing personnel;
- Provincial, municipal and local agencies; and
- Airport owners and maintenance staff.
David is a civil engineer with extensive experience in the design, construction, and maintenance of roadway infrastructure. He has 38 years of experience in the design, evaluation, and management of transportation infrastructure. He recently retired from Applied Research Associates, Inc. of Toronto, Canada, where he managed the 90 person Transportation Infrastructure Division in the U.S. and Canada. He is the past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers Transportation and Development Institute (ASCE T&DI), and chair of 5 engineering standards committees. He is a long-time member of the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC), Past-Chair of the pavements committee and past member of the Transportation Research Board pavement management, pavement maintenance, and pavement preservation committees.
David has represented Canada on the World Road Association (WRA) pavements and asset management committees since 2002. He also recently stepped down after 10 years as Executive Director of the Falling Weight Deflectometer User Group. He has been involved in numerous national and international research, technical training, evaluation, and asset management projects for Federal, State, Provincial, and Municipal agencies, and many of the public/private/partnership highway construction projects across Canada and the United States.
