Norris Wins with RAP-Heavy Project

What does it take to get bonus pay on a huge project? It takes the same attention to detail that winning the top national award for paving requires. If you want to develop a crew—or two—that exceeds expectations and specifications, take notes from Norris Asphalt Paving Co., Ottumwa, Iowa. The company picked up the 2015 Sheldon G. Hayes Award for excellence in construction of an asphalt pavement from the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) for its U.S. 34 project in Montgomery and Adams counties. That’s a 15-mile project that dealt with variable widths, nine climbing lanes, five bridges to transition into, two major intersections with turn lanes and variable widths, long material hauls, and other challenges.

NAPA reports, “The project also included widening the road, including an almost 2-mile section of roadway that went from two lanes to four lanes, and then back down to two lanes. In addition, another Iowa highway, U.S. 71, intersected the middle of the four-lane portion of the project.”

Brady Meldrem, president of Norris Asphalt, shared: “I don’t think there was a flat spot on this project. I think there were passing lanes going up every hill.”

The U.S. 34 project began with milling ½ inch to 1 inch of the road surface. In the end, the crew had placed more than 79,000 tons of asphalt. That tonnage included reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) from the project in each lift. Dan Roberts, the project manager for Norris, explained: “The RAP came from the project as we milled a little over 13 miles. The base mix used 21 percent RAP, the intermediate mix used 20 percent RAP, and the surface mix used 17 percent RAP.”

To learn just how the Norris team completed each aspect of the project to top quality standards and presented the Iowa motorists with a smooth, bonus-worthy, award-winning asphalt pavement, check out the upcoming August “Big Paving Issue” of AsphaltPro. The project story is a guideline for pavement training.