Blair Barnhardt – Advancements in Pavement Preservation

Expert insights on a pavement preservation and the use of High Density Mineral Bond (HA5) to cost effectively extend pavement life, with the Executive Director of the International Pavement Management Association.

“I’ve spent 30 years teaching agency engineers just like you how to save millions of dollars. And I can’t tell enough people fast enough, so I need your help. That’s why I’m reaching out to everybody to change how we do things.”

“By applying these treatments earlier in the life cycle of your roadway, you can take a road that’s a 90 or an 85 and extend its life out for several more years to come. Now, it’s not a major rehabilitation, granted, it’s not gonna reset the clock to 100, with a PCI rating of 100 being brand new, and zero being undrivable; however, it will hold on to the 80 and keep it going for several years later on.”

When I See Something That Works, I Want To Tell Everybody

“I don’t get paid to say any of this, nobody’s buying me lunch ’cause we’re talking about HA5, but when I see something… I’ve been in the industry for 30 years, when I see something that works, I want tell everybody we know.”

“We talk about slurry and micro as being your preserving treatment, that it actually works better as it gets a little down the curve.”

This Picture Says It All, Right Here

“Look at this side, where the HA5 is, how it’s sealed itself into the void space, in this oxidized asphalt. We’re in a high desert condition, pavement temperature in the summer’s probably about 160, 170 degrees Fahrenheit, and we’re holding on to this road for four years now.”

“You have hundreds of millions of dollars of roadways you’re taking care of. And you don’t have enough money to take care of them. You’re not given enough money. Every one of you, I hate to say it, every one of you is set up to fail. So you’ve gotta find a way to stretch those dollars, and I know I sound like a broken record, but if I’m given the choice to, and I’m not gonna say numbers, but if it’s $X for this and 30 cents more for this and I see this, it’s a no-brainer. And I see the potential for this, for all of my life I’ve looked for something like this…”

“This is a UV sealer and a water protection sealer”

“They waited 10 years to launch the product. They wanted to see how it was gonna react before they went out and started marketing, you’ve gotta appreciate that. I mean, a lot of stuff that we buy on a regular basis has been proven for like a day. They put this stuff on the ground, they waited 10 years to see if it’s gonna work, it damn does work, and I would encourage you to look at it if you’re not using it.”

“Watch your specifications. And don’t rely on ASTM standards to dictate what you should be using. Look at something that’s been on the ground for 10 or 15 years, and make that your ultimate deciding factor.”

“This is the oldest HA5 demonstration project that was done back in 2002, on a road that was 1996, a vintage year of construction. Look at that cul-de-sac down there. The city has come in after the fact and patched around a manhole structure, that I’m assuming they dropped a little bit to get it on grade. The HA5 is holding up better even though it’s almost 12 years old, than the new asphalt that was put around then. I dunno too many engineers that would come out here and argue that the HA5 doesn’t have the potential to ward off those ultraviolet rays.”

“Asphalt here in the high desert climate, oxidizing… But it’s losing the binds. So, I think that’s a critical benefit for the HA5 and… The fines have gone, they’ve washed out into the drain, but this is the great thing about a product such as a mineral bond, is it locks in the fines. So, if you look at this texture versus that texture, this is part of the reason why 13 years later we’re looking at that and it still looks really good.”