SMA IN THE USA
The Asphalt Pavement Alliance Booth was prominently displayed at the Frederick, Maryland event.
| Over four hundred thirty participants attended the conference devoted solely to the proper manufacture and placement of stone matrix asphalt (SMA). Local and state government officials, FHWA personnel, contractors, suppliers and equipment manufacturers from thirty-seven states and seventeen foreign countries were in attendance. The event was held in late March at the Frederick Maryland Holiday Inn and included two general sessions and three break-out sessions. Mike Acott, President of NAPA; Peter Grass, President of The Asphalt Institute; Nelson Castellanos from FHWA and Parker Williams, Maryland State Highway Administrator, opened the three day workshop. Sam Miller, retiring SHA Materials Engineer, moderated a break-out session on proper specifications that included a half hour presentation by Larry Michael on the successful Maryland specification. Maryland contractors have now produced and placed at least three million tons of SMA. |
G. Marshall Klinefelter lectures on proper quality control.
| Bob Horan from The Asphalt Institute moderated the break-out session on proper SMA placement. Maryland contractor Rob Scrivener from Reliable Contracting Co., Inc., addressed the need for and the structure of a proper pre-placement conference. John Foerster, P. Flanigan & Sons, Inc. demonstrated proper placement techniques in the break-out “It’s not your normal asphalt”. Brian Dolan, President of the Maryland Asphalt Association, moderated the break-out session for SMA production. Pierce J. Flanigan, III of P. Flanigan & Sons, Inc. led discussions on preparing to bid, design, place and be paid for stone matrix asphalt. G. Marshall Klinefelter from David A. Bramble, Inc. covered proper quality control techniques for SMA. Larry Warfield from Francis O. Day Co., Inc., discussed all that is necessary to achieve the successful production of stone matrix asphalt. |
Ron Collins from Pavement Technologies a division of Astec
Industries discussed the use of SMA as a premium surface mix.
| Other impressive speakers included Charles H. Van Deusen from Payne & Dolan, Inc.; Dr. Ray Brown from NCAT; Professor A.R. Woodside from The University of Ireland; Ingeborg Schroder, BP Germany; Byron Lord, FHWA and Ron Collins from Pavement Technologies, Inc. All agreed that stone matrix asphalt is the premium asphalt surface material available today. Team work, consistency and commitment to delivering a quality product were common themes which ran throughout the entire conference. The University of Maryland produced a SMA update which was distributed at the conference. All the Powerpoint presentations from the conference are available through MAA or MdSHA. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the sponsors for an excellent opportunity to learn about stone matrix asphalt. These sponsors include The Asphalt Institute, The Asphalt Paving Alliance, Federal Highway Administration, Maryland Department of Transportation, The National Asphalt Pavement Association, the State Asphalt Paving Association and the Virginia Department of Transportation. In closing, Professor A.R Woodside from the University of Ireland has conducted studies that concluded SMA is 44% stronger than normal HMA. |
Larry Warfield discusses the commitment necessary
to successfully supply and construct an SMA project.
