“Construction costs have almost doubled between 1998 and 2006,” says Ivan Damnjanovic of the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), who headed up a one-year study for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to examine current practices and suggest improvements to the construction process. “DOTs have little control over external factors like the rising cost of fuel and asphalt, but they do have control over the bidding and design process.”

Damnjanovic discovered that not much formal research has been done on cost-cutting methods. As a result, his team’s research could be the most extensive methodological study yet on cost-saving measures in road building. Originally, TxDOT’s Construction Division developed a list of some cost-reduction methods. Then Damnjanovic and his team expanded the list to identify 56 items.

“This report could almost be viewed as an extensive reference guide,” says TxDOT’s Duane Schwarz, project director for the study. “There are so many strategies offered in the report; it helps us to evaluate the way we do business. It puts a lot of ideas into one handy place and is extremely valuable for all of us, but especially for our younger designers.”

Researchers conducted interviews with road construction engineers and fact-finding workshops. Of the 56 methods derived from the study, 21 suggestions would require TxDOT to make policy changes at the program level. On a project-specific level, Damnjanovic and his team identified 35 potential cost-reduction methods that do not require a change in policy.

“In general terms, it’s very important to have a systematic approach to cost reduction,” says TxDOT Research Engineer German Claros. “And this study provides that for us.”

“The purpose of the research was not only to investigate those things that impact prices and methods of lowering those costs, but to make sure the quality of work is not jeopardized as a result,” says Damnjanovic.

Even without implementing any of the cost-reduction techniques outlined in the study, TxDOT received an unexpected gift when fuel prices fell from their $4.00 a gallon peak last summer to under $2.00 in December. “We do expect some of the problems to work their way out of the system,” says Claros. “However, we know that construction costs go up very quickly, and they take a long time to come down.”

DOTs across the country are also breathing a collective sigh of relief about the recently approved stimulus bill that will pump funds into infrastructure improvements. “At this point, there’s a high degree of uncertainty over just how much money we’ll receive, so cost-cutting measures will likely remain a priority,” Claros says.

Thermal segregation, one major cause of potholes, occurs in isolated, low-density areas when the temperature differs greatly during placement of the new overlay. Hot-mix asphalt, the most common surface layer in Texas, requires a uniform application temperature to achieve uniform density and a long life. These “cold spots” are major defects that can cause rapid failure.

“Cold spots look like regular spaced blotches along the road; the surface appears much coarser when you look at it. If you drive over them, you can sometimes feel dips in the road. Over time, water gets in there, and the pavement fails earlier than it should,” explains Tom Scullion, senior research engineer with the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI). “Large differences in surface temperature can severely reduce the life of the pavement.”

Detecting temperature uniformity problems early in any paving job is critical so that corrective action can be taken. Engineers began using handheld temperature guns and infrared cameras to take thermal profiles of new pavement, and this practice is still standard. These methods have limitations since they only provide localized data and require an operator’s constant attention. To eliminate these problems, agencies need other devices that provide 100 percent coverage and real-time feedback.

TTI researchers, led by Scullion and Assistant Research Scientist Stephen Sebesta, have developed an infrared temperature bar system called Pave-IR. The Pave-IR uses 10 infrared temperature sensors mounted to the back of the paver and does not need an operator.

Complete with a global positioning system (GPS) and custom software that collects the temperature data, Pave-IR provides a full-coverage thermal profile with real-time feedback. The contractor and agency get quantitative surface data in a color-coded chart of the hot-mix temperatures. The chart, which includes the GPS coordinates of all the very cold spots, provides a map of potential premature failures and assists the paving crew to determine where immediate corrections are needed.

By helping ensure the quality of new construction, Pave-IR allows TxDOT to save taxpayer dollars, improve safety and minimize commuter inconvenience due to closed roadways. “Agencies, contractors and the public all benefit if we construct better quality, longer-lasting pavements. Pave-IR is a tool that will help reach that goal,” confirms Sebesta.

Currently, TxDOT requires a thermal profile of new overlays using a handheld temperature gun. Sebesta and the team are working with TxDOT to update test specifications and regulations to include Pave-IR with the thermal profile requirement.

“The asphalt layer is the most expensive and most visible layer to the public. Drivers judge a road by the way it looks and the smoothness of the ride,” says Richard Izzo, transportation engineer with the Flexible Pavements section in TxDOT’s Construction Division. “Research like this may help us minimize maintenance in the future and produce longer road life.”