What's New with ISSA Technical Director Bob Jerman- August 2021

Yes, the year has passed its midpoint.  For those of you that care about such things, the college football season begins in earnest in just over three weeks.   Of note to all of us, the paving season is at full throttle while everyone works to complete their 2021 projects.   At ISSA, we remain focused on a wide variety of opportunities to support the pavement preservation industry here in the U.S., as well as globally.

It has been two years since we announced the release of the "Recommended Performance Guideline for Polymer-Modified Emulsified Asphalt Slurry Seal, A115 - Provisional" as a next generation, non-rut filling slurry surfacing system for your pavement preservation toolbox.   When we released it, we committed to gather feedback from the industry for a minimum of two years, encouraging feedback from across the industry as A115 was utilized to write specifications and put into practice on projects around the globe.   

As of this writing, the feedback received from our industry partners has been both positive and informal.  Again, we recognize that it is only through practical application and participation in this process by you, our industry partners, that we can develop Guidelines that accurately reflect best practices and meet industry’s pavement preservation objectives.  In the remaining five months of 2021, we want to hear from you in greater detail (bobjerman54@gmail.com) regarding your experiences with this Guideline.   At the end of the year, the ISSA Technical Committee will gather your feedback to consider, discuss, and make decisions on the makeup of the final A115 Guideline to be released in early 2022. 

Our effort to launch the new “ISSA’s Design and Inspection Manual for Slurry Surfacing Systems”, covering both Slurry Seal and Micro Surfacing, has faced a few hiccups over the last couple of months but we hope to have it available for your use very soon.   The team that has worked on this Manual so diligently is excited to be able to release it to the industry.   An announcement regarding its release is forthcoming.

What else are we working on right now?   The Chip Seal and Crack Treatment teams are working on revisions to their A165 and A175 Guidelines, respectively.   Additionally, they have longer term goals of releasing Design and Inspection Manuals for their respective disciplines.   The ISSA Technical Bulletins/Guidelines team continues to work on revisions, specifically focusing on TB No. 109, Test Method for Measurement of Excess Asphalt in Slurry Surfacing Systems by Use of a Loaded Wheel Tester and Sand Adhesion and No. 147, Test Method for Measurement of Stability and Resistance to Compaction, Vertical and Lateral Displacement of Multilayered Fine Aggregate Cold Mixes, over the next few months.  

Finally, the revision to A143, Micro Surfacing Guideline, has begun.   The focus will be on providing options for agencies to utilize in designing specifications for their unique micro surfacing applications.  These may be defined by climate and/or performance-specific objectives on projects that require special durability demands that resist conditions such as snow plow damage, routine freeze-thaw cycles, extreme heat leading to excessive power steering stresses, etc.

My closing comments are the same.  Reach out to us with your technical questions and ideas on where our committees should focus their attention.  Your participation in ISSA is needed and encouraged.

"Every day is a gift!  Never take a single one for granted!"

Sincerely,

Bob Jerman

ISSA Technical Director