FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, contact:

March 23, 2005 At NAPA: Roger Sandberg, 888-468-6499

At the Colorado Department of Transportation,

Stacey Stegman, 303-757-9362

COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

WINS 2004 PERPETUAL PAVEMENT AWARD

The Asphalt Pavement Alliance (APA) announced today that the Colorado Department of Transportation has won a 2004 Perpetual Pavement Award for a section of US 85. The award will be presented by Jack Lettiere, Jr., 2005 President of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, at a special ceremony on May 18 at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) at Auburn University, Auburn, Ala.

To qualify for this prestigious award, a pavement must meet strict criteria and demonstrate Hot Mix Asphalt’s long-life characteristics: excellence in design, quality in construction, and value to the traveling public. It also must have been constructed at least 35 years ago. Engineers at NCAT evaluated the nominations and a panel of industry experts validated the winners.

“The Colorado Department of Transportation is very committed to finding innovative ways to improve the longevity of pavement and decrease maintenance costs,” said CDOT Executive Director Tom Norton. “We’re thrilled to accept this award, but the real winners are Colorado motorists who are fortunate enough to travel a stretch of highway that doesn’t need frequent overlays, thereby minimizing the inconvenience of dealing with construction and maintenance impacts.”

The award-winning pavement is a 4.8-mile stretch of Colorado U.S. Highway 85 between Denver and Greeley. It carries heavy commuter traffic as well as considerable truck traffic from produce farms and gravel pits in the area.

The road was opened to traffic in 1957. It was constructed with a 4-inch aggregate base and 3 inches of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA). Part of the original pavement was overlaid with 1.5 inches of HMA in 1971 and the rest with 1.25 inches of HMA in 1972. The entire section was overlaid with 1.5 inches of HMA in 1986. Both northbound and southbound sections received another 4-inch HMA overlay in 2004.

Although the original pavement was designed for 2 million ESALs (Equivalent Single Axle Loads), to date it has withstood a much heavier estimated load of 7.9 million ESALs. The average daily traffic on the road is 19,000 vehicles.

“There are several reasons why this road has lasted so long,” said Jay Goldbaum, Pavement Design Engineer with the Colorado Department of Transportation. “One is the department’s attention to maintaining their roads in good condition. We have a proactive response to deteriorating pavements. We’ve monitored the condition of the road, and applied timely treatments. We also selected the correct rehabilitation programs for the road.”

“Even though this pavement has been punished by more than 35 years of use, motorists are still using the original pavement structure,” said Larry O’Donnell, APA Co-Chairman. “The extraordinary performance of this pavement is worthy of attention.”

“Perpetual Pavement is an industry standard which is extremely well represented by this highway,” added Luke Stango, APA Co-Chairman. “Long life, durability, and exceptional performance are hallmarks of Hot Mix Asphalt. This pavement is testimony to high-performance asphalt as a marriage of excellent design and quality construction.”

Visit www.AsphaltAlliance.com for more information or contact Roger Sandberg, NAPA Vice President – Technology and Market Development, e-mail .

The Asphalt Pavement Alliance is a coalition of the National Asphalt Pavement Association, the Asphalt Institute, and the State Asphalt Pavement Associations. The Asphalt Pavement Alliance's mission is to further the use and quality of Hot Mix Asphalt pavements. The Alliance will accomplish this through research, technology transfer, engineering, education, and innovation.

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