The Texas Asphalt Paving Association (TXAPA) held its third annual MAPS conference in Waco on March 8 and 9. It proved to be an eye-opening event for Surface Tech Sales Reps Stacie Steel, based in Seattle, and Mike Scardina, based in Denver, CO.
“My main takeaway was: Texas is BIG,” said Steel, “and according to an overview provided by Dr. John Epps at the event, the state has an equally big challenge that Surface Tech is poised to help solve.”
Epps stated that, if Texas could get even one more year out of the pavements on its roadways, it could save $2.5 billion each year on repaving and maintenance. Alternatively, the savings could also allow the state and local agencies to pave more roads.
Epps’ statement astonished Steel, a P.E. with more than 20 years of experience as a pavement engineering consultant who has studied the effectiveness of a wide range of asphalt reinforcement products.
“I’ve studied the science and engineering behind all of them and found most don’t stand up to their claims.”
By contrast, she finds the material science behind Surface Tech’s ACE XP Polymer Fibers™ to be provable and has repeatedly witnessed the longevity benefits it adds to real world pavements.
Steel credits Surface Tech for making significant investments in developing its aramid fiber reinforcement product, which she found so compellingly effective she joined the Surface Tech team in 2021.
“I’m impressed by the whole team and by the company’s credible case studies, research, and industry relationships. The company has built a solid foundation to operate on and has developed numerous solutions for overlays, interlayers, and accurate dosing to give any mix design the reinforcement it needs to make the pavement last longer.
“With our easy-to-adopt solutions, Texas could achieve that additional year of service life — and even longer — from their asphalt pavements. If that’s their focus, then the easiest way to do that is add ACE XP Polymer Fibers to the mix.”
For information on how you can make pavements stronger, last longer and save money, visit https://surface-tech.com/asphalt-solutions/