VAA Spring/Summer 2020

26 SPRING/SUMMER 2020 asphalt. Once completed and the asphalt cooled, roadways were reopened. Along with natural disasters, man-made disasters or vehicle accidents can close a highway. On Saturday, February 1, 2020, a deadly fuel truck accident and fire in Atlanta forced the closure of all north- bound and southbound lanes of I-85. The highway was closed for hours while emergency responders worked to secure the scene. The fire resulted in extensive damage to the existing pavement in the northbound lanes. Once the fire was extinguished on Saturday, the damaged pavement was removed and repaved overnight to be opened for traffic on Sunday. 4 The resiliency of asphalt allowed a critical interstate to be repaired and reopened before the Monday morning rush hour in Atlanta. While most infrastructure cannot or was not designed to resist disasters, the ability to perform repairs and be constructed quickly is a crucial characteristic of asphalt pavements. Asphalt – The Easy Choice Nationally, over 94% of the highway mileage has an asphalt surface. In Virginia, where the department of transportation main- tains nearly 129,000 lane miles, more than 98% of the interstate and primary systems have an asphalt surface, and almost 80% of the secondary system has an asphalt or asphalt-based surface. The remaining 20% is comprised of gravel or other unstabilized surfaces. 3 Whether it is due to the initial construction cost, speed of construction, driveability, sustainable features, or resilient attributes, asphalt materials and pavements are a natural choice. Notes 1. Federal Highway Administration. (October 2014). Pavement Sustainability TechBrief FHWA-HIF-10-012. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/sustainability/hif14012.pdf 2. Gillespie, James S. and Kevin K. McGhee. Impact of a Smoothness Incentive-Disincentive on Hot-mix Asphalt Maintenance Resurfacing Costs. VTRC 06-R28. Virginia Transportation Research Council, Charlottesville, VA., 2006. http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/ pdf/06-r28.pdf 3. Virginia Department of Transportation, Maintenance Divi- sion. State of the Pavements – 2018. Richmond, VA 23219. 4. WTHR.com . Deadly Fuel Truck Crash Closes Atlanta Highway. (February 2, 2020). https://www.wthr.com/article/deadly-fuel-truck-crash- closes-atlanta-highway △ continued from page 25 SUSTAINABLE... RESILIENT... ASPHALT I-64 Pavement Section Paving CCPR on I-64