Win Smoothness Bonuses with Shuttle Buggies

Norris Asphalt Paving Co., Ottumwa, IA, won the 2001 Sheldon G. Hayes Award for work on County Route P46 in Ringgold County, IA. Brady Meldrem, president and owner of the company, recalls that specs called for a 10.5-inch full-depth asphalt pavement to be placed over a rolled stone base. “I think we maximized our smoothness incentive,” said Meldrem. “And the MTV helped us to do that.”

Meldrem says by winning smoothness incentives – and by avoiding density penalties and the like – an MTV can pay for itself. The MTV helps achieve uniform density, because the mixture is the same temperature across the mat.

In summary, a product like the Roadtec Shuttle Buggy MTV is a valuable, versatile tool. It can pick up a windrow of asphalt and transfer asphalt over a barrier rail. It keeps your paver moving. It helps prevent thermal segregation, which leads to improved in-place densities. And it prevents physical segregation. As Vince Tutino says, it’s a necessity.