ForConstructionPros.com

In 2007, the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Office of Pavement Technology initiated an Expert Task Group (ETG) on the use of RAP in the construction and rehabilitation of asphalt pavements for highways and roads.

The ETG comprises RAP experts from state DOTs, FHWA, AASHTO (the state highway officials group), the National Asphalt Pavement Association and the National Center for Asphalt Technology.

"We're acting as a clearinghouse for new information on RAP," says Gerry Huber, the ETG's chairman and associate director of research, Heritage Research Group, Indianapolis. "We provide guidance to the industry on the use of RAP.

"We hold meetings in areas where RAP usage is low," says Huber. "And then we invite representatives from industry and the agencies in that area to attend our meetings. For a part of the meeting we spend discussing the use of RAP, and we provide information to them on the increased use of RAP."

Moreover, the ETG is in the process of updating an existing best practices guide on the use of RAP. "I expect that the best practices guide will explain about fractionating RAP - dividing it into various sizes," says Huber.