Annual Report 2010.pdf - Mississippi Department of Transportation

Cooling Construction
The typical pavement material you see steaming as it is rolled
onto the highway is known as Hot Mix Asphalt. In FY 2010, MDOT
included specifications in all contracts to allow contractors to
use “Warm Mix” instead. This type of asphalt is about 50 degrees
cooler than Hot Mix, which helps reduce the environmental
impacts of construction activities. Further, less fuel is needed to
heat the mix to the proper temperature, resulting in environmental
and cost savings.
Recycling Pavement
Did you know pavement can be recycled? When a highway is
worn out and in need of repaving or reconstruction, the old asphalt
can be ground up and used as aggregate in the new pavement
mix. This provides substantial environmental benefits—
less construction waste ends up in landfills, less new material is
needed, and less truck traffic is generated during construction. In
FY 2010, MDOT began a Full Depth Reclamation Project—reusing
nine inches of old asphalt pavement—during the reconstruction
of U.S. Highway 49 in Madison County.
Reusing Road Signs
DOTs are responsible for thousands of road signs. In the past,
when old signs were retired, they were sold as scrap aluminum.
Recycling is good, but reusing is better. In FY 2010 the Traffic
Engineering Division began working with a company that strips
off the old reflective sheeting (the colored front of the sign) using
a specially designed “hydro-stripper.” They then apply new
reflective sheeting according to MDOT specifications, and the
sign is ready to be installed. This method is more environmentally
responsible and also cheaper than buying new sign panels.
Reclaimed signs were recently installed at a U.S. Highway 45
interchange in Baldwyn, north of Tupelo.
Improving Continuously
MDOT’s commitment to environmental responsibility was further
formalized in FY 2010 through the launch of the Environmental
Stewardship and Compliance Program. The program is aimed
at ensuring that MDOT’s policies and procedures demonstrate
complete compliance with federal environmental standards and
that MDOT is continuously improving environmental results. A
first step was conducting field inspections to evaluate the effectiveness
of erosion control practices at active construction sites.
49