ASPHALTopics | Summer 2014 | VOL 27 | NO3

a long
ver
way
Ministry of Transportation, Cedarapids Asphalt Equipment
dealer for Blackwood Hodge, and Miller Paving, he has a
unique perspective.
“I’ve seen quite a bit over the years. A lot has changed, but
many of the basic concepts are the same,” he says. He adds
that advances in the production process have been key to
moving the industry forward, as have the pollution controls
that are now in place. The introduction of RAP at higher
percentage and the addition to the plants of hot mix
surge/storage silos has improved the process.
The first fuel used was heavy bunker oil; from there we
moved to light fuel oil and natural gas, and now include
propane and butane. Originally, the exhaust from the plants
was released directly into the atmosphere. The introduction
of cleaner burning fuels was followed with washer/
scrubbers and fabric filter baghouses to satisfy stringent
environmental controls which also included recirculating
gases to the burner.
Loughnan goes on to explain that back in the 1950s the
pace was a lot slower and that a paving company employed
more people than used today. More attention to detail was
required with all the handwork.
“You couldn’t do as much with that older equipment and
lot of workers were necessary,” Loughnan says. Despite the
equipment used 60 years ago, he’s quick to point out that
the workmanship was at a high level. “Workers just had
a different skill set back then, often using whatever tools
they had.”
Loughnan says paving equipment has evolved to keep up
with the demands of the industry such as new materials,
bigger projects and worker safety. Varying specifications
also call for more versatility. He believes that one of the
best advancements was the introduction of the vibratory
steel roller which replaced three-wheeled static tired
steel rollers. This allowed contractors to achieve
desired compaction.
“With the vibratory roller you could always achieve the
desired compaction which made roads last longer and
helped contractors enjoy performance bonuses by ››
1970s crew roll out material (The Asphalt Institute)
1955 crane loading at hot mix plant
(National Asphalt Pavement Association)
1960 paver doing road work (National Asphalt Pavement Association)
Cleaning out
the truck box