Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA) Names 2023 Special Recognition Award Winners

Tony Hinkle, formerly of Morgan County, Iowa, receives the 2023 Charles R. Valentine Award for Excellence in Cold Recycling from ARRA President Kimbel Stokes. Photo by Tom Kuennen, courtesy of FP2.

Aric Bennett, Mannik & Smith Group, received the 2023 ARRA Excellence in Full Depth Recycling on behalf of Scott Leach, Dundee Public of Education, from ARRA President Kimbel Stokes. Photo by Tom Kuennen, courtesy of FP2.

ARRA President Kimbel Stokes presents the 2023 Special Recognition for Excellence in Hot In-Place Recycling to John Riherd, Butler County, Iowa. Photo by Tom Kuennen, courtesy of FP2.

GLEN ELLYN, IL, March 22, 2023 – During the 48th Annual Meeting of the Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA), February 27-March 3, 2023, in Litchfield Park, Arizona, ARRA congratulated three individuals as recipients of 2022 ARRA Special Recognition Awards.

Each year, through the ARRA Special Recognition Awards, ARRA recognizes public officials and consulting engineers who have made outstanding contributions to the asphalt recycling and reclaiming industry.  Nominations are submitted by ARRA members and the ARRA technical committees review all nominations and selects the award winners.  

The first recipient was Tony Hinkle, formerly of Morgan County, Indiana, for the 2023 Charles R. Valentine Award for Excellence in Cold Recycling. Waverly Park Road is an old state route just outside of the metropolitan area of Indianapolis. As the county engineer, in order to preserve the pavement structure for the long term as a county road, Hinkle reached out to have the pavement section sampled to potentially be recycled. The sampling found an average of 5 inches of asphalt pavement of good-condition concrete. Hinkle took a calculated risk in electing to perform a 4 inch cold in-place recycling treatment which is a novel technology for counties in the area. In the course of four CIR production days, 4.5 miles of pavement were rehabilitated with ARRA Member the Dunn Company acting as the CIR Subcontractor.

The 2023 Special Recognition Award for Excellence in Full Depth Reclamation was presented to Scott Leach, Superintendent of Dundee Public Schools Board of Education in Dundee, Michigan. The new Dundee High School opened in fall of 2001 and since then, the parking lots had been neglected with minor maintenance over the last twenty years. There were improvements planned to begin in 2020 on the Craig Family Athletic Complex which also included parking lot improvements. The initial scope was for a complete removal and replacement of poor areas, however, the Dundee School Board realized that there must be a more cost-effective solution. In 2018, they contacted Asphalt Materials and met with Scott Assenmacher who provided them information on Full Depth Reclamation and used the calculators on Roadresource.org to review the conventional approach and the preservation and recycling approach. Dundee High School was able to recognize a cost savings of nearly $490,000 while increasing the overall structural number by 0.52 by selecting a recycling approach. Because the parking lot is used for the public high school, the window of construction was limited to avoid work while school was in session. Going with the recycling approach allowed a time savings of at least two weeks.

The final receipt was John Riherd, Engineer for Butler County, Iowa, for the Special Recognition for Excellence in Hot In-Place Recycling. Starting in the 90s, Butler County started doing cold in-place recycling. At this time, 90% of the county roads have been cold in-place recycled. Over the years, the layers of CIR rose higher and higher. Butler County wanted to look for an alternative plan but wanted to leave the CIR section alone. In 2021, they tried hot-in place recycling for the first time. They focused on the 3 inch cap because that was where the wear was. To restore the cross-section before the in-place recycling, they milled a nominal ¾ inch to one inch. The RAP from the process would be used in the new cap. The surface was to be hot in-place recycled to a depth of 2 inches. This included preparing the surface by milling, softening the surface via uniform heating, mixing with a rejuvenating agent, and spreading, leveling and compacting the mixture for service.

ABOUT THE ASPHALT RECYCLING & RECLAIMING ASSOCIATION (ARRA):

Incorporated in September 1976, ARRA’s primary function has been to promote the recycling of existing roadway materials through various construction methodologies, to preserve limited natural resources and reduce costs. This ongoing effort continues through education, strategic alliances and partnering at both the industry and agency level.

ARRA is a founding member of the Pavement Preservation & Recycling Alliance (PPRA) along with the Asphalt Emulsion Manufacturers Association and the International Slurry Surfacing Association. PPRA is a partnership of leading industry associations (AEMA, ARRA, ISSA) to advance sustainable, eco efficient, and innovative pavement applications.

To learn more, visit www.arra.org or call us at 630-942-6578.