Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA) Names 2022 Special Recognition Award Winners

Caption: Mike Ristic, P.E., California Department of Transportation District, receives the 2022 Charles R. Valentine Award for Excellence in Cold Recycling from ARRA President Johnathan Pease. Photo by Tom Kuennen, courtesy of FP2.

Caption: Nominator Tom Flowers, Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, receives the 2022 Special Recognition Award for Excellence in Full Depth Reclamation on behalf of award winner Saul Romero, Texas Department of Transportation, from Johnathan Pease, ARRA President. Photo by Tom Kuennen, courtesy of FP2.

Caption: ARRA President Johnathan Pease presents the 2022 Special Recognition for Excellence in Hot In-Place Recycling to Todd Gosner, Cutler Repaving, who nominated award winner Lindsey Chieduko, City & County of Denver. Photo by Tom Kuennen, courtesy of FP2.

GLEN ELLYN, IL, March 9, 2022 – During the 47th Annual Meeting of the Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA), February 22-25, in La Jolla, California 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 Mike Ristic, P.E., California Department of Maintenance District 8, for the 2022 Charles R. Valentine Award for Excellence in Cold Recycling. As Branch Chief, Ristic has been instrumental in promoting and coordinating training for new, cost-effective treatments to enhance road performance throughout the Caltrans District 8 network.  Ristic’s emphasis on implementing cold in-place recycling has helped Caltrans rehabilitate asphalt roadways through the district, while meeting the state’s goal of reducing the carbon footprint. Using CIR, District 8 has also been able to minimize user delays and reduce wear and tear on the roadway network during construction. 

The 2022 Special Recognition Award for Excellence in Full Depth Reclamation was presented to Saul Romero, Texas Department of Transportation- Odessa District. Romero has been a strong advocate for the use of emulsion-based Full Depth Reclamation (FDR) treatments to strengthen road bases long term. In the early 2000s, FDR was not very common in Texas, and they virtually stopped using this treatment with only one project being laid between 2010 and 2015. Knowing the benefits of FDR, Romero embarked on a journey to promote its performance, cost and environmental benefits among fellow engineers and other TxDot-Odessa District personnel. Under his leadership, the TxDot-Odessa District has been able to reintroduce FDR as a worthwhile solution for more durable roads within the Texas Market. Romero was lead engineer for four FDR Projects since 2015.

The final receipt was Lindsey Chieduko with the City & County of Denver for the 2022 Special Recognition for Excellence in Hot In-Place Recycling. The Citywide Hot In-Place Recycling and Repaving project was the largest asphalt paving project in Colorado completed in the 2020/2021 construction season. There were approximately 130 lane-miles resurfaced which treated over 910,000 square yards of city streets, incorporating nearly 63,000 tons of HMA, while recycling 50,000 tons of existing asphalt pavement. This project was a continuation of Denver’s decades-long Hot In-Place Recycling program, which utilizes this Pavement Preservation technique to resurface large amounts of City streets, while devoting budget/resources to other infrastructure projects.

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.