Performance as Promised
BY ROBERT ALLEN
SUMMIT DAILY NEWS
SUMMIT COUNTY, COLORADO
(reprinted with permission)
The asphalt paving project completed on Hoosier Pass last September has garnered a "Best of Colorado" award from the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association.
The mile-long segment of road won for the category of "New or Reconstruction and Smoothest Pavement" at a little-noticed banquet last month.
Scott Contracting of Henderson and Colorado Department of Transportation received the award for the project that lasted about three months.
"The most interesting part is the cold in-place recycling done to save taxpayer money and get the most bang for the buck," said Adam Coates, project manager for Scott Contracting. "It’s not often used in that high an elevation, but I think everyone agrees it was a success," he said. "The cold in-place recycling is a process that recycles the existing road by ‘chewing it up’ and mixing it with fresh materials — such as lime — and mixing it with oil before it’s put back down," Coates said. "The segment of Colorado 9 was at an elevation of about 11,500 feet with steep, tight switchbacks, according to a CAPA press release. Resurfacing took about 9,500 tons of hot-mix asphalt."
"The competition was fierce, and each award recipient was truly the best of the best," Craig Lamberty, president of the CAPA board of directors, said in the press release.
Traffic delays on the project averaged only seven minutes on the road that connects several commuters from Alma and Fairplay to Summit County.
Scott Contracting was also nominated for about five CDOT awards this annual cycle. Coates said the pavement life span is as much as 15 years.