MnDOT has long been a leader in the use of recycled asphalt pavement or RAP. Much of the nation’s current use of RAP in hot mix paving asphalt is based on the methods first used in a 1978 project that reconstructed the streets in what is now the 3M campus in Maplewood.

Subsequent MnDOT projects using as much as 80 percent RAP in hot mix paving revealed significant pavement performance problems, according to Curt Turgeon, state pavement engineer.

Currently, MnDOT asphalt paving specifications allow 30 percent RAP in overlay projects and 20 percent RAP when crack resistance asphalt cements are used in new or reclaimed pavements.

For economic and environmental reasons, Turgeon said MnDOT has renewed interest in increasing the use of RAP. Work includes trials of varying percentages in hot mix, trials at MnROAD of cold central plant recycling, and continued use of cold in-place recycling and full depth reclamation.

Increase in hot mix percentages

In District 6, a 13-mile section of the 30-mile Hwy 52 resurfacing project contains 40 percent RAP on the wide outside shoulders. The mixture contains proprietary additives to potentially assist in the rejuvenation of the RAP.

Tom Meath, District 6 materials engineer, said the higher percentage is being used because of the abundance of RAP available.

“This project allows the contractor to use up stockpiles of pavement from this and other projects and reduces the amount of new material needed, while not diminishing the quality of what’s used in the traveling lanes,” he said.

Meath said there are counties and cities in District 6 already using 40 percent RAP, but this is the first time MnDOT is trying it.

“We’re trying to figure out ways to use more RAP,” he said. “That’s a lot of money sitting there when we remove an asphalt pavement.”

Cold central plant recycling

This year’s MnROAD reconstruction, funded by the National Road Research Alliance, contains test sections of cold central plant recycling. This process uses 100 percent RAP mixed in a standard plant at ambient temperatures using an emulsified or foamed asphalt cement. The result is a product that is not resilient enough be used as a top surfacing so the test sections will receive either a standard hot mix overlay or a double chip seal.

Cold in-place recycling

The resurfacing portion of the Hwy 110 project east of I-35E and I-494 in Mendota Heights and Inver Grove Heights will use 100 percent recycled asphalt as the base layer of pavement.

Tim Clyne, Metro pavement and materials engineer, said using 100 percent saves on rock and asphalt costs, trucking costs and time. Since the material is reused with the cold in-place recycling process, the result is a more variable product than the material produced at the plant. Hot mix will be used as the top surface.

“It’s not a new technology, but this is the first time Metro has used the 100 percent RAP in at least 30 years,” he said. “It provides a long-term pavement solution for an extended pavement life.”

See a video of cold in-place recycling, which shows a milling machine, a machine that screens and crushes oversize materials and then mixes in an asphalt emulsion, an asphalt tank and an asphalt paver and roller.

Full depth reclamation

Full depth reclamation uses equipment often described as a rototiller for pavements. The asphalt pavement and some of the existing base is ground together in place. Multiple passes of the reclaimer are often used. The final pass may include the addition of a binder such as asphalt emulsion, foamed asphalt, cement or lime. The result is an aggregate base with the old crack pattern completely erased.

“Hot mix overlays on full depth reclamation base have shown excellent performance compared to a typical mill and overlay project,” said Turgeon.

Economic and performance benefits of these techniques are well understood.  Until recently, the environmental benefits of using materials in place instead of hauling off to a plant haven’t been well documented. MnDOT participates in the Recycled Materials Resource Center pooled fund project now housed at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

In June 2017, the RMRC completed an analysis of nine paving projects that documented an average of 22 percent overall savings and 20 percent savings in water usage.

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This post was written by Sue Roe and was originally published on MnDOT’s Newsline on  Aug. 23, 2017.