What does it take to build a world-class research institution? This week on Pave It Black, we’re joined by former and current NCAT Directors, Ray Brown and Randy West. They share how a two-person operation grew to become a 50+ person research powerhouse. Ray and Randy walk through the industry shift in the 1960s through 1980s that made a dedicated asphalt research center necessary, then dig into the breakthroughs that came out of it: recycled asphalt pavement research, warm mix asphalt technology, and a structural layer coefficient study.
Looking ahead, Ray and Randy share where they see asphalt and infrastructure research headed next, from automation on the paving crew to renewable, plant-based binders, and explain why the Road Scholars Fellowship Program, which supports the next generation of pavement engineers, matters just as much as any single research finding.
Here’s a sneak peek into this week’s conversation but be sure to tune in to the full episode for all the insights. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts.
BW: When you think back on the research findings and outcomes from the test track, is there one that’s had the greatest impact on asphalt materials, asphalt pavements, or how we construct roads in general?
RANDY: That’s a really good question, and I’d say it depends on who you ask. For Alabama, it’s the structural layer coefficient. For Texas and Oklahoma, balanced mix design validation. Kentucky, switching from coarse-graded to fine-graded mixes. Georgia and Mississippi evaluated aggregate characteristics for SMA and open-graded friction course and improved their specifications. South Carolina evaluated thick-lift construction, which was a big deal and still is, an idea that’s still growing. Virginia validated cold central plant recycling, and we developed a layer coefficient specifically for CCPR layers. Those are, I think, the big-impact studies that affect different DOTs. Often you get studies that one state, or a group of states, sponsors, but many others benefit from them.
RAY: There are a couple other things. Randy mentioned modified asphalts; I know a few years ago Florida did a study looking at the increase in life from using modified asphalt, and they feel very good about the numbers they’re using for the design life of their overlays because they’ve verified this on the test track. Some states have looked at open-graded friction courses. Georgia has used them for years; if you drive through Georgia on the interstate when it’s raining, you can feel fairly safe because the water’s been moved off the roadway. Several other states have picked up on this, and some have started using open-graded friction courses as well, not all of them, but some. So those two things stick out in my mind.
