Blair Barnhardt, APM
Author Amazon #1 Bestseller The Book on Better Roads, TBG CEO, IPMA™, IPMA™ Academy, Driving America for Better Roads
Why Preserve & Recycle?
Put simply, it saves money. As seen by the charts to the right, pavement condition declines slowly initially and then more rapidly as it begins to wear down. In order to get the most out of your roads it is best to use preventive maintenance before the repair costs get to high. Generally, with preventive maintenance, the service life of the road can be extended thereby eliminating more expensive rehabilitation and reconstruction techniques. A 30 minute meeting with The Barnhardt Group will save your agency 30% of next years road rehabilitation budget.
About TBG
Mission Statement:
“This firm exists to consult, train and educate others in order that they too may reap the benefits of the green asphalt pavement recycling & pavement preservation processes that are available to all but known to few.”
Company Goals and Objectives:
The Goal of Mr. Barnhardt and his firm is to consult, educate and guide anyone in the world who is willing to implement green pavement recycling and pavement preservation technologies that will ultimately provide the owner with tremendous savings and expeditious construction. If along the way the firm discovers others means of consultation or information sharing that can aid their clientele they will respond quickly to those requests and aim high with their delivery levels. The chief objective of the firm is to provide the highest level of education for their client while growing a prosperous company for its employees. The firm will seek clients that are not aware of the savings available to them
by utilizing the latest innovations in green pavement recycling and pavement preservation technology.
In addition to consulting, educating and Micro PAVER pavement distress evaluation, our firm also has a handful of retained industry clients who can provide turn-key services for any size project. In addition our staff is also available on a daily or weekly basis to manage and/or inspect your project.
t seems that lately everyone is talking about “Going Green”. In the asphalt recycling industry, we have been “Going Green” for over a decade. Blair Barnhardt is a pioneer in the asphalt recycling industry and has traveled across the country from Florida to Alaska teaching State DOTS asphalt recycling and pavement preservation techniques. Here are the facts: an asphalt recycling program, combined with a good pavement management system, a network evaluation and rating system, and a systematic strategy for in-place recycling, any American city, county, property manager, or home owners association can rehabilitate up to 3 times as many roads compared to traditional methods.
For example, Santa Ana, California recently completed a network pavement evaluation. Their residential system was rated at a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) of 47. Utilizing conventional methods, they thought they would need 300 million dollars and 5 years to rehabilitate all their roads back up to a PCI of 100. They quickly realized by using asphalt recycling and pavement preservation techniques they could accomplish the same goal over a 3 year period, while saving 228 million dollars. For a video testimonial from the city engineer of Santa Ana, click here.
The Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA) breaks asphalt recycling into five broad categories:
- Cold Planing (CP)
- Cold Recycling (CR)
- Hot Recycling
- Hot In-Place Recycling (HIR)
- Full Depth Reclamation (FDR)
One thing is for certain, no matter which discipline you choose, your owner agency is guaranteed to save up to 2/3 of your budget with asphalt recycling.
In recent years, a process known as soil stabilization has also gained popularity so it is included as a 6th category.
Blair Barnhardt has has the good fortune to travel across America from Alaska to Florida to teach state DOTs about asphalt recycling and pavement preservation. During that time, he also learned volumes about what state DOTs and owner agencies are doing to save money using these techniques. By combining a good pavement management program with pavement preservation an owner agency can extend the service life of their infrastructure thereby eliminating costly full depth repairs down the road.
For example, in Blair’s travels across the country he heard an outstanding testimonial at the ISSA workshop in Las Vegas 2010. Mr. William Robertson, the director of public works for the largest municipal street system in the Nation, Los Angeles, told us how he used Micro PAVER, asphalt recycling and pavement preservation techniques to increase their network’s PCI rating for the first time since 1952. In the first year alone they saved 5 million dollars and overall they are saving 50% compared to conventional rehabilitation methods. For a more detailed explanation of their endeavors, click here.
Some of the treatments available for asphalt pavement preservation are the following:
- Crack Treatments
- Seal Coating
- Fog Seals
- Chip Seals
- Slurry Seals
- Micro-Surfacing
- In-Place Recycling
- Thin and Ultra-Thin Overlays
One thing we know for sure, FHWA has stated that it costs less in the long run to preserve a road with pavement preservation than it costs to rebuild them when they wear out. That is why when Blair opens the classroom, he asks his students “Do you change the engine oil in your car?”. It seems we use preventative maintenance in all aspects of our lives except our asphalt pavements.
Contact Us
The Barnhardt Group, LLC.
Atlantic Division
1017 Ector Drive Nw
Kennesaw, GA 30152
Phone 404-316-9792
Fax 678-398-9014
Pacific Division
1001 Bayhill Drive, Ste. 200
San Bruno, CA 90466
Phone 650-922-0469
Fax 650-616-4001
Blair Barnhardt, CEO
The Blog on Better Roads 