Who
Terry Garrett
Where
Brownwood, TX
When
September 2006
What
Economical Process Ensures Smooth, Solid Roadway
Why
"Like most cities and counties, the city of Brownwood lacked the equipment and resources necessary to completely re-engineer their streets; consequently, Garrett had to address his street problems by applying surface treatments. This meant applying underseal and sealcoat and then about a 2-inch layer of asphalt over the existing road surface. Many of Garrett's streets are 50 years old or more with crumbling asphalt over little or no base, so he knew his surface treatments would not last."
Author(s)
Texas County Progress
"You don't put lipstick on a pig!" said Terry Garrett, Brownwood's street superintendent.
When asked to compare full depth recycling or reclamation (FDR) to the surface treatments he previously used on his streets, Garrett made the following analogy: "Surface treatments versus FDR is like putting lipstick on a pig. You can doll it up all you want, but you still have a pig!"
Like most cities and counties, the city of Brownwood lacked the equipment and resources necessary to completely re-engineer their streets; consequently, Garrett had to address his street problems by applying surface treatments. This meant applying underseal and sealcoat and then about a 2-inch layer of asphalt over the existing road surface.
Many of Garrett's streets are 50 years old or more with crumbling asphalt over little or no base, so he knew his surface treatments would not last. Complete reconstruction – tearing up the asphalt, removing what base was there, and starting over by bringing in new base and asphalt – was out of the question. It was just too expensive.
Garrett attended a trade show two years ago and soon found the solution to his problems: a portable asphalt recycling machine that attached to the bucket of a loader. The manufacturer claimed this machine could do the same job as machines costing several hundred thousand dollars more. He was told it could recycle 48 inches wide and up to 12 inches deep in one pass, and it was affordable. Garrett decided to host a demonstration of this machine in Brownwood and discovered it was everything they claimed it was, and more. It wasn't long before the Asphalt Zipper® AZ 480 HD was sitting in his equipment yard.
With the means now in his hands, Garrett began transforming Brownwood's crumbling streets into smooth, modern avenues. This was accomplished by recycling the old asphalt, whatever base still existed, and a mixture of Portland cement and lime to create a new stabilized base material.