The International Conference on Warm-Mix Asphalt attracted nearly 700 people, including 70 international attendees. According to the National Asphalt Pavement Association, which sponsored the event, it was the largest single-subject conference for the asphalt pavement industry.
Speaking at the conference, Dale Rand with the Texas Department of Transportation discussed how his state will use around 400,000 tons of warm-mix asphalt in 2008, and the prospect for 2009 is that much more will be used. While Texas is acknowledged as a leader in warm-mix implementation, numerous other states are also moving in the direction of issuing permissive specifications, which would allow contractors to use warm mix in place of hot mix as long as the resulting pavement met the specifications for the project.
According to NAPA, warm-mix asphalt technologies promise to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve fuel, extend the paving season, and improve a number of aspects of the construction process.
