Asphalt Research Benefits Nation

“The Asphalt Institute and KTC jointly identified this study as an important project that would offer long-term benefits for the tax-paying consumer through improved roadways,”

Pete Grass
president of the Asphalt Iinstitute

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 24, 2004) -- The Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) at the University of Kentucky will collaborate with the Asphalt Institute on a $500,000 joint research project funded through the 2005 federal Transportation Appropriations Bill that awaits President Bush’s signature.

The project will study the relationship between good pavement construction practices and the long-term durability of asphalt pavements. The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials had supported the proposal because the study by KTC, housed in the UK College of Engineering, and the Lexington-based Asphalt Institute has benefits for local, state and federal transportation agencies nationwide.

“This project is important because so much of our nation's economy and standard of living relies on the quality and conditions of our highways to move people and goods. I am pleased to see continued support for this important work,” said Wendy Baldwin, UK’s executive vice president for research.

“The Asphalt Institute and KTC jointly identified this study as an important project that would offer long-term benefits for the tax-paying consumer through improved roadways,” said Pete Grass, president of the institute. “This will be an applied research study that will produce results that can be practically and directly used at all levels of the road transportation system.”

Grass and KTC Director Paul Toussaint approached Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning earlier this year about opportunities for funding the research. Bunning and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell supported the study and encouraged collaboration by the institute and KTC.

“Senator Bunning and Senator McConnell recognized the Asphalt Institute’s 85-year heritage of asphalt research and its desire to develop a stronger relationship with the Kentucky Transportation Center,” Toussaint said. “Our Kentucky delegation championed this study proposal in Washington, and as a result, the state of Kentucky will be using its resources to improve our nation’s roadways.”

In 1919, the year the Asphalt Institute was founded, there were only a few hundred thousand cars in America, and the number of paved road miles was even less. Today, most American roads are paved with asphalt, and the growth of those paved roads is due in large part to the decades of work by the institute.

The 85-year-old institute, based in Lexington since 1989, remains a leading resource for promoting the benefits and use of liquid asphalt through engineering, research and education.

The Kentucky Transportation Center provides research, technology transfer, and education to the transportation industry, as well as promoting safe and effective transportation systems.