The teams at Duval Asphalt Products, Inc. (Duval Asphalt) and Asphalt Testing Solutions & Engineering (ATS) hosted the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Secretary, Jared Perdue, along with other FDOT members, Hubbard Construction Company, Preferred Materials, Inc., and the Asphalt Contractors Association of Florida (ACAF) at their Philips Highway facilities in Jacksonville, Florida. The group toured the Duval Asphalt plant to learn about the plant operations and the opportunities to make them more sustainable moving into the future. The plant currently produces warm mix asphalt to reduce fuel consumption and emissions and uses plant automation to lower energy use.
“It was an honor having Secretary Purdue tour Duval Asphalt with us this morning,” ACAF President, Mark Musselman, commented. “The asphalt industry has made significant advances in producing safe, sustainable, and quality pavements—all of which were on display today. The FDOT’s commitment to research and innovation have made these new technologies possible, and they come at the benefit of all Floridians.”
The group also toured the ATS quality control lab, asphalt mix design lab, performance testing lab and binder testing lab. These labs offer a behind the scenes look at the entire life cycle of an asphalt pavement from initial design to the materials’ properties, to specification verification and even future performance.
Following the tour, the group held a candid discussion about the efforts being implemented towards the asphalt industry’s goal to advance technologies, products, and processes to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The relationship between ATS and Duval Asphalt is beneficial when vetting products and technologies developed to lower carbon emissions. As new products are introduced to the industry, the team at ATS can test these products and run research mixes through the Duval Asphalt plant for monitoring real world production and placement.
“This was an incredible opportunity for us to tell our story, and we are honored to represent the asphalt industry as an example of the talent and capabilities Florida asphalt contractors possess,” said Mitchell Gant, Vice President of Duval Asphalt.
