Grant: Alliance Grants

This proposal outlines a partnership between the University of Manitoba, the Manitoba Department of Infrastructure, the City of Winnipeg, Winpak Inc, and Research Manitoba. While advanced asphalt test methods have been performed in research laboratory for many years, this collaborative research consists of development and deployment of performance-based asphalt mixture test methods for use in routine practice by road transportation agencies and their consulting engineers and materials laboratories. Recent advances in asphalt testing have identified and researched simple test tools that can be used to characterize and predict pavement performance to advance the durability and sustainability of road structures. These tools allow greater control over quality and uniformity of the constructed road facilities. By deploying these tools into practice, Manitoba will update specifications and design methods and will improve the reliability of road design and construction and associated processes. These improvements will have a direct impact on life cycle cost of built infrastructure. In addition, waste plastic has been identified as a potentially beneficial road construction material. The newly developed tools in this project will support research with Winpak and Dow Chemical to develop and market technology for incorporating waste plastic as an asphalt modifier.