Are reoccurring repairs a Budget Nightmare for 2016?

What’s on your Budget for the New Year? 

Are some of the same patches and fixes expected on your Budget again in 2016? If you are this pavement owner, just like last year and several years before that, this ugly repair is now a permanent line in the Budget. 

Plus, besides the cost of the materials, this downhill narrow stretch without shoulders creates potential safety hazards for both motorists forced to a stop and workers out on the road during the duration of the repair…YEAR AFTER YEAR.

Had a more proactive approach been taken—before the tale-tale signs of pavement decay—with a sound Asphalt Preservation strategy, this repair wouldn’t be a reoccurring nightmare. 

Being Pro-active with a sound Asphalt Preservation Strategy saves A LOT of money!

With proven cost savings—up to $10.80 for every $1 spent on Asphalt Preservation, just how much money is being wasted on reoccurring repair YEAR AFTER YEAR?

Contact us today for a free consultation and let us show you how you can sustain pavements AND save money with GSB-88 ® as part of a sound Asphalt Preservation Maintenance Strategy!

Why preserve a parking lot 1 yr after installation?

The bottom line:  IT SAVES MONEY!
Proven: FHWA, FAA, NAVFAC, MDOT, and AZDOT data all conclude, for $1 spent on Asphalt Preservation, up to $11 is saved by reducing replacement costs and extending pavement life.

Why does it work?
Preventing asphalt binder oxidation is a "first priority" and is critical to pavement longevity. According to FHWA research data, up to 80% of pavement flexibility is lost during the first 5 years. In other words, your pavements’ vital oils, essential for high performance, escape at a rapid pace and contribute to the Condition of your pavement.

While pavements in Good Condition, may perform well, you can sustain your lots in New Condition well before pavements begin to show signs of age and oxidation. GSB-88 ® (Gilsonite Sealer Binder), seals and traps all the New Oils present during manufacture deep inside that maintain, pliability, ductility, and flexibility—and keep the damaging weather and elements locked OUT of your binder.

Like the way butter seeps down into bread, GSB®’s unique molecular properties create a durable seal that not only keep aggregates tightly glued together, but penetrate down to become part of the matrix itself. The outcome is a binder with unmatched strength–durability and bonding properties with high density.

Original pavement performance, in this case, NEW CONDITION, is preserved for decades of trouble free pavements and load carrying capabilities!...and YOU SAVE MONEY!

A Healthy Outside Starts From the Inside!

Preserve the binder and maintain high pavement performance while doubling the life of your parking lots!

This is a different way of thinking about the health of your pavements. Rather than being REACTIVE to what happens to your asphalt and throwing a lot of money at repairs, this is a process of being PROACTIVE and protecting one of your most expensive assets!

Let us show you how to sustain your parking lots with GSB-88® as part of a sound Asphalt Preservation Maintenance Strategy! Contact Us Today!

Night Repairs Giving You Budget Nightmares?

FALL is HERE.
The days are getting shorter and if worsening pavement deterioration throughout your lot is giving you nightmares, there are now less daylight hours for necessary repairs that you hope will keep your binder protected throughout the harsh unpredictable winter months. 

But, night repairs often
come with a much
LARGER PRICE-TAG.
And, if your business is open 24 hours, less parking might mean customers may drive on down the road and spend their money at your competitor’s store!

What if you could make those closures less often, for less time, and ultimately save you money? GSB-88® lasts 2x as long as other processes AND cures quickly AND saves you money. Contact us today for a free consultation and let us show you how you can sustain your parking lots with GSB-88 ® as part of a sound Asphalt Preservation Maintenance Strategy!

Webinar: Airport Consultants Council's Lunch + Learn

“Responsible asset management practices combined with an ever-increasing pressure on budgets, is reshaping the overall approach towards airport pavement management. The industry is pro-actively accessing processes and systems to safely treat airfield asphalt pavements and pivoting towards more preservation and life-extension goals.”

–Airport Consultants Council

Recently ASI presented the Life Extension of Airport Asphalt Pavement, Preventive Maintenance & P-608 as part of the Airport Consultants Council's Lunch + Learn webinars.

If you still have questions about the new FAA Specifications, such as when are the best cost-effective times to treat airfield pavements, what research findings are most meaningful to my maintenance plan, and want to see the break down of real Airport Pavement Management Programs, this webinar is for you!


click here to view

At Gee, our mission is to provide quality products and services. Customer satisfaction and pride in workmanship are our goals and are reflected by the growth of our company across the nation. Contact us today for a free consultation and let us show you how you can sustain your airfield pavements AND save money with GSB-88 ® as part of a sound Asphalt Preservation Maintenance Strategy!

GSB-88 ® Featured in the News

New product promises pavement preservation in Council Bluffs.

Jobeth Devera, 6/27/15 KETV/Omaha

Crews are applying a product called GSB-88 ®, which “penetrates the asphalt and fills in all those voids,” said Jeremy Noel, the department’s streets and sewers manager. If not filled, potholes could lead to bigger problems that Noel is trying to avoid.
“We are proactive in trying to extend the lives of our pavements,”
Noel said.
One application of GSB-88 can last up to 10 years and delay expensive resurfacing projects.

Council Bluffs resident Bill Grove said he is happy about the possible solution.“Makes sense to me to try something new,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot less expensive than putting two more inches of asphalt on it.”

Noel said he knows the department has a lot of work to do. In the meantime, he is asking motorists to be patient while crews finish the job.

“It’s an inconvenience for a little while, but it’s worth it in the end,” he said. Council Bluffs road officials plan to test another product on the roads later this summer to see which will work best in the long run.

Click here for video.

GSB-88® received 4th GreenCircle® Certification!

We’ve all heard in the news the increasing scrutiny and even some lawsuits over health-food claims and misleading ingredients.

You may also be skeptical about new sealcoat products and their claims...but GSB-88® is not just another sealcoat! Gilsonite Sealer Binder comes from Gilsonite, a unique natural hydrocarbon high in asphaltenes and nitrogen compounds–completely unrefined; nothing taken out or added. And, GSB-88® can be tested with quantifiable and predictable results!

Just recently GSB-88® was submitted to the rigorous and Internationally accepted Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) conducted by 3rd party testing & analysis.

We proudly announce, on behalf of our distributor ASI, GSB-88® has received GreenCircle® Certification for the 4th consecutive year! GSB-88® received high scores in all categories, and GSB-88® remains the only product in its category to be recognized.

If utilized globally, GSB-88® could save 1.2 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year and billions of dollars in savings!

Click here to see the certificate here.

GSB-88® Saves Money / Improves Safety in Parking Lots!

While thousands of people slip and fall in parking lots each year, statistics have shown that most parking lot accidents are the result of slippery conditions in poorly maintained parking lots during the winter. And any other time during the year, very rarely does the average patron talking on their mobile device or carrying oversized packages–otherwise distracted–consider the safety of the pavement they are walking on. No matter the size, every inch of your parking lot needs to be carefully maintained because patrons walk over every part of it!

This is of the utmost importance, because, you, the parking lot owner could be held liable in court if an injury was caused by damaged/aging pavement, potholes, or crumbling curbs. In other words, if you are found to be negligent because your lot wasn’t kept properly safe you could be shelling out thousands of dollars in claims!

You have a few options when it comes to effective parking lot maintenance. You can wait until you see some raveling or cracks in the pavement and apply a fix that may only last a season–or you can get ahead of the damage with a pro-active Asphalt Preservation Strategy with GSB-88®. 



Because GSB-88® is not a typical coating, it’s unique regenerative properties allow the product to penetrate through and become part of the surface of asphalt pavement while preserving and strengthening the binder. Any deterioration your pavement may have been experiencing will be halted and the lot will actually retain the black “like-new” appearance.

Plus, applications of GSB-88® are quick-curing and require little downtime and last 2x as long as other processes–getting patrons back into your business a lot faster with fewer headaches.

GSB-88® saves you money and improves safety. Give us call and we’ll show you the difference!

Can Asphalt Preservation REALLY Impact a Pavement's Load-Carrying Capability?

There are
always variables affecting a road, but the impact of preventive maintenance
can be this noticeable!










What Determines the Load-Carrying Capability of Asphalt Pavement?
Asphalt pavement mixes are mostly made of Aggregates (90-95% of the pavement mix, by weight) and Asphalt Binder (4-8% of the pavement mix, by weight).

Aggregates provide most of the load-bearing properties of the mix. I.E., crushed stone, gravel, and sand–all hard, inert mineral materials. In contrast, as defined by the FHWA, the Asphalt Binder, typically produced by refineries during petroleum processing, is the thermoplastic materials and sticky substance that holds everything together.

When your Binder is left unpreserved, it dries out/loses flexibility and vital oils, and is no longer able to hold the Aggregates in place. When Aggregates become loose, the Load-Carrying Capabilities of your pavement are severely compromised–and your pavement will continue to decrease in Grade/Quality/Usability.

There is ABSOLUTELY something you can do to preserve YOUR pavement’s load-carrying ability and halt the deterioration cycle–ASPHALT PRESERVATION.
The FHWA states, "Preservation addresses minor deficiencies early, before the defects become major problems, and extends the life of the asset at a relatively low cost. A strong preservation program is essential to asset management."

We ARE the Asphalt Preservation Specialists!
Gee is a Family company and we have been conducting research on best-practices for more than 60 yrs! Do you want to know how you can maintain the Load-Carrying Capabilities of your pavement?  Give us a call, drop us an email, or connect with us via social media. We'd love to share our expertise with you!

Road Maintenance: We need to change our thinking–NOW.

Not just up to Congress to fix:
In the news, the ASCE graded our 4+ million miles of public roadways a “D” and ranked us 16th in the world! They concluded:

Plus, our economy is impacted as freight is slowed down, diverted, impeded on the way to ports, railways, and city centers—and the cost is passed down to the consumer.

This is making news alongside our almost bankrupt Federal Highway Trust Fund.
But, ear-marking more money and resources to reconstruct a lot of failing roads now just means the cycle will repeat itself in 20 years–and be even more expensive and dire.

This isn’t a problem that has crept up on us overnight.
The snowball has been forming as regular maintenance initiatives have been put on the back-burner. Especially repairing minor surface defects, that don’t seem to impact the average traveler and are expected even as roads age, are often perceived as unnecessary and even wasteful spending by states, counties, and municipalities.

We’ve been building roads the same way for 50 years:
The traditional way we think about the life of a road is adding to the problem. Even today, we build a road based on a 20 yr life-cycle, leave it alone for a number of years “because it looks and performs Good”, and then act when the damage is clearly visible with varying degrees of fixes; patches, crack-sealing, overlays—often determined by what’s available in the budget and not what’s best for the health of the road.

One significant problem:
By the time the damage IS seen, over time, the binder strength has already been compromised.

The “fix” does not work:

• It does NOT improve binder health
• It uses a lot of resources for little gain

In other-words, It does NOT significantly extend the life of the road.
Also, since the lion’s share of the road maintenance budget went towards trying to fix Poor Condition roads, little if any is left to maintain Good Condition roads.

A better way—We MUST Maintain Good Condition Roads:
Asphalt Preservation with GSB-88:

• Penetrates into the pavement matrix; becomes part of the surface of asphalt, sealing and binding aggregates tightly together.
• Halts surface oxidation/weathering
• Lasts 2x as long as other products/extends pavement life
• Saves 10x over the Cost of 1 Asphalt Overlay!

The Future Impact:

We need take responsibility NOW-road by road-at the local, county, state, and federal level, and do our part to ensure a sustainable infrastructure for our children.

If all Good Condition roads were maintained and preserved on a regular schedule not only would there be significant cost-savings, but road life would be extended 20-30, even 40+ yrs!

Sound too good to be true? We have pavements that have been in service for 42+ yrs! Let us show you how you can create sustainable roads. Contact us today!

FAA revised "P" Specifications Listing

The recently published Federal Aviation Administration’s revised Advisory Circular contains new and revised “P” Specs.

They are as follows:

P-608
Emulsified Asphalt Seal Coat
Recommended Use:
For ALL airfield pavements – including runways, low speed taxiways, shoulders, overruns, roads, parking areas. For maximum benefit, apply to new asphalt pavement and pavements in fair or better condition.

P-609
Bituminous Surface Treatments
Recommended Use:
For airports serving small airplanes 12,500lbs (5670 kg) or less.
Not recommended for routine turbo-prop and jet engine aircraft.
Warning: May leave excessive amounts of loose aggregate on pavement surface. Only recommended for pavements other than airfield pavements.
* Use on overruns, roads, and other general applications.

P-626
Emulsified Asphalt Slurry Seal Surface Treatment
Recommended Use:
For airports serving small airplanes 12,500lbs (5670 kg) or less, some 60,000lbs (27216 kg) or less exceptions.

P-629
Thermoplastic Coal Tar Emulsion Surface Treatments
&
P-630
Refined Coal Tar Emulsion w/out Additives, Slurry Seal Surface Treatment
&
P-631
Refined Coal Tar Emulsion With Additives, Slurry Seal Surface Treatment
Recommended Use:
For airports serving small airplanes 12,500lbs (5670 kg) or less, some 60,000lbs (27216 kg) or less exceptions.
Warning: Many states and local authorities prohibit the use of coal tar products with environmental/safety regulations. 

P-632
Bituminous Pavement Rejuvenation (Reclamite)
Recommended Use:
For airports serving small airplanes 12,500lbs (5670 kg) or less.
*Use on pavements other than airfield pavements.
Note: the term “rejuvenation product” carries the same connotation as the term “rejuvenator” or “rejuvenator/sealer.”

Sustainability and the case for Pavement Preservation

(adapted from ASI research)
All of us in the pavement industry are ultimately responsible for how to best sustain our pavements. 



FACT

• There is an enormous amount of pavement in the world, and the quantity is growing every year;
• Economically & environmentally, it is infinitely cheaper & better for the planet to maintain pavement than to replace it;
• Some methods of pavement preservation are much “greener” and therefore more sustainable than others;
• To move forward sustainably on local and global levels, asphalt pavement simply must be preserved wisely.

World Pavement Numbers

There are nearly 3-million miles of paved roads in the U.S. alone - enough to circle the earth 120x at the equator. Total U.S. farmland is approximately 80,000 square miles, while pavement (including parking lots and airfields) is approximately 61,000 square miles. China and India are close behind and growing quickly; globally, we will soon exceed 12-million miles of paved roads. Each additional car requires an average of .18 paved acres (road & parking), meaning that 5 cars require an additional football field of pavement.



The reality is that pavements pose a sustainability challenge. Their construction and maintenance consumes large quantities of non-renewable materials, while also creating significant energy and environmental impacts. In the U.S. alone, over 350 million tons of raw materials go into the construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of pavements annually.

Maintenance Considerations

“Environmentally friendly” can often mean “more expensive,” but that is not the case with pavement preservation options. Economically, over a pavement’s 20-30 year lifespan, it is 10x cheaper to maintain existing asphalt than to replace it. And environmentally, enormous resources are saved: studies have shown that if all pavements were properly maintained rather than repaved, global CO2 emissions could be reduced by over 1 billion metric tons per year, which equals an annual 3% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions.

Naturally, some pavement preservation products are “greener” and therefore more sustainable than others. Water-based emulsions are widely recognized as a better environmental choice than fuel-based cutbacks. GSB-88® sealer/binder/rejuvenator emulsion represents a very economical, versatile, and environmentally friendly option – plus it is the only industry product to receive an Environmental Product Declaration as well as Green Circle Certification.

Even larger sustainability differences can be found in various pavement preservation methods, shown in the chart below.

Annualized Energy Consumption & Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions per Type of Treatment:

Sustainability is an economic and environmental priority in today’s world, and proper asphalt preservation represents a significant part of it. Asphalt pavement comprises nearly 2% of the earth’s surface, and preserving it wisely can save billions of dollars every year while also reducing annual global greenhouse emissions up to 3%. Affordable and resource-friendly solutions are readily available; utilizing these products and processes properly will help achieve the decoupling of economic growth and environmental decline, and thereby move the planet forward more sustainably.

(full article and research references can be viewed at http://www.asphaltsystemsinc.com/blog/item/sustainability-and-pavement-preservation)