The Texas Department of Transportation is testing several asphalt mixtures to see what will hold up the best on Texas roads.
Researchers at the Accelerated Pavement Testing Center at the University of Texas Arlington have found that recycled pavement might be part of the answer.
"It is important to come up with a better solution because it has a major impact on the economy," said Stefan Romanoschi, UTA Associate Professor of Civil Engineering.
At the testing facility, engineers put down six different asphalt mixtures and run a traffic simulator over the strips. In a matter of months, they can see the wear that would be placed on a Texas highway over 10 to 15 years.
"You can see yourself the cracks and depressions formed in the pavement," said Romanoschi.
Engineers are surprised by the preliminary results and said what they found to be the best mix in the lab isn't true in this real life simulator. They hope to put down more asphalt mixes at the center and continue to run these tests to find the best mix.
The testing machine is about 68 feet long, 10 feet wide and weights 60,000 pounds. UTA has the only testing site like it in Texas.
