New Zealand's technical experts on pavement and surfacing construction took to the stage in Auckland on 11 September to share the latest techniques and knowledge at The Black Art 2024.
Civil Contractors New Zealand Technical Manager Michelle Farrell said the event had been 'a real eye opener' to what was possible in road construction with expert technical knowledge and good vision around sustainable construction.
"This is a great forum for the industry to share and discuss the latest knowledge, and explore the technical details of what's involved in constructing and maintaining our roads, airports, and other places where pavements and surfacings are used.
"This event showcases what can be achieved when the industry works together to achieve better outcomes in sustainability, efficiency and quality. The Black Art is going from strength to strength, and I want to thank this year's presenters for putting together some inspiring and thought-provoking presentations."
The event kicked off with presentations from event MC Dr Doug Wilson of The University of Auckland, who covered off studies on erionite in NZ as an airborne mineral with similarities to asbestos, and what this might mean for contractors.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Chief Engineer Sulo Shanmugunathan presented on the new National Land Transport Programme, covering off the new Integrated Delivery Model for road maintenance, roads of national and regional significance, a shift to use of standard designs, and the move to risk-based temporary traffic management. While the presentation was well received, the focus on potholes rather than road renewals was questioned by the audience, as potholes will only occur when road surfacing is not well maintained, leading to degradation of the pavement.
Fulton Hogan National Surfacing Products Lead Bryn Pearson took out this year's Young Presenter Award, giving a rallying call for industry to be aware of the volume of resurfacing and rehabilitation work coming up.
His presentation made the point that the industry would need to consider deliver 6.2 centreline kilometers of road re-seals, every single day, to achieve the 9 per cent re-seal target set out in the latest Government Policy Statement on Land Transport. His presentation also focussed on managing risk around winter works.
He said there were some significant past recipients of the award, and he was proud to follow in their footsteps.
"It is good following those guys. There are some pretty big names from our business [on the award], so it's good to keep that tradition."
Higgins National Bitumen Operations Manager Sean Bearsley won the event's inaugural Best Presenter Award, following a popular presentation that explored perpetual pavements - asphalt pavements designed to last 50 years or more without maintenance other than replacing the top layer or 'wearing course' - as a rehabilitation strategy.
"We have in many ways set up a system that is designed to fail," he said.
"I thought, can't we have a way where we don't have to control failure. To me, perpetual pavements were the way."
He said while there was a higher up-front cost in designing perpetual pavements, they were proven to be more cost-effective in the long term.
NZTA Principal Surfacings Engineer Dr Grant Bosma covered off reviews of the agency's many technical standards and specifications. Notable changes included the long-awaited M04 review to enable use of a wider variety of aggregate classes, T28 test methods for maximum dry density and optimum water content, and many other reviews.
This year's event was themed 'Green is the new Black', and presentations covered off use of sustainable materials and methods, including Allen Browne of HIWAY, who shared insights into creating superior road surfacing materials that can sequester carbon (and the test methods involved in taking a new surfacing product to market).
Trevor Distin of Colas Australia featured, exploring ten years of testing for the durable and high-fatigue structural asphalt, EME2. Matt Sharp of WSP explored how use of lignin and biomass materials as bitumen replacements performed in testing, and shared his findings while Michael He of Road Science explored a new 'bio bind' bitumen replacement binder derived from pulp and paper waste.
Getting back to basics was a common theme, and Higgins Technical Manager Martin Gribble, Dr Greg Arnold of Colas and Richard Hill of Downer covered off test methodologies that could make sure the basics were done well and peak performance could be achieved, alongside Adam Leslie of NZTA. This was front and centre in many other presentations, including that of Professor Mofreh Saleh of the University of Canterbury.
The event concluded with a fascinating exploration of what's involved in reconstructing coral runways built across the Pacific during World War II. The presentation was delivered by Craig Ridgley of Aecom, who took the audience through the historic construction of these runways by the American military, and what was involved in reconstructing these sites, from basecourse installation to military grade three-coat spray seals.
The Black Art is hosted by Civil Contractors New Zealand, the National Pavements Technical Group (NPTG) and the National Surfacings Technical Group (NPTG). It is becoming a must-attend event for all involved in the technical aspects of bitumen and asphalt construction. Next year's event has been confirmed for 27 August at the Due Drop Events Centre in Manukau.
Thanks to our event sponsors
