Glenn Highway Pavement Preservation
Eagle River, Alaska
Award of Merit

Owner/Lead Design Firm: Alaska Dept. of Transportation & Public Facilities
General Contractor: Granite Construction Co., Alaska Region

Innovative technology and materials played vital roles in repaving a 15-mile stretch of south central Alaska’s Glenn Highway. The team used GPS technology when compacting the asphalt as well as a thermal imaging system and an infrared joint heater. The $10.9-million project also incorporated hard aggregate, a material used over the last few years to help limit tire rutting in the asphalt. While two cities to the north had commercial plants to supply the asphalt mix, the team chose to set up a portable asphalt plant much closer to the project. Using the commercial plants would have meant dealing with long distances, harsh weather and highway traffic as well as additional hard aggregate delivery and quality requirements. Granite leased a parcel of land within the project with boulders on site that were crushed to produce intermediate and fine material for the asphalt mix. The hard aggregate was mined 200 miles to the north and shipped to the site by rail.