PASS is key ingredient in Salinas' Award-Winning Resurfacing Project

Contact: Phil Vandermost
Vandermost Public Relations
(949) 489-2700 x204

PASS® IS KEY INGREDIENT IN SALINAS' AWARD-WINNING RESURFACING PROJECT

Salinas, CA — April 8, 2002 - The California Chip Seal Association recently issued the 2001 Quality Project Award to the City of Salinas and Intermountain Slurry Seal Co. for an extensive street resurfacing project featuring Western Emulsion's patented PASS product. The project team received the award at a recent conference the association hosted in Sacramento.

In the project areas, pavement maintenance and preservation had been deferred for a number of years due to budget constraints. A re-commitment to funding by the Salinas City Council initiated a major project to return City streets to an acceptable condition, especially in residential areas. Covering more than 160 miles of streets, this large-scale project covered two thirds of the city streets and 13 months of construction time.

PASS Scrub Seals were applied to more than 100 miles of streets, preserving roadways within residential, commercial and industrial areas of the city that otherwise may have deteriorated to the point of requiring very expensive reconstruction.

"Western Emulsions' PASS material was used on the most distressed roads, which represented approximately two-thirds of the entire project," said Warren Kahn, City of Salinas construction inspector. "The pavement on these 105 miles of roads had deteriorated beyond the point where a Chip Seal would have been advisable."

In a Scrub Seal process, the PASS product is applied to the roadway, followed closely by a drag broom that works the emulsion into the cracks to seal the roadway. In this application, PASS enabled the city to preserve its most deteriorated roadways for several more years without requiring additional maintenance.

"The project was highly successful due to the cooperation between the City of Salinas and the contractor," said Jim Towns, executive director of marketing for Western Emulsions. "This was an exceptional project for showcasing the benefits of PASS."

PASS asphalt emulsion is a proprietary asphalt emulsion with highly effective crack sealing and rejuvenating qualities, while remaining highly resistant to reflective cracking and thermal cracking once applied. The product is typically applied as part of a scrub seal or chip seal, filling roadway cracks, rejuvenating worn asphalt and creating a durable wearing course. The product is solvent-free and not harmful to the environment.

PASS differs significantly from conventional polymer-modified asphalt products because it can be applied to roadways in a wider range of temperature and climatic conditions. The forgiving and fast-curing nature of the product affords public agencies more flexibility in scheduling roadwork and manpower, resulting in significant cost savings and reduced inconvenience to motorists.

A family owned and operated chemical engineering and general contracting company, Western Emulsions, Inc. began manufacturing high quality asphalt emulsions in 1977. Western Emulsions expanded from Tuscon, AZ. in the early 1980's to California, where it now operates manufacturing and sales offices in Irwindale and Dana Point. Outside California, its PASS product is licensed to a nationwide network of manufacturers and distributors to the construction industry. More information is available on the company's Web site at www.westernemulsions.com.