1 00:00:00,704 --> 00:00:02,787 (swoosh) 2 00:00:08,940 --> 00:00:12,360 - [Narrator] About 19,000 lane miles are resurfaced 3 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:14,070 with the seal coat every year 4 00:00:14,070 --> 00:00:16,850 as part of TexDOT's maintenance program. 5 00:00:16,850 --> 00:00:21,130 Over the last 40 years, seal coats have not changed much. 6 00:00:21,130 --> 00:00:24,610 However, new technologies like the mobile LIDAR system 7 00:00:24,610 --> 00:00:27,720 could reduce seal coat maintenance problems, 8 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:31,850 specifically rock loss, flushing, and bleeding. 9 00:00:31,850 --> 00:00:36,320 - Now, more than ever before, we have an issue in TexDOT 10 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:41,140 of having a lot of less experienced employees. 11 00:00:41,140 --> 00:00:44,540 And with this lack of experience in our workforce, 12 00:00:44,540 --> 00:00:49,110 they're having problems going out and selecting 13 00:00:49,110 --> 00:00:53,900 and adjusting asphalt rates for our seal coat application. 14 00:00:53,900 --> 00:00:55,780 - The things that affect the seal coat 15 00:00:55,780 --> 00:01:00,470 on existing pavement are the hardness of the pavement, 16 00:01:00,470 --> 00:01:03,440 the absorption properties of the pavement, 17 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:05,040 and the texture. 18 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:06,962 The LIDAR, what it does 19 00:01:06,962 --> 00:01:11,550 is measure these different properties that are in the road. 20 00:01:11,550 --> 00:01:13,380 Because it's running a laser, 21 00:01:13,380 --> 00:01:15,499 it can't measure hardness or absorption, 22 00:01:15,499 --> 00:01:17,346 but it can give us some information 23 00:01:17,346 --> 00:01:21,180 that mimics what we see with our eye. 24 00:01:21,180 --> 00:01:26,180 - We have found out that by using this LIDAR, 25 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:31,563 it can help us make more fine-tuned adjustments. 26 00:01:32,940 --> 00:01:37,940 It gets down on a more finite level. 27 00:01:38,110 --> 00:01:39,940 It's not just the difference 28 00:01:39,940 --> 00:01:42,640 between flushing and not flushing. 29 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:43,980 It's the degree of flushing. 30 00:01:43,980 --> 00:01:46,010 It's the degree of bleeding, 31 00:01:46,010 --> 00:01:47,940 which may mean the difference 32 00:01:47,940 --> 00:01:51,560 between 100 to 200 in adjustment. 33 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:56,400 We can take this, and we can make an automated system 34 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,180 that our inspectors can have on their laptop 35 00:01:59,180 --> 00:02:01,170 and they can use that, 36 00:02:01,170 --> 00:02:04,530 and it will give them an answer. 37 00:02:04,530 --> 00:02:06,380 - [Darlene] We're looking at different test methods 38 00:02:06,380 --> 00:02:09,150 to go out and measure these pavement properties. 39 00:02:09,150 --> 00:02:11,580 The LIDAR gave us an interpretation 40 00:02:11,580 --> 00:02:15,710 based on, what we compared to what we saw visually. 41 00:02:15,710 --> 00:02:17,480 Now we're doing hard measurements 42 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:19,030 and we're gonna look at some different methods 43 00:02:19,030 --> 00:02:21,180 to measure hardness and absorption. 44 00:02:21,180 --> 00:02:24,760 - [Dennis] We're one of the best states in this country, 45 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:26,580 in the seal coat industry. 46 00:02:26,580 --> 00:02:28,530 We not only wanna be a leader in this country, 47 00:02:28,530 --> 00:02:30,899 we wanna be a leader worldwide. 48 00:02:30,899 --> 00:02:34,790 My goal at TexDOT, and as one of the leaders 49 00:02:34,790 --> 00:02:37,790 of our seal coat program in the state of Texas, 50 00:02:37,790 --> 00:02:41,106 is not to be good, it's to be the best. 51 00:02:41,106 --> 00:02:44,456 And that's what research does for us. 52 00:02:44,456 --> 00:02:46,070 - [Narrator] For more information 53 00:02:46,070 --> 00:02:48,630 and find the publications for this project, 54 00:02:48,630 --> 00:02:51,149 please visit the TexDOT research library 55 00:02:51,149 --> 00:02:53,023 at the link shown below.