Summer is a time for good weather, and the Iowa Department of Transportation has also decided it’s a good time to test a new type of road. It’s called foamed asphalt, and it’s coming to a road near you this summer.Iowa DOT engineer Mike Heitzman says “foamed” asphalt is made when water’s added to the pavement mix. The big advantage to “foamed” asphalt? It can be applied quickly and it dries faster than traditional asphalt, which means roads are quickly repaved. The new material’s being tested now on highway 61 in eastern Iowa and on a section north of Ames.Heitzman says the results have been positive.Heitzman doesn’t know yet whether this new pavement will be cost-effective as Iowa contractors don’t own the “foamed” asphalt equipment yet, which means it’ll be more expensive to bring in contractors from Illinois and Wisconsin to do the work.
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