Benton County roads get new technology

Crews with Springdale Public Works Department pave a road Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013 in Springdale. Benton County's roads department has now invested in similar technology; an asphalt paving machine to recycle road surfaces and a high-tech positioning system.
Crews with Springdale Public Works Department pave a road Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013 in Springdale. Benton County's roads department has now invested in similar technology; an asphalt paving machine to recycle road surfaces and a high-tech positioning system.

BENTONVILLE -- Benton County officials want to bring modern technology to the Road Department.

Jay Frasier, public services administrator, recently bought an asphalt zipper machine to pave and repair county roads. The county also is buying a Topcon Positioning System that uses a GIS (geographic information system) location system and computers to direct vehicles that do road work.

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More information about the Benton County Road Department can be found on the county website at www.bentoncountyar.….

"The Road Department is trying to move into the 21st century with all the new ways of doing things that are out there," Frasier said.

The asphalt zipper machine allows the Road Department to do paving and repair work using existing road material instead of having to tear out old pavement and rebuild. The machine mills the pavement or road surface to the depth needed and turns the old surface into new base material.

The Quorum Court last month approved transferring $200,000 within the department's 2016 budget to cover the purchase.

The Topcon system uses GIS technology to determine the precise location of a work site and allows the Road Department to do whatever work is needed according to design specifications, Frasier said. The GIS information for the location is fed into computers that show operators how to set the angle and elevation of the blade on a bulldozer or grader, for example.

"You can attach it to the machines, and then you program that information into the Topcon, and that machine will do what the Topcon tells it to do. The majority of our equipment is compatible," Frasier said.

Outgoing County Judge Bob Clinard said the technology is proven in Arkansas.

"All of the Highway Department contractors are using it," Clinard said. "The people doing the work on I-49 right now are using it. If you drive by you can see these poles with antennas sticking out. They can program the elevation and grading for a road, then the Topcon unit sets the machine. The operator, all he's got to do is drive the grader."

Pat Adams, justice of the peace and chairman of the Quorum Court Transportation Committee, said he supports the pursuit of new technology for the Road Department. He is familiar with the equipment from his experience as a contractor.

"Topcon is basically a surveyor's app," Adams said. "You can check grades, set your flow, check elevations. It's all programmed in from a computer. It can get you within an inch of where you want to be. It's an amazing piece of equipment."

The new technology will require employees to learn new methods, but county residents should see improvements in county roads, Adams said.

"They'll take them to school and teach them how to use it," Adams said.

Frasier said the system's GIS technology also will be useful to other county departments, including the Assessor's Office or the Planning Department, that need precise information on a location. The Planning Department could use the information to map floodplains, he said.

"It's a tool for Benton County, not just the Road Department," Frasier said. "If they need it and we have it, they can use it."

NW News on 01/03/2017

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