Committee members

Current committee members are:

Jeff Waters - Fulton Hogan (Chair)
Sean Bearsley - Higgins Group
Barry Coley - HEB Construction
Barry Gundersen - Gundersen Consulting
John Starr - Downer EDI Works
Julian van Dyk - Isaac Construction
Alan Stevens – RNZ

Bitumen Supply Representatives:

Mike Flood-Smith - Delta Corporation
Phillip Muir - Downer EDI Works / Chevron
Paul Prendergast – Greenstone Energy

The Bitumen Committee has the following Sub-Group

• Bitumen M/1 Specification Group

Bitumen Committee

The role of the Bitumen Committee is to identify, develop, maintain and facilitate best practice in the design, supply and application of bituminous materials. Committee members also serve on various subsidiary working groups providing a valuable industry voice and technical feedback. In 2008, members of this committee wrote or contributed to papers presented at the Sprayed Seal Conference held in Australia.

The committee's main objectives are to ensure:

• that Roading New Zealand is the foremost source of best practice for the design, supply and application of bituminous materials
• that the land transport infrastructure industry is aware of and is using current best practices
• that current best practices are reviewed and revised to maximize benefits to the industry and road users.

The current work plan includes:

• Development of binder properties charts, along with best practice standards for use and transportation.
• Work on a Slurry Specification/Guideline.
• Review of the Roading NZ document Quality Assurance of Aggregates for Chipseals and Bituminous Mixes.
• Consideration of a review of the Transit NZ Q/1 Specification to reflect current industry practice
• Ongoing monitoring of bitumen price escalation and advocating the use of an escalation formula in all contracts. This work will extend to an escalation clause suitable for use in contracts that call for the use of asphalt which will see both Bitumen and Asphalt Committee members sharing their expertise / experience on this topic
• Work on a chip application study.
• Developing guidelines for first coat chip seals.
• Continuous involvement with NZTA (formerly Transit NZ) working groups and projects, specifically the Chip Seal Advisory Group, the P/3 performance based first coat chip seals project, and the ongoing review of the M/1 Specification concerning Roading Bitumens.