In 1993 the Metropolitan Government Pavement Engineers Council (MGPEC) was established to represent all of the cities and counties in the DRCOG (Denver Regional Council of Governments) planning area.  Specific Goals Statements were set forth as follows:

1.                   Improve the quality of pavements throughout the Denver-Metropolitan Region, and lower the life-cycle cost of pavement maintenance at the local level through the use of standardized paving materials and uniform design, construction, and maintenance practices.  This goal is being achieved through the complete Uniform Specification for Asphalt Mix Lab Design, and by the development and publication for a regional pavement design and construction manual for local governments in the Denver Metropolitan Region.  (See item below entitled Completed Projects and Current Projects).

2.                   Improve information sharing and provide educational opportunities for the MGPEC membership concerning the planning, design, materials, specification, construction practices, maintenance practices, pavement management, inspection, and testing of pavements.  Improve communication between jurisdictions, MGPEC, Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG), Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), universities, private industry, and industry associations such as the Asphalt Institute, Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association (CAPA), and the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA).

3.                   Ensure pavement design specifications and standards developed at the state and federal levels are feasible and applicable for usage at the local level in the Denver area.

As MGPEC has evolved, additional Specific Performance Objectives have been set forth:

1.                   Improve the awareness of local, state and federal engineers and officials concerning the extent of paving work accomplished in the Denver-Metropolitan Region, and the financial implications of this work for the citizens we serve.

2.                   Promote pavement management programs for all local governments in the Denver-Metropolitan Region, and to provide experienced technical assistance to the members in the implementation of individual pavement management programs.

3.                   Obtain funding from state and federal sources to conduct the research which is necessary to achieve MGPEC’s goals and implement the specified projects.

The Council continues working to resolve paving issues common to all of the agencies.

MGPEC

COMPLETED PROJECTS

MGPEC Uniform Specification for Asphalt Mix Lab Design, Field Control Testing and Pavement Construction

The uniform specifications were developed with representation from MGPEC and CAPA (Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association) during the winter of 1995-1996.  Prior developmental work started in the summer of 1994, with help from representatives of CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation).  In March of 1998, the first version of the MGPEC Uniform Asphalt Specification was issued.  This specification was incorporated in the Regional Pavement Design and Construction Manual. In 2001, a revised edition of the MGPEC Pavement Design Standards and Construction Specifications Manual was issued.  Since that time revisions have been made to Item 11 (2005) and Item 5 (2007).  In 2008, MGPEC will issue an updated and revised Item 9 and Form #9.

The MGPEC Uniform Specifications were developed with the following Goals in mind:

·         Reduce the number of specified mix designs in the metro area.

·         Incorporate existing specifications where feasible.

·         Cover 70% to 80% of the local Agency functional classification needs:  Residential, Arterial, some Collector.

·         Initial specification should use ‘State of the Practice’ as a baseline, and improve from there.

·         Use as much common practice as possible while acknowledging that the industry and CDOT (through SHRP and the SuperPave mix design system) are moving towards a more performance related specification from the current ‘recipe’ or method type specification.

·         The specification should ‘Stand Alone’ without excessive references and make clear which project specific mix design criteria is needed.

·         Use a standard format based upon FHWA / AASHTO guidelines similar to the CDOT “Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction” 1991 edition (‘Brown Book’), while keeping clear that this specification is ‘different’.