Staying Ahead of the Curve

How Bill Pine and Heritage Research Group Help Heritage Construction + Materials Prepare for Industry Changes

For Bill Pine, Principal Engineer with the Pavement Research Group at Heritage Research Group, building trust and relationships with Heritage operating companies and external partners is one of the most important parts of his job. 

“If we have a great relationship with the Illinois or Indiana Departments of Transportation, then they’ll listen when we speak up with concerns,” Bill explains. “There are very few people in the DOTs that have ever done an asphalt mix design, calibrated a plant or set up a rolling pattern, but they’re the people who modify and write specifications. It’s crucial we maintain that trust so we have a voice in the room.” 

Bill has a long history with these organizations. His career began at the Illinois DOT in 1985, shortly after he graduated from Rose Hulman as a civil engineer. As his relationships in the industry developed, Bill moved on from that role to work within Heritage Construction + Materials at Emulsicoat, Inc. and eventually Heritage Research Group. That opened the door to serving as the de facto quality control manager with the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association. 

“My primary role with IAPA is serving on the leadership team that works with IDOT on specification changes,” Bill says. “We work to identify issues people are having, how widespread the problems may be and what we need to do to address it. We also have opportunities to look at the specifications IDOT is proposing to evaluate the pros and cons.” 

Having his finger on the pulse of industry changes also makes him an invaluable resource for HC+M companies like Milestone Contractors and Evergreen Roadworks™. Milestone specializes in heavy highway construction, bridge construction, asphalt paving, concrete paving and site development. When INDOT changes its specifications, Milestone must be prepared to respond and adapt quickly. Bill plays a key role in helping the company navigate those regulatory waters. Evergreen is a full-service contractor that works to maximize road life through pavement preservation, applying a toolkit of treatments that includes proactive applications, surface preservation treatments, full-depth pavement reclamation and recycling. Bill gives Evergreen a front seat to the latest industry innovations from HRG.  

“The more we can learn, the more we can help prepare HC+M for what’s coming next,” Bill says. “For the last several years, HRG has conducted testing on asphalt mixes to figure out where they stand relative to performance test thresholds.” 

This kind of rigorous testing helps to ensure HC+M mixes meet or exceed specifications. HRG is also developing new ways to test how asphalt mixes will behave over long lengths of time. 

“One of the challenges is that everyone wants roads a very long time, but that can be hard to test in a lab. We’re developing ways to simulate years’ worth of stress in a much shorter timeframe,” Bill says. These new tests help ensure the mixes they sample will endure under real-world conditions. 

For Bill, this constant process of innovation and learning is what keeps him coming back every day. 

“I always say, you’re never too old to learn. It’s when you think you know it all that you get whacked in the head with a paddle,” Bill says. “Being a part of these teams and organizations helps me to learn and to transfer that knowledge to other folks. We’re all working together on problems that affect our whole industry.”