As part of the North Carolina Department of Transportation's continuing commitment to improve the overall quality of asphalt pavements, a comprehensive Asphalt Technician Certification Program has been implemented. One part of this program is the "Superpave Asphalt Mixture Design Certification Class". This class is open to all contractor and private laboratory personnel who prepare asphalt mix designs for their companies.

These classes familiarize personnel with the preparation of Superpave asphalt mix designs for the N. C. Department of Transportation. Some of the finer points of the Superpave mix design method are discussed, particularly as they apply to designs used in the state of North Carolina. Also, participants are instructed in the requirements of the Tensile Strength Ratio (TSR) Test, as well as the preparation of forms and data submitted with mix designs for approval.

The class serves as a comprehensive evaluation of a technician's experience in mix design work and should only be attended by those technicians that have had past experience with the testing, computation, and evaluation aspects of asphalt mix design work.

AS OF JANUARY 1, 1997, ONLY ASPHALT MIX DESIGNS THAT HAVE BEEN PREPARED BY CERTIFIED MIX DESIGN TECHNICIANS ARE ACCEPTED FOR EVALUATION AND APPROVAL.