Road Scholar Program

Road Scholar Programs

The programs were designed for municipal officials and road maintenance personnel.

Road scholar participants improve their road and bridge maintenance and safety skills with the latest innovations and tried and true methods and procedures. Road superintendents, road crews, public works personnel, managers, and public officials are shown how proper techniques and new technologies apply to their maintenance and safety needs. Road Scholar courses can help stretch those budgets, providing information that squeezes the most out of dollars invested.
 
Participants pursuing a Roads Scholar Certificate will take the following four core courses: Asphalt Roads Common Maintenance Problems, Basic Drainage, Preventive Pavement Maintenance, and Winter Maintenance. The participant can choose four elective courses to complete the certificate program. Eight courses must be completed to obtain Road Scholar I status. Road Scholar II status can be obtained by taking the additional four elective classes, twelve classes taken in total. All courses will be offered at least once a year and will be hosted by the T2 Center. Each course also offers Professional Development Hours (PDHs). More information about PDHs.
 
The MD T2 Center will bring any course listed below to your municipal site. The center provides all the necessary equipment to present the course. You provide a room that can be darkened, an electrical outlet, tables and chairs for participants and a pot of coffee for the presenter will be greatly appreciated. Prices and minimum class sizes can be discussed with the instructor.
 
For more information or to schedule a class contact Carly Keane.

Road Scholar Core Courses (must take all four)

Asphalt Roads Common Maintenance Problems (Half-Day Course)

This course instructed by Ed Stellfox reviews the various asphalt mixes, their components, and their uses. Asphalt resurfacing procedures are covered, including preparation, material, equipment, operation and safety. Special emphasis is placed on proper rolling and compaction of the asphalt overlay. Superpave mix design is discussed as well. Municipal officials, road commissioners, supervisors, and superintendents; public works and maintenance personnel; equipment operators; and city or town managers are encouraged to attend. PDHs: 4.0

Basic Drainage (One-Day Course)

This course instructed by Ed Stellfox emphasizes the importance of good drainage with discussions of water and its effects on roads, problems caused by improper drainage, and ways to handle these problems. It covers types of drainage facilities, ranging from ditches, culverts, and subdrains inlets and end structures, their uses, materials, installation and maintenance. It also introduces geosynthetic drainage applications. The following topics will be covered: importance of drainage, characteristics of water, system maintenance, drainage principles, surface and subsurface drainage, ditches, driveways, drainage culverts – materials and placement, headwalls, endwalls and inlets, erosion control, geosynthetics in drainage. PDHs: 6.0

Preventative Pavement Maintenance (One-Day Course)

This course instructed by Ed Stellfox covers preventive maintenance treatments such as chip seals, slurry seals, and micro-surfacing and discusses when and where each technique could be effective. It presents application methods, including preparation, materials, equipment, operations, and safety, along with practical tips on how to avoid trouble. This course is open to municipal officials, road commissioners, supervisors, and superintendents; public works and maintenance personnel; equipment operators; and city or town managers. PDHs: 6.0

Winter Maintenance (One-Day Course)

This course covers all aspects of winter operations- planning and organizing, methods of snow and ice control, salt usage, and winter equipment maintenance. Instructed by Ed Stellfox this lesson will include usage of snow maps and formal snow plans. This course in intended for municipal officials, road commissioners, supervisors, superintendents, public works and maintenance personnel, equipment operators, and city or town managers. PDHs: 6.0

Road Scholar Elective Courses (choose four from the list below)

Asphalt Recycling (Half-Day Course)

This course discusses the advantages of asphalt recycling as part of your road maintenance program. It covers techniques for recycling asphalt pavement, including surface recycling, hot mix recycling, and cold mix recycling. The course instructed by Ed Stellfox emphasizes cold mix recycling, full-depth reclamation, reviewing materials, equipment and operations. It also presents recent examples of asphalt recycling projects in several states. The following topics will be discussed: advantages, review of techniques, surface recycling, hot-mix recycling, cold-mix recycling, full-depth reclamation, materials, equipment, operations, and examples of projects. PDHs: 4.0

Asphalt Resurfacing 

This course, instructed by Ed Stellfox reviews the various asphalt mixes, their components, and their uses. Asphalt resurfacing procedures are covered, including preparation, material, equipment, operation, and safety. Special emphasis is placed on proper rolling and compaction of the asphalt overlay. Superpave mix design is discussed as well. Municipal officials, road commissioners, supervisors, and superintendents; public works and maintenance personnel; equipment operators; and city or town managers are encouraged to attend. PDHs: 4.0.

Construction Mathematics

Construction inspectors may need to brush up on math skills specifically related to construction inspection, especially basic geometry, fractions, area, volume, and conversions. The class led by Ed Stellfox is a good refresher and excellent preparation for the construction inspection class. The course was designed for road workers, foremen, superintendents, construction inspectors, and supervisors in need of a refresher, especially in preparation for the Construction Inspections class. Depending on the interest of the participants, the course may cover whole numbers and fractions, decimals (for measurement and payment), mixed operation fractions and decimals, formula evaluation, techniques of algebra, ratio and proportion, percentages, hints for problem-solving, useful formulas, square and square roots, conversion, and transportation construction examples. PDHs: 6.0

Gravel Road Maintenance (One-Day Course)

This course instructed by Ed Stellfox addresses basic maintenance techniques for unpaved and gravel roads. Topics include road maintenance, blading or dragging, reshaping or regrading for a proper crown, regraveling, stabilization or full-depth reclamation, and dust control, with an introduction to road management techniques. PDHS: 6.0

Introduction to Geosynthetics (One-Day Course)

This course is an introduction to geosynthetics, beginning with a discussion of geosynthetics, what they are, how they are made and how they can be used in a road maintenance program. The course then looks at other geosynthetics and their road system uses, including geogrids, geocells and geowebs, presenting new materials with new applications. Designed for municipal officials, road commissioners, supervisors, and superintendents; public works and maintenance personnel; equipment operators; and city or town managers. This course instructed by Ed Stellfox will cover the following topics: history, materials, geotextile fabrics, geogrids, geocells and geowebs, uses & applications, drainage, inflation, erosion control, reinforcement, separation, and reflective crack control. PDHs: 6.0

Road Surface Management  (One-Day Course)

The course provides participants with the basic concepts of road surface management including inventory, distress identification, condition survey, strategies, programs, budgets, and field surveys. A Road Surface Management Systems software demonstration will also be conducted during this course. PDHs: 6.0

Traffic Signs (Half-Day Course)

This half-day course will cover the regulations and guidelines for traffic signs including; regulatory signs, warning signs, and guide signs. A review of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) will also be covered. An in depth discussion of sign examples, installation and maintenance, as well as sign management will be covered. PDHs: 4.0

Work Zone Traffic Control (WZTC) (Half-Day Course)

This half-day course will discuss the importance of work zone traffic control (WZTC) covering topics such as safety and liability. Regulations and guidelines will also be discussed with topics ranging from traffic control plans, traffic control devices, installation, and flagging procedures. Plan exercise and inspection of work zones will also be covered. PDHs: 4.0