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Representatives of a manufacturer of earth-stabilizing geosynthetic fabrics say they have a product proven to reduce road project costs and increase the lifespan of infrastructure. But TenCate‘s been having trouble getting it adopted by a single state department of transportation.

With a new five-year funding plan providing some certainty for federal highway projects, this story of gridlock might be close to some kind of resolution.

鈥淒OTs have been very innovative in how they spend money,鈥� said Todd Anderson, a TenCate vice president. 鈥淏ut not so much in innovation in products.鈥�

Late last year, TenCate representatives took to the road to visit Western states, where they see opportunity to expand their product line. They were joined by Eli Cuelho, a researcher in civil engineering at Montana State University. The product they were pitching is a structural geosynthetic fabric called Mirafi RS580i. They said they wanted to meet people outside their clique of engineers and public works specialists.

鈥淚t’s an innovative idea: building a better road using a plastic,鈥� Cuelho said.

(Cuelho said that aside from travel expenses, TenCate wasn’t paying him for his endorsement.)

Developed in the 1960s, geosynthetics were first applied to road projects in the U.S. to provide separation between fine, natural materials and the crushed stone that builders add to stabilize a road. The technology has improved steadily, Cuelho said, but products like Mirafi represent an innovative step forward, despite more or less resembling any other geosynthetic fabric.

In 2012, Cuelho’s research team field-tested 12 geosynthetics to evaluate performance as subgrade stabilization. Nine state DOTs paid into the research project. Mirafi performed the best of the 12, though all the materials proved better than not using structural geosynthetics, they said.

鈥淥ur product performed well in the test, but really, our industry performed well,鈥� said Mark Sikkema, TenCate’s Portland-area rep.

Mirafi and similar plastic products have two innovative properties, according to Cuelho: they strengthen and allow water to flow through. The structural strength they provide allows road engineers to use less rock on a project. For instance, a project calling for 24 inches of stone or gravel could be cut to 15 inches when Mirafi is used.

So, assuming a cost of $1 million per road lane per mile, using Mirafi saves an agency $36,000 per lane per mile, or roughly 3.5 percent. (The product itself costs between $3 and $4 per square yard.)

The other benefit 鈥� allowing water, but not fine materials, to flow through 鈥� has the potential to save a government money, by increasing a road’s life span by up to 10 years. When sands and other fine materials reach the gravel layer, Cuelho says, resulting pressure leads to ruts and other damage on the surface.

In Portland, Commissioner Steve Novick’s idea for a 10-cent gas tax to fund road improvements has been picking up steam. A pro-tax group, Fix Our Streets Portland, had raised $40,000 as of this week (the donor list is a who’s who of the Portland building and development community).

But change doesn’t come fast in infrastructure, Anderson said.

鈥淚t is tough to be innovative, because the engineer is going to be the one taking the risk,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f they’re going to deviate from what they’ve done for 20 years, and what’s being taught in textbooks, they’ve got to make sure it’s going to work.鈥�

In the Western U.S., there are fewer quarries to put up political opposition, according to the TenCate team. But the percentage of Oregon’s pavement rated 鈥済ood鈥� is slipping, with conditions expected to continue to decline as pavement budgeting remains a low priority, according to ODOT’s latest Pavement Condition Report, issued in 2014.

ODOT has used geosynthetics for years on nearly every project to improve the durability of its roads, said Justin Moderie, an ODOT pavement design engineer. He said Mirafi meets several needs at once and could be useful in certain projects; however, he believes broader application could be cost-prohibitive.

鈥淚t is a very good innovation, I have to say that,鈥� he said. However, 鈥渢he costs I’ve seen for this one are pretty high, and with taxpayer dollars, we have to assess where a product’s useful and where it’s not. Widespread use probably wouldn’t be in the public’s best interest. Specific uses? Absolutely.鈥�

Cost is key, Moderie said, and saving money on a road project involves balancing different factors. A heavy-duty geosynthetic can see more use in places like the Midwest, where there’s softer soil and less hard aggregate around for gravel. But it can also be more expensive.

鈥淚n many areas of Oregon we have very cheap, good-quality gravel. So we have to weigh whether a more expensive geosynthetic is worth it in that case,鈥� he said.

The state doesn’t endorse products, but four styles of sub-grade reinforcement geo-grids are on ODOT’s Qualified Products List, a 209-page list that contractors can pull from and that ODOT designers use to specify materials in contracts. Mirafi is in 鈥渢rial鈥� use by ODOT, meaning contractors can use the product. But it won’t become 鈥渁pproved鈥� until it’s used in two road projects, and then field-tested by ODOT engineers.

Dean Chess, who administers ODOT’s Qualified Products List, agreed that the balance of costs is different here in Oregon because of the availability of good, cheap aggregate materials. Mirafi is unique though, Chess said; because of its dual capacity to filter fine materials and provide structural strength it fits into two sections of the QPL.

For now, Mirafi RS580i is still being used mainly in private industry, like building dirt roads leading to well pads in the soft dirt of the North Dakota oil sands. Change happens slowly in their industry, Anderson said.

鈥淲e are excited,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’re saying, look, you don’t have to do it the same way. You don’t have to look at saving money by restructuring your contracts or saving half an inch of asphalt or using a chip seal 鈥� You can take the savings and use it on something else. What do you want to use it on?鈥�