Street Stamping in Central Texas
Accurate Street Stamping makes its mark with imprinted asphalt
Owners and developers in and around Austin, Texas, are on a continuous quest to deliver a durable and sustainable built environment … a search that extends to pavement markings, such as crosswalks, road signage and parking areas, which are notoriously challenging.
That’s why many are looking to a specialized asphalt preformed thermoplastic stamping system that imprints images into asphalt as an alternative to conventional brick pavers and textured concrete. The stamping technique is fast to install and resilient to extreme wear and tear, especially when compared to more conventional systems.
The growing interest in imprinted asphalt stamping is largely due to a relatively new business in the Austin area, Accurate Street Stamping LLC, based in Pflugerville, Texas. Established in 2014, the company is co-owned by Jonathan McCleery and Seth Ritta, both highly experienced in asphalt and asphalt markings in all its many forms.
Asphalt Beginnings
The basis for McCleery and Ritta’s company was paved on the streets of Austin, Texas.
Several years ago, McCleery, President and CEO of Accurate Pavement Striping, an asphalt striping company created by the McCleery family in 2011, and Ritta, Vice President and owner of Contractors Asphalt, an asphalt paving and repair company, met while working on the same project.
Ritta previously owned a street stamping company in Maryland and still owned the equipment. After a brief talk about their individual businesses with McCleery, Ritta believed that street stamping might fit well in the pavement striping business, so he offered to sell McCleery the equipment.
Over the next several months, McCleery and Ritta continued to work together and quickly formed a friendship. This friendship and “family-like” bond is what led to the eventual formation of their next business venture.
Ritta recalls, “When Jonathan and I started doing our research and saw the number of bids that were coming in for stamping, we began to talk about establishing an independent company that provides just those services.”
Not long after, Ritta and McCleery formed Accurate Street Stamping as a specialty asphalt stamping and marking company, and proceeded to get nationwide certification from Ennis-Flint, the industry’s top manufacturer of street stamping products.
Currently, the company relies on TrafficScapes® preformed thermoplastic pavement marking materials engineered for high durability and safety. These products include: DecoMark®, for logos and horizontal surface signage; DuraTherm®, a specially designed preformed thermoplastic material for inlaid streetscape surfacing systems; and TrafficPatterns® for surface-applied crosswalks designed to enhance visibility for motorists, improve traffic safety and create attractive walkways. The manufacturer says the thermoplastic material lasts 6-8 times longer than paint and does not alter the substrate.
“…we overlay and stamp impressions with thermoplastic material that contains aggregate for slip resistance.” Seth Ritta, Co-owner, Accurate Street Stamping LLC
Raising Awareness
Stamped asphalt pavement is an alternative to brick pavers and textured concrete that can wear or become uneven. Many people don’t realize that stamped asphalt has been around for a while. They might recognize it as a coating, like glorified paint to make an image standout. But pedestrian or vehicular traffic will wear that type of system down very quickly. Ritta says, “Instead, we overlay and stamp impressions with thermoplastic material that contains aggregate for slip resistance. That way, the pigment is guaranteed throughout the material so the color will never fade. It outlasts the asphalt.”
The thermoplastic material and the specialized installation methods deliver a robust engineered solution that can withstand extreme wear when applied to high-quality and stable asphalt. The system is ADA compliant, skid/slip resistant and effective in all climates.
For instance, in Georgetown, Texas, crews relied on TrafficPatternsLT® to stamp Georgetown’s Wolf Ranch Town Center’s 39 crosswalks. The Wolf Ranch Town Center is a popular and very large open-air shopping center serving the communities of Georgetown, Round Rock and Killeen.
McCleery adds, “This developer had used stamped pavement before, but the previous contractor stamped with a roll-on coating. Those don’t last and the crosswalks were looking pretty bad within a few years of application. That won’t happen with our methods.”
Applied in 2-foot by 2-foot sheets with an infrared heater, the material eliminates the maintenance and safety concerns created by alternative crosswalk materials such as loose pavers. The application of stamped asphalt is also efficient. McCleery continues, “We can stamp a crosswalk across a road in a few hours. It’s open to the public that same day, whereas ordinary repairs to brick and concrete require several days to cure and set.”
McCleery’s crews also recently installed the auto retailer AutoNation’s express logos in 109 dealership parking lots across the western United States, a crosswalk for the Leander Public Library in Leander, Texas and the traffic-calming artwork on the streets of Dutchtown, a neighborhood in St. Louis, Mo., that promotes community pride.
Accurate Street Stamping is located in Central Texas. However, with the company’s unique certification, it is able to work nationwide.
McCleery says, “Accurate Street Stamping crews are certified and trained by the manufacturer. Stamping is fast, affordable and durable.”