Following the ruin to roads brings success

To the average commuter, the dents and dings on the highway beneath the wheels of his gas-guzzling Expedition are minor inconveniences.

But to Jim Nichols, they represent a $35 million bonanza.

That's how much Nichols' firm, Nichols Consulting Engineers of Reno, grossed during the last 13 years studying the effects of wear and tear on America's aging highway system.

"The interstate system is now 40 to 50 years old," said Nichols, "and it's working on borrowed time.

That's why 90 percent of highway budgets are aimed at rehabilitation to keep the system safe for an ever-increasing traffic load." Nichols became a contractor for the U.S.

Department of Transportation in 1990, working on its Long Term Pavement Performance Project.

He now employs 45 people - 25 in Reno, 13 in Santa Cruz and seven in Tacoma,Wash.

- who analyze 500 sections of pavement in 12 states west of Kansas and two provinces in Canada.

"We're looking to identify the effects of traffic versus environment in how highways deteriorate," said Nichols.

"All our research gets fed into a database in Washington, D.C., along with the data from three other teams, to help the government not only design better highways, but know when and how to fix up existing roads." Because of the program, Nichols estimates that the savings to the government in terms of road repair costs has been enormous.

"It's a $150 million program, but the government has saved 10 times that in road repair savings by knowing the optimal time to fix a highway," said Nichols.

"For example, we've shown that at a certain age, a highway's condition drops off radically, and just by fixing it earlier, you can realize incredible savings."

There are other benefits to proper highway maintenance, including improved gas mileage for truckers, commuters and Sunday drivers, according to Nichols.

"We've done studies on a test track and shown that when a road gets roughed up, gas mileage goes down," said Nichols.

"When we rehabilitated the track by smoothing it up, gas mileage went up 4 percent.

That represents a tremendous savings in fuel expenses, especially for firms running a fleet of trucks."

Commuters also see the benefits of proper road maintenance in improved gas mileage, and savings in terms of less repairs to replace abused shocks and suspensions.

As one of only a half dozen firms in the country practicing this specialty, Nichols' company is in demand as a training resource to state departments of transportation.

"We've got a full time instructional designer who helps us create classes on highway rehabilitation, and we give them all over the country," said Nichols.

"So many highway engineers are entering their retirement age, that it's crucial to have a formal transfer of knowledge to the new breed," said Nichols.

"We do state-of-the-art research and show new highway engineers how to put it into practice."

Nichols found his niche by accident.

His undergraduate work at the University of Kansas was in geology, and he spent several years working for the Corps of Engineers building dams throughout the Midwest.

He then attended the University of Texas at Austin and earned a master's in geotechnical engineering.

"I came to Reno in 1977 to run Harding Associates which was building dams and foundations for the mining operations here," said Nichols.

Around 1990 when he started his own firm, mining companies were pulling back from starting new construction projects.

Fortunately, the government was looking for firms to help with their pavement performance project.

Nichols bid on it and won the western region assignment.

"The highway work took all my energy, and I found it interesting," said Nichols.

"It was a wide open field.

There was plenty of work from federal and state transportation departments.

Plus I was looking forward to a new challenge."

So it was goodbye dams and foundations, hello asphalt and concrete.

While Nichols tends to filling the cracks in the pavement, his wife Jane tends to filling the inquisitive minds of college kids as chancellor of the State University and Community College System of Nevada.

She acts as executive director for UNR, UNLV, four community colleges and a state college.

Nichols' five daughters range in age from 28 to 34, and three reside here in Reno.

The road ahead looks promising for Nichols' firm, as America's long-in-thetooth highway system needs more and more care.Wherever potholes lurk, you can be sure Jim Nichols will be there.