At the recent AASHTO Committee on Materials and Pavements (COMP) virtual annual meeting, ACPA presented an overview of association activities in support of the concrete pavement industry and highway agencies throughout the country.

Leif Wathne, P.E. (ACPA Executive Vice President) discussed ACPA’s organizational focus, including a continued emphasis on effective and credible technical leadership in support of members and agencies, good stewardship and sound engineering and economic decision-making, and an embrace of life-cycle thinking in all aspects of design, economics, asset management and sustainability.

Wathne also provided an update on ACPA’s recent technical initiatives, including ACPA’s new Standard Specification (M254-21) and Standard Method of Test (T253-21) for Dowel Bars for Concrete Street and Highway Pavement.

During his presentation, Wathne emphasized the work the industry is doing in support of performance engineered mixtures, “which are aimed at delivering on the promise of concrete durability every time,” he said.  He also provided an overview of PavementDesigner.org, which has grown in use to include over 20,000 unique users, over 400,000 page views and 67,000 completed pavement designs.

Wathne closed by underscoring the importance of partnerships.  ACPA works closely with many partners, including chapters and affiliated state paving associations, CP Tech Center, IGGA, PCA and other allied organizations in order to foster helpful collaboration that leverages every organization’s unique perspectives and capabilities.

The Technical Subcommittee 5d virtual meeting was held on August 2nd. The AASHTO COMP is focused on materials testing, specification and performance, as well as pavement design and management.