ACPA Takes Part in PCA Fall Committee Meetings

ACPA’s Laura O’Neill Kaumo and Eric Ferrebee, ACPA CO/WY Chapter’s Angela Folkestad and AOE’s Kimberly Kayler presented to the Portland Cement Association (PCA)’s Market Development Council Meeting during their 2022 Fall Meetings in Aurora, CO. The session detailed how ACPA is utilizing and expanding on PCA’s Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality, the landmark plan from PCA which commits the cement-concrete value chain to carbon neutrality by 2050. Centering around the forthcoming ACPA Sustainability White Paper, the presentation featured efforts to complement the Roadmap with pavement-relevant terms and an emphasis on the lifecycle approach. The adaptation to the pavement industry also includes ACPA’s Permanent Pavements campaign, audience-specific messaging strategies, local issues such as state-specific EPD requirements and how ACPA is incorporating the work of MIT’s Concrete Sustainability Hub into industry efforts. The presentation was well received and ACPA looks forward to continuing collaboration with PCA on sustainability-related initiatives.

Technical Working Group Considers Longevity of Pavement Foundations

Eric Ferrebee serves as a member of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Pavement Foundations Technical Working Group and attended their meeting last week. This group was formed by FHWA in 2021 in response to a peer exchange and gives industry experts a forum to work through issues in the subject area. The working group discussed challenges in designing and building pavement foundations and how well current design tools capture real-world considerations. The group focused on how to build foundations that can stay in place beyond the life of a single pavement surface and serve as permanent bases for roadways, and there was conversation about designing for real-life versus ideal environmental conditions. Ferrebee, alongside the CP Tech Center, stressed the resiliency and sustainability implications of such design decisions.

FHWA Briefs LTIP Pavements Expert Task Group on Web-Based Tools

Members of the Long-Term Infrastructure Performance (LTIP) Pavements Expert Task Group recently convened to discuss programs and opportunities for the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program and hear about updates the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has made to several online tools. Attended by ACPA/IGGA’s Larry Scofield, the meeting featured demonstrations of InfoHighway updates, a web-based portal for LTPP and other program data, enhancements to InfoTechnology™, a new interface for information on Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) technologies, and discussions on if Pavement ME discrepancies could be resolved using LTPP data. FHWA also gave a presentation on their draft test plan for the Accelerated Testing Facility at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center.

NC2 Brings Together Local, Federal and International Concrete Pavement Experts in Detroit

The National Concrete Consortium (NC2)’s Fall 2022 Meeting, held late last month in Detroit by the CP Tech Center, brought together top experts from industry, academia, consulting, agencies, and contracting to share new developments and best practices across the industry. ACPA’s Eric Ferrebee presented alongside ACPA affiliates Iowa Concrete Paving Association and Southwest Concrete Pavement Association, ACPA member company CEMEX, partners at the CP Tech Center and the National Ready Mix Concrete Association. These presentations complemented the gathering of state, federal and international transportation officials who attended. Important conversations took place around sustainability, resilience and innovation across the industry. ACPA participated in the two days of meetings, sharing our vision for the concrete pavement industry and showing up as a partner for federal and state agencies.