Despite Omicron uncertainties, ACPA’s time at the Transportation Research Board’s Annual Meeting was a success! Our 25th Annual Willard Reception drew over 150 members of the academic, governmental, and industry community to gather on the sidelines of TRB to enjoy refreshments and make new connections. The event is made possible by our generous sponsors, whose support for the industry enabled us to host this anticipated event once again. A full list of sponsors can be found here – thank you for being steadfast allies of the concrete pavement industry!

On the technical side, TRB sets the stage for imminent and future research. ACPA participates in committees related to Concrete, Pavement, Construction, Rehabilitation, and others to ensure that the concrete pavement industry’s priorities are represented and the voice of our members is heard as DOTs, FHWA, and other stakeholders build research priorities for the future. Again this year, Leif Wathne presented at the Pavement Construction Quality Workshop. His Sunday afternoon workshop was very popular, evidenced by excellent attendance and sponsorship by eighteen TRB Standing committees. His presentation underscored the concrete pavement industry’s strong commitment to quality and investment in collaborative efforts with the CPTech Center, the National Concrete Consortium, and agency partners such as FHWA and FAA, as well as the Performance Engineered Mixtures (PEM) pooled fund effort. The presentation also highlighted best practices for achieving quality in the concrete paving process, drawing from ACPA and CPTech Center’s excellent technical resources. Finally, the presentation challenged workshop participants to think about quality differently and acknowledge that agencies serious about quality construction on a consistent basis must commit to a program of projects that enables quality to develop and take hold.