This week, we are pleased to welcome Julie Garbini, President of the Concrete Advancement Foundation, as our guest columnist. Julie’s leadership and commitment to connecting research with real-world needs have made her a valued partner in advancing concrete pavements. Through CAF’s longstanding support, MIT’s Concrete Sustainability Hub continues to bring rigorous analysis and fresh insight to the decisions that shape our transportation network. Building on that work, the ACPA Foundation sponsored additional research examining how healthy competition among paving materials can affect material prices and help public dollars go further. We look forward to hearing more about this research at ACPA’s Annual Meeting in December and working together to turn those findings into better pavement investment decisions.

From Innovation to Influence: Strengthening the Future of Concrete Pavements

Julie Garbini, President, Concrete Advancement Foundation

State departments of transportation (DOTs) make decisions that shape communities for generations. When choosing materials and designs for highways, streets, and other vital infrastructure, they must consider more than initial construction costs. Durability, resilience, environmental impacts, and the expense of maintaining a pavement over its full service-life all matter.

That is why the Concrete Advancement Foundation (CAF) is proud to partner with the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) and the ACPA Foundation to strengthen the evidence behind those decisions. Together, we support credible, science-based research and practical design guidance.

By coordinating research priorities, supporting rigorous analysis, and sharing findings with transportation agencies, CAF, ACPA, and our partners can help DOTs compare pavement options fairly and comprehensively. Our goal is not simply to promote a material. It is to give agencies reliable information to select the solutions that best meet their needs – now and in the future.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Concrete Sustainability Hub (MIT CSHub) is an important contributor to this effort.

The MIT CSHub’s research takes a systems-level view, connecting concrete pavement materials and performance with environmental and economic outcomes. Research on durability and life-cycle assessment helps show how design, construction, maintenance, and service-life affect a pavement’s overall impact – not just its initial cost or the emissions associated with producing materials.

That broader perspective matters. Pavements that last longer or require fewer major repairs reduce maintenance demands, traffic disruption, and replacement needs. Life-cycle cost analysis helps agencies understand how costs accumulate over time. MIT CSHub research also examines concrete’s environmental impacts, including how pavement characteristics can affect energy use and emissions across the transportation system. This helps DOTs assess sustainability in context, rather than relying on a single measure.

CAF is now in its 17th year of funding and collaborating with MIT CSHub. ACPA and its federation of chapters and state associations have been valuable implementation partners throughout. More recently, we are grateful that one of the ACPA Foundation’s first grants supported MIT CSHub research on how competition among paving materials and bidders can affect unit prices.  These insights can help DOTs make the most of public funds.

Resilience is another priority. Roads must withstand heavier traffic, changing weather, flooding, heat, and other stresses. Research on materials, pavement design, and performance under demanding conditions can help agencies plan infrastructure that remains reliable as conditions evolve. Durable, resilient pavements support safety and mobility while helping communities avoid costly, disruptive repairs. MIT CSHub is helping quantify the financial and performance costs of overlooking resilience.

The MIT CSHub is just one part of CAF and ACPA’s broader collaboration to advance science-informed pavement decisions. We work with national partners – including the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association and the American Cement Association – as well as state and local organizations and university centers such as the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center, among others. Together, we are developing resources to improve system performance and support better network asset management. Coordinated funding and outreach help connect research with industry and agency needs, reduce fragmentation, and make findings easier to apply.

Research has influence only when it reaches decision-makers. CAF and ACPA are helping bridge that gap by translating findings into accessible guidance, case studies, workshops, and tools for DOTs. Engagement with agency staff also helps identify unanswered questions and direct future research toward real-world challenges.

By investing in evidence and communicating it effectively, we can strengthen the case for thoughtful, performance-based pavement decisions. The result is better stewardship of public funds, more resilient transportation networks, improved infrastructure, and a clearer understanding of concrete pavements’ long-term value.

We thank the ACPA community for its efforts and the ACPA Foundation for its financial support. We look forward to continuing the conversation at ACPA’s Annual Meeting in December. From innovation to influence, our partnership is enabling research that is the foundation for the durable, sustainable roads our nation needs.

Save the Date – Upcoming ACPA National Events and Chapter/State Association Workshops:

Stay up to date on upcoming industry events with ACPA’s Calendar of Events. To submit your event details, please contact Vickie Spielman at vspielman@acpa.org.

October 27-29, 2026       ACPA Airport Workshop, Phoenix, AZ
October 28, 2026             24th Annual Nevada Infrastructure Concrete Conference, Reno, NV
December 1-3, 2026        ACPA Annual Meeting, Hollywood, FL
December 14-15, 2026   ACPA-SE and CRMCA Count on Concrete Conference, Raleigh, NC
January 11, 2027              ACPA TRB Reception, Washington, DC
January 13-14, 2027        ND Ready Mix & ND ACPA Annual Convention, Bismarck, ND
January 19-21, 2027       World of Concrete, Las Vegas, NV
February 2-3, 2027          New York State Concrete Paving Conference, Clifton Park, NY
February 3-5, 2027          63rd ICPA Annual Concrete Paving Workshop, Des Moines, IA
February 9-10, 2027        South Dakota Concrete Conference, Sioux Falls, SD
February 11-12, 2027      WCPA Annual Concrete Pavement Conference, Oshkosh, WI
February 11, 2027            Indiana Chapter ACPA 2027 PCCP Workshop, Indianapolis, IN
February 14-17, 2027     KCA 2027 Annual Convention, Bowling Green, KY
February 16-17, 2027     2027 ILCPA Annual Meeting, Springfield, IL
February 16-17, 2027     MCA Annual Conference and 75th Anniversary Celebration, Dearborn, MI
February 17-18, 2027     29th ACPA/PA Conference, Camp Hill, PA
March 3-5, 2027               47th Annual Portland Cement Concrete Pavement Conference, Kansas City, MO
March 11, 2027                Colorado/Wyoming Annual Conference Pavement Workshop, Denver, CO
March 18-19, 2027          CPAM Annual Workshop, Waite Park, MN
March 23-24, 2027          Oklahoma Concrete Pavement Conference, Oklahoma City, OK
April 21-22, 2027             California Concrete Pavement Conference, Davis, CA
June 8-10, 2027                ACPA Mid-Year Meeting, New Orleans, LA