Happy New Year, Concrete Paving Enthusiasts!

We are only in the first full week of January and the ACPA has hit the ground running. This week in Washington, DC, the team participated in the annual Transportation Research Board (TRB) meetings advocating for concrete pavements and providing updates to the Concrete Pavement Design, Concrete Construction, and ASCE’s Airfield Pavement committees. Within the construction committee, ACPA is pushing for research on joint activation (similar to an article we have in Roads and Bridges), safety, and concrete pavement foundations. For the Tri-Services meeting, ACPA’s Gary Mitchell and Sarah Dalton are working on specification updates. And, despite the blizzard-like conditions, we experienced wide turnout for our annual TRB Welcome Reception at the Willard Hotel. Over 150 brave souls endured the weather to turn out, including members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Thank you for your continued support as we keep the tradition alive.

Workshop season for ACPA’s Chapters/Partners ramps up next week, with ACPA traveling all over the country with anticipated stops in South Carolina, New York, Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Missouri/Kansas, North Dakota, Michigan, Indiana, Louisiana, and more! The ACPA team is going to be presenting to member contractors and state highway agencies on a variety of topics including overlays, roundabouts, jointing design, and sustainability.

Later this quarter, look for ACPA to release its market report, a new service provided to ACPA members. ACPA intends to provide as part of its report a look back on how the paving market performed in FY24 and projections for FY25. This year, as ACPA revises its methods to make this a strong tool for our members to understand where opportunities may be for promotional efforts, we will add volume metrics and market share information. In FY24 the concrete paving market grew by more than 10%, with most of the work being attributed to Texas. Look for ACPA to produce a series of thought pieces and podcasts examining “what’s working in Texas?”

2025 will also bring about table setting for highway reauthorization legislation which expires September 30, 2026. ACPA intends to be a part of these conversations and invites our members to participate in the TCC Fly-In May 7-8, 2025, in Washington, DC. The conversation will include impacts of the IIJA and the need for continued funding for infrastructure. The importance of having competition and two healthy industries will play a key role in ensuring that infrastructure funding goes as far as possible.

ACPA is working hard for its contractor and valued cement partners and looks forward to seeing everyone at World of Concrete. As a reminder, there will be no onsite registration, so if you haven’t already, don’t forget to register before you head to Las Vegas. ACPA will be on the show floor at booth C4330, stop by and say “hi!”

Cheers!