The American Concrete Pavement Association’s (ACPA’s) Annual Report included a section on ACPA’s efforts to shine a light on the benefits of competition. It is a realization of how some agencies have strayed over time from current federal policy, and a corresponding request for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to restate the requirements. Like with all products, competition is a powerful economic factor. With pavements, it is a useful adjunct to proposals like the Bold Act, or any other discussion about increased revenues for infrastructure. If agencies can demonstrate improved stewardship by leveraging competition between the paving industries, legislators and the public are more likely to entrust them with additional resources.
With encouragement from ACPA, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) analyzed state DOT bid prices and support the conclusion that competition between the asphalt and concrete paving industries has a demonstrable and pronounced effect on pavement unit bid prices and in turn highway agencies’ purchasing power (see graph below).
Given the magnitude of agency investment in pavements nationwide (roughly $50 billion per year), the potential annual cost savings to highway agencies and the taxpaying public by enhancing and leveraging competition between pavement industries exceeds $5 billion.
For the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub), please go to:
https://cshub.mit.edu/about-mit-concrete-sustainability-hub
MIT Research Brief: “Estimating the impact of competition” (PDF)
MIT Fact Sheet: “Sustainable Pavements” (PDF)