At the recent Annual Meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) “Committee on Materials and Pavements (AASHTO COMP)” (click left on “AASHTO COMP” for PDF), the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) presented an overview of association activities in support of the concrete pavement industry and highway agencies throughout the country. The meeting was held in Cincinnati, Ohio, August 5-10, hosting materials engineers, pavement engineers, technical experts from highway departments, and technical experts from various agencies throughout the United States. 2018 AASHTO COMP was focused on materials testing, specification, performance, pavement design, testing, and management.
The 5 1/2-day meeting included Plenary Sessions and Technical Working Sessions, with breakfasts, breaks, luncheons, dinners, receptions, and social events.
Leif Wathne, Executive Vice President-ACPA and ISCP Board Member, discussed and highlighted:
- American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA)’s organizational focus
- Partnership activities with International Grooving and Grinding Association (IGGA)/ACPA Concrete Pavement Preservation Partnership = IGGA / ACPA CP3: Serves as the technical resource and industry leader in the marketing of optimized pavement surfaces, concrete pavement restoration, and pavement preservation around the world.
- National Concrete Pavement Technology Center (CP Tech Center)
- Affiliated chapter network
- ACPA’s robust contractor membership
- Steady increase in overall membership
- Addition of the Florida Chapter
- Projections for continued concrete pavement market growth for 2018
As ACPA looks to the future, the association is also investing in future leadership through its Emerging Leaders Group and Interns for the Future Program (IPRF). For the June 2018 ISCP article titled “IPRF/ACPA Successful Inaugural Summer Intern Program—Opened Vast World for Students & New Employees”, please go to: https://www.concretepavements.org/2018/08/09/iprf-acpa-successful-inaugural-summer-intern-program-opened-vast-world-for-students-new-employees/
Wathne also provided an overview of ACPA’s VISION2040 Initiative. During his presentation, Wathne emphasized the work the industry is doing in support of performance engineered mixtures (PEM)—“Which are aimed at delivering on the promise of concrete durability every time,” he said. He also discussed improved concrete pavement design methods, the value and contributions of concrete pavements to meet sustainability, equipment enhancements, as well as ACPA and CP Tech Center resources aimed at educating and informing contractors and engineers of best practices and ways to achieve quality concrete pavements.
The next annual meeting of AASHTO COMP is scheduled for August 5 -9, 2019, in Baltimore, MD. For the AASHTO COMP 2018 brochure, please click on image above, or go to: AASHTOCOMP_PDF (https://materials.transportation.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2018/07/COMP18-Program-v4-sm.pdf)
For original article, please go to: http://www.acpa.org/aashto-comp-0818/