ACPA CHAPTER NEWS:
1.
Airport at North Carolina’s First Capital City (& 309-Year-Old City)
Expands/Doubles Tarmac with Concrete Pavement
The Coastal Carolina Regional Airport (EWN) in New Bern, North Carolina—NC’s first capital city before moved to Raleigh (1710-1794)—held a ribbon-cutting ceremony April 15, 2019 to celebrate the expansion and completion of improvements to the airport apron, said Greg Dean, Executive Director-Carolinas Concrete Pavement Association SE-Chapter-ACPA.
Construction of the $5.5-million apron expansion project began in October 2018 and was completed April 2019. Andrew Shorter, Airport Director-EWN, said in an interview with WITN-TV News, “By expanding this [tarmac], we’ve added about 50%! We went from about 4 acres of tarmac to 6 acres of tarmac and while we did that, we changed it from asphalt to concrete, which is capable of handling heavier and larger airplanes.”
Along with Greg, Steve Swan, Paving Contractor-Summers Concrete Construction and other officials were on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. For the WITN News report and VIDEO, please go to: https://www.witn.com/content/news/Coastal-Carolina-Regional-Airport-expands-tarmac-508619261.html
2.
ACPA Presents Concrete Benefits to County Officials
Several ACPA chapters had the opportunity to discuss the features and benefits of concrete pavements with county officials this week during the National Association of County Engineers’ Annual Meeting/Management and Technical Conference in Wichita, Kansas. The annual event was a prime opportunity to meet with county officials responsible for infrastructure policy administration, funding and construction. Discussion topics included:
• Concrete overlays
• PavementDesigner.com
• Cement and concrete industries’ concrete-pavement-thickness-design platform
Todd LaTorella, Executive Director-Missouri-Kansas (MO/KS) Chapter and Ken Liescheidt, Field Engineer-Eastern Missouri MO/KS Chapter, and Alan Meadors, Promotional Director-Oklahoma/Arkansas Chapter represented ACPA for the two days of the exhibitor program, one of the highlights of the annual meeting and conference.
Chapters to Meet in Mid-May: The ACPA Chapter Committee will hold its Semi-Annual meeting May 15-17, 2019 at the Conrad Hotel-Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana. The meeting is an opportunity for Chapter/State executives and promoters, ACPA staff, and others to review and discuss programs and results. Mike Byers, Executive Director-Indiana Chapter-ACPA, and Chapter Chair-ACPA, will preside over the meeting.
ACPA NATIONAL NEWS:
3.
Emerging Leaders Group Sharpens Focus
The American Concrete Paving Association (ACPA) Emerging Leaders Group (ELG), including two new members, met in March, 2019 at The Center/Heritage Group in Indianapolis.
Jim Mack, Chairman-ACPA and CEMEX, and Ben Roebuck, CEMEX were on hand to support the group. Steve Friess, Treasurer-ACPA and Contractor Member-Milestone Contractors LP, provided an ACPA board update and explained the board’s hopes for the ELG. The meeting was once again facilitated by Regina Feltman, Updraft Consulting.
A key focus of the meeting was to advance the agendas of the working groups started last year to focus on: Technology, Specifications, Workforce Development, and Marketing.
The working groups at this meeting focused on SMART goals—Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. As they created SMART goals, the group also completed a stakeholder mapping activity to identify who holds power and who influences that power in organizations. The stakeholder mapping process was also used to help inform the steps of each group’s goals.
Regina led the group in a Storytelling Exercise and discussions:
(1) How to frame a compelling story
(2) How to use storytelling to enhance presentations and informal discussions of ideas
(3) Identifying and using different tactics for influencing people’s actions
(4) Ways to make the ACPA awards banquet more engaging and interesting
At the end of the first day’s meetings, the group visited Speedway Indoor Karting for indoor kart races and enjoyed a group dinner at Big Woods where they participated in an ‘Fun Facts’ Exercise. The ELG is planning its next meeting during the ACPA Mid-Year Meeting in June. The working groups will continue to work on projects and will propose ideas to the ACPA Board.
4.
ACPA Formally Supports Interstate Renewal Plan via TRB
In March 2019, the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA)’s Board of Directors approved a resolution formally supporting the recently released consensus report, “Renewing the National Commitment to the Interstate Highway System: A Foundation for the Future”.
The report and plan were the result of language in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act of 2015 (FAST Act), which called for the Transportation Research Board (TRB) to conduct a study on the actions needed to upgrade and restore the Interstate and Defense Highway System. The action plan includes 10 key recommendations to Congress, including innovative concepts and actionable measures that are favorable to state transportation agencies, taxpayers, highway users, and the transportation-construction industry. One of the key points of the study is that current spending levels are too low and that $45 billion to $70 billion are needed annually over the next 20 years to undertake the long-deferred rebuilding of pavements and bridges, and accommodate and manage growing user demand. For more information, please go to:
“ACPA Signs Resolution that Supports Interstate Renewal Plan”
and “Compelling Presentation—Viable Plan for U.S. Interstate Highway System”
5.
Research Needs for Concrete-Pavement-Related Issues at
“FHWA-Pavement Industry Stakeholder Meeting”
For over two decades, ACPA national staff and chapter executives have met with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) officials to discuss pavement-related issues and opportunities for working together to address concrete pavement-related issues.
The most recent of these meetings was the “FHWA -Pavement Industry Stakeholder Meeting” that was held March 29, 2019 at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) in McLean, Virginia. The meeting was expanded to also include a broader discussion of pavement research and technology priorities for both industry pavements, and included staffs and membership representatives from both ACPA and National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA).
Dr. Cheryl Richter, Director-Office of Infrastructure R&D, gave the welcome, followed by an overview by Mark Swanlund, Research Program Manager. Leif Wathne, Vice-President-ACPA, presented ACPA’s VISION2040 initiative and focused on the need for current and future research, innovation, and technology deployment that will be vitally important to the Federal-aid highway system. Representing the concrete pavement industry were:
- Jerry Voigt, President and CEO-ACPA
- Leif Wathne, Executive Vice-President-ACPA
- Mike Byers, Indiana Chapter-ACPA
- Kevin McMullen, President-Wisconsin Concrete Pavement Association (WCPA)
- Larry Scofield, Pavement Innovation-ACPA
- Ray Seipp, President Mid-Atlantic Chapter-ACPA
- Gordon Smith, Associate Director-CP Tech Center
- Mark Snyder, President and Manager-Pavement Engineering and Research Consultants (PERC), LL
Discussions revolved around various concrete-pavement-related topics, including:
1) Concrete materials, 2) Processes, 3) Design innovations, and 4) Improved decision-making. Industry priorities were emphasized, including:
- Performance engineered mixtures PEMs
- Early opening to traffic
- Fly ash considerations
- Fundamental research around load transfer and impacts on long-term performance of pavements
- Design and performance optimization using construction QC and QA information
- Decision making pertaining to the use of remaining service life as an asset management tool, network-level pavement structural evaluation, asset management, and new performance measures
Breakout sessions were used to discuss industry-specific research topics and opportunities for collaboration with FHWA, as well as stakeholder communications and interaction with the FHWA. The concrete pavement industry is optimistic that this meeting will be the start of an improved and more effective engagement in FHWA’s research and technology endeavors. ACPA is hopeful that a more formalized and regular mechanism for exchanging ideas and priorities will result in a more collaborative, cohesive national concrete pavement research and technology program.
6.
ACPA Featured in Construction in Focus Magazine
ACPA was featured prominently in the printed and digital editions of “CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS” Magazine (April 2019). Jerry Voigt, President and CEO-ACPA and Bill Davenport, VP-Communications-ACPA, collaborated on the article, which provides insights into a few of the high priority initiatives and issues on which ACPA is focused, including:
• Competition
• VISION2040
• Association’s role in the concrete pavement industry
The magazine reaches 112,000 construction professionals throughout North America, and about 44% of the readers are senior management officials. More than 65% of the readers are contractors, suppliers, and engineering/consulting firms.
To read the article “Driving the Concrete Pavement Industry Forward”, please click on image above, or go to: https://mags.constructioninfocus.com/brochures/2019/04/american_concrete_pavement_association/#page=1
For the complete issue of “Construction in Focus” Magazine, please go to: https://mags.constructioninfocus.com/mag/CIFNAApr2019/#page=1
7.
ACPA Podcast: Discusses Highway Investment
“Inaction is not an option for ACPA and its members”—one of the key messages Jerry Voigt, President and CEO-ACPA, expressed in one of the latest Portland Cement Association (PCA) “Hard Facts” Podcast titled “Leadership Wanted”.
Jerry discussed these main topics:
• Need for investment at the federal level
• What is driving the increasing focus on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) taxes
• Realities of focusing too much on pavement preservation
• Other points that support the critical need for investment in the nation’s highways and other infrastructure.
Jerry also mentioned:
• ACPA’s VISION2040 initiative—which is taking a long-term view of the nation’s surface transportation infrastructure needs
• The need for inter-agency competition, citing it as an example of good stewardship
For the PODCAST PAGE, please go to: https://www.cement.org/newsroom/hard-facts-podcast. Click on episode 7, “Leadership Wanted”.