MIT TAG Meeting Focuses on Concrete Pavements
Concrete pavements were in focus during recent meetings at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Concrete Sustainability Hub (CS Hub) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jim Mack, Chairman-ACPA; David Howard, 2nd Vice Chairman-ACPA; Leif Wathne, Executive Vice-President-ACPA ; and Todd LaTorella, Missouri/Kansas Chapter-ACPA, all participated in the meetings, which included an industry advisory council (IAC) session and a technical advisory group (TAG) meeting. In recent years, ACPA has increased its involvement in the MIT CS Hub TAG meetings and also joined the IAC this fall.
Much of the pavement-related discussion revolved around ways to better communicate the work CS Hub has been doing in recent years, and to leverage it into effective, impactful marketing and promotion messaging. The CS Hub has developed a variety of useful resources related to:
• Value of inter-industry competition
• Improved Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) tools
• Enhanced pavement management strategies
• Importance of accounting for pavement-vehicle interaction (such as smoothness and stiffness) when assessing life cycle GHG emissions associated with pavements
• Importance of accounting for albedo when assessing life cycle GHG emissions associated with pavements
The CS Hub also has developed tools to address the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, via crowdsourcing road performance data through applications such as MIT’s CARBIN app—through the Apple Store for iPhones and the Google Play Store for Android phones. A formidable challenge is to take all of these resources and information, and tailor them to each region/market segment in the US, as needs and priorities vary greatly. A part of ACPA’s promotion plan will focus on sustainability, including information from the CS Hub.
Workshop Emphasizes “Quality in the Concrete Paving Process”
The Southwest Concrete Pavement Association (SWCPA-ACPA affiliate), along with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and California DOT-Caltrans, presented a two-day workshop titled “Caltrans/FHWA/Industry Workshop: Quality in the Concrete Paving Process”, provided concrete pavement Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC ) information to contractors and agency personnel. Representative from each affiliation provided technical expertise and facilitated discussions and questions & answers (Q&A). Scott Mueller, ACPA Marketing also participated in the workshop in support of the SWCPA. Held in McClellan, near Sacramento, California, the workshop concentrated on stakeholders in Northern California.
The workshop detailed the benefits of a good QA/QC program and the impacts on longevity of concrete for pavements and other applications. The training emphasized the individual roles among stakeholders and how contractors and agency personnel affect quality, both personally and in a “global” project sense.
Prior to the workshop, the FHWA Mobile Concrete Technology Center (MCTC) tested concrete on two active paving projects in California and collected data, and the data sets were included in the workshop to further illustrate the role and importance of QA and QC.
2 1-Day Tech-Training Workshop to Florida Engineers
ACPA presented two separate Concrete Pavement Preservation workshops in Florida. The one-day workshops were held in Davie, Florida on November 4, and Orlando, Florida on November 5.
Working with the Florida Chapter-ACPA, Eric Ferrebee, ACPA Technical Service Director, and Mark Snyder, President of Pavement Engineering andResearch Consultants, LLC, presented information on:
• Proper timing of concrete pavement preservation
• Pavement evaluation
• Full- and partial-depth repair
• Dowel bar retrofit and cross-stitching
• Joint and crack sealing
• Diamond grinding and grooving
• Concrete overlays
• How to choose appropriate preservation strategies
Ohio Meeting Spotlights Quality, Tech Resources
ACPA and the Ohio Chapter (OCA)-ACPA held a November meeting with Dr. Jack Marchbanks, Ohio DOT Director, and his key leadership staff from pavement engineering and construction, as part of ACPA’s ongoing “Concrete Competes” Program.
The discussion focused on:
• The advantages to Ohio DOT (ODOT) and taxpayers of competition between paving industries in Ohio
• How both quality and innovation improve with increased competition between paving industries
• Wealth of technical training and resources on behalf of the association, the chapter, and ACPA technology partners
The concrete pavement industry was represented at the meeting by ACPA member contractors Golden Triangle Construction (Chuck Niederriter), Complete General Contractors (Whit Wardell), Great Lakes Construction (George Palko), and Kokosing Construction (Steve Prosek). Also representing the industry were ACPA‘s staff Leif Wathne and staff of the Ohio Concrete Association and OCA (Greg Colvin, Mark Pardi, Joel Riter, and Tom Norris).
16th Arizona Pavement & Materials Conference—Future of Pavements
The 16th Arizona Pavement and Materials Conference, the third week of November, drew an estimated 200 professionals was focused on the future of pavements and paving materials.
Eric Ferrebee, ACPA Technical Service Director and Larry Scofield, ACPA Pavement Innovation shared with IGGA, participated in the event.
Eric presented an overview on PavementDesigner.org titled “Concrete Industry’s One-Stop Shopping Pavement Design Program”. Larry moderated a general session covering a range of pavement-related topics.
The conference was sponsored by Arizona State University and held at the university’s Tempe campus. Cosponsors included Arizona DOT, FHWA, local government agencies, and industry organizations.