Looking Forward to ACPA’s Annual Meeting;
July’s Mid-Year Meeting Update;
& Sept. Chapter-State Meeting Initiative:
On the heels of the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA)‘s very successful Mid-Year Meeting in Milwaukee, members and partners are reminded to lock down their calendars for the 58th ACPA Annual Meeting to be held November 30 to December 2 at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa in Huntington Beach, California. ACPA is formulating plans for the program and expects to open online registration by mid-August … enthusiastically urging members, affiliates, and other guests to save the dates! ACPA 58th Annual Meeting website: https://2021meeting.acpa.org
The MID-YEAR MEETING was held June 22-24 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “Our mid-year event attendance numbers were fantastic. 128 attendees was a record for the past 5 years and we anticipate that the annual meeting will do even better. Our members have already proved that they are marching ahead with confidence coming out of the pandemic. We expect to enjoy even more fellowship, camaraderie, and a productive experience at our bigger annual event,” said Jerry Voigt, Past CEO and President-ACPA.
The mid-year meeting provided an excellent opportunity for attendees to participate in small group breakout sessions that targeted specific questions on how best to address sustainability in the paving industry. The group addressed 7 issues and ways to best answer issues. “Working in small groups provides excellent participation opportunities. But, more importantly it provides varying perspectives which give us additional ways to address these issues,” said Scott Mueller, Program Leader-ACPA.
September ACPA Chapter-State Meeting
The ACPA Sustainability Initiative will provide a program update at the September Chapter-State Meeting, we encourage engagement as Sustainability is a topic that is impacting every member. If you have ideas or wish to share information, please feel free to email Scott Mueller: E-mail: smueller@acpa.org.
Judging to Commence for “Excellence in Concrete Pavement” Awards:
The deadline for members to submit projects for the 32nd Annual Excellence in Concrete Pavement Awards was Friday, July 16. Thank you to everyone who were involved with submitting a project to this year’s program! 56 total projects were submitted across all award categories. ACPA will be actively recruiting qualified judges to score the submittals this week and next. The judging process will run during the month of August and results announced shortly thereafter.
Judges will score all eligible projects and break any ties. Based on the judging results, two projects will be selected from each category to receive an award. A gold award will be given to the top scoring project in each category and a silver award to the second highest scoring project. Award winners will receive an invite to attend the 32nd Annual Excellence in Concrete Pavement Awards Banquet on Thursday, December 2nd at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach, Ca. during the ACPA 58th Annual Meeting. ACPA will reveal the award levels (gold or silver), for the first time, at the awards banquet. ACPA 58th Annual Meeting website: https://2021meeting.acpa.org
ACPA Conducts In-Person Staff Meetings:
ACPA national staff convened in person in Rosemont, IL for two days of productive and dynamic in-person meetings and a group dinner. It was the first time ACPA staff has gathered in the office since Spring 2020, and it was a great opportunity for Laura O’Neill Kaumo, President & CEO-ACPA to get to know everyone on the ACPA team and for ACPA staff to get to know Laura.
The meetings included discussions related to ACPA’s:
• market segments
• functional areas
• chapter associations
• state paving associations
• allied partners
• a look toward future opportunities for membership
• a look toward future opportunities for market growth
The meetings were both positive and fruitful, and staff clearly appreciated the opportunity to meet face to face, both in a work capacity and in good fellowship.
House Appropriators Include Crucial Airport Research Funding for 2022:
Friday, July 16, 2021, the House Appropriations Committee passed the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2022. This important action is another step forward in approval of funding that could benefit the airport pavement research and construction community. The Appropriations measure provides $105.7 billion in funding for the U.S. Department of Transportation. In great news for ACPA and the concrete pavement community, report language directs FAA to fund the ACPA conceived and supported Airfield Pavement Technology Program: invests in research and technology to improve the quality of
• airfield pavements
• reduce costs
• improve safety
Leif Wathne, Executive Vice President-ACPA said, “Going back to 2018, we worked closely with both PCA and NAPA to advocate for an airport technology program in the 2018 FAA bill (the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018). With the language secured in that authorizing bill, ACPA, with support from PCA and NAPA, then secured an additional $6 million in funds appropriated over the baseline amount for airport technology research in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The APTP program is the basis for the CP Tech Center’s recent cooperative agreement with FAA that will provide researchers around the country the opportunity to help address some of the critical research needs in concrete construction for airfields.”
The legislation also provides $61.9 billion in Highway Trust Fund contract authority to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) programs, consistent with the INVEST in America Act. For discretionary programs, the bill proposes $1.2 billion in funding for the RAISE grant program (previously known as BUILD) and $400 million in supplemental funding for the Airport Improvement Program. Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill-Fiscal Year 2022: www.acpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/House-Appropriations-Committee-THUD-report-July-2021.pdf
AASHTO Committee on Maintenance Virtual Annual Meeting:
During the week of August 19, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)’s Committee on Maintenance is conducting its 2021 virtual annual meeting. The annual meeting consists of two general sessions and several Technical Working Group (TWG) meetings.
JULY 19 TWG meetings consisted of:
• AASHTO updates
• FHWA updates
• Industry updates
• IGGA/ACPA updates on the TSP2 concrete ETG activities. The TSP2 ETG had previously developed a diamond grinding standard/guideline for pavement preservation. These guidelines will be posted on the recently created AASHTO electronic supplement which should be available at the end of August/ early September. This is the first of several concrete preservations/standards that will be developed by the ETG and the first published by AASHTO.
JULY 20 TWG meetings consisted of:
4 presentations:
• NCHRP 51-16 Synthesis on Maintenance and Surface Preparation Activities Prior to Pavement Preservation
• Pavement Maintenance Activities- Best Practices Field Guides
• Using a New Crack Density Metric in Pavement Management
• National Roadway Research Alliance Update
For additional details, Please contact:
Larry Scofield, Pavement Innovation-ACPA/IGGA and Director of Engineering & Research-IGGA
E-mail: lscofield@pavement.com
ACPA to Deliver Best Practices Workshop at Memphis International Airport (MEM):
ACPA National and ACPA Southeast Chapter will team up to deliver a “Best Practices in Airfield Concrete Pavement Construction Workshop” at the Memphis International Airport (MEM) in Memphis, Tennessee (TN). MEM is home to FedEx’s largest hub and recently re-took the honor as the busiest cargo airport in the world.
Construction of a consolidated aircraft de-icing facility is currently underway at MEM that will be 367,000 square yard – 18.5-inch thick airfield concrete pavement, and paved by ACPA member, RC Construction Inc. Parsons, who is handling the project construction management for the Airport, reached out to ACPA and requested the workshop to help educate and train their inspection team in airfield pavement construction best practices and provide guidance on the interpretation of some unclear provisions in the FAA construction specification.
“Although this involves a lot of paving, it is part of a much larger project that requires inspectors with numerous expertise, not just pavement construction inspectors. So, this workshop will give us an opportunity to educate the construction management’s large inspection team in what to look for in best pavement construction practices and specification interpretation”, said Gary Mitchell, P.E., Vice President Airports and Pavement Technology-ACPA. This type of training is something ACPA is ideally suited to do, and is an excellent example of the significant value ACPA’s technical expertise represents to both contractors and owners. Gerald Jasper, P.E., Airport Consultant–ACPA Southeast Chapter, will also be helping with the development and delivery of this workshop.
ACPA Participates in TRB’s Mid-Year Committee Meetings:
The Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) Concrete Pavement Design & Rehabilitation (AKP20) and Concrete Pavement Construction & Rehabilitation (AKC50) committees held their annual mid-year meetings virtually the week of July 19. These committees are formed by a unique cross-section of federal and state agencies, industry, academia, and consultants to help set and push forward the research agenda for concrete pavements.
Eric Ferrebee, P.E., Director of Technical Services–ACPA, and Larry Scofield, P.E., Director of Pavement Innovation-ACPA, participated in these meetings along with various ACPA Chapter Executives, CP Tech Center staff, FHWA personnel, State DOT representatives, and members of academia. Participants in the meeting discussed:
• various concrete pavement related research needs including the growing interest in pavement resiliency
• impact of construction factors on concrete design
• characterizing the design impacts of pavement foundation layers on long-term pavement performance
TRB’s next meeting will be the 101st Annual TRB Meeting, in-person in Washington, D.C. in January 2022.