The American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) is pleased to announce the winners of several of its prestigious industry awards, presented during the association’s 60th annual meeting held Thursday, December 14, 2023 in Marco Island, Florida.

Following are details for the awards:

The Hartmann-Hirschman-Egan Award recognizes individuals or organizations for unparalleled commitment, dedication, participation, and leadership in the concrete pavement community. This year’s winner is Kevin McMullen, CEO of the Wisconsin Concrete Pavement Association (WCPA). McMullen has been with WCPA since 1995 and was president from 1998 until 2023.

McMullen has served as chairman of the American Concrete Pavement Association Chapter/State Committee two times. Before joining WCPA, he worked as the pavement engineering supervisor for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. He has represented the concrete pavement industry on National Cooperative Highway Research Program research panels and has served on several Transportation Research Board committees.

The Harold Halm Presidential Award is awarded at the discretion of ACPA’s president to an individual who has made significant contributions to the concrete pavement industry. Congressman Frank Lucas, who represents Oklahoma’s Third Congressional District, is the recipient of this year’s award.

Mr. Lucas is the current chair of the House Science and Technology Committee and this award recognizes his unwavering support of pavement research funding, which helps support the National Concrete Pavement Research Technology Center (CP Tech).

The Marlin J Knutson Award for Technical Achievement recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to advancing the development and implementation of technical innovations – as well as best practices – for the design and construction of concrete pavements. This year’s recipient is Dr. Peter Taylor of the CP Tech Center.

Taylor’s pioneering work in concrete mix designs has led to the development of high-performance pavements that exhibit exceptional strength, durability, and resistance to environmental factors. Taylor has been at the forefront of research efforts to develop eco-friendly concrete materials and construction methods. By incorporating recycled aggregates and supplementary cementitious materials, he has significantly reduced the environmental impact of concrete pavements, aligning the industry with global sustainability goals.

The Outstanding Promoter Award is given annually to a person who has made significant contributions through promotion efforts or programs to advance the awareness, specification, and/or placement of concrete pavements. This year’s recipient is Matt Zeller, the executive director of the Concrete Paving Associaton of Minnesota.

Zeller has advocated for testing and research on MnROAD pavement sections, leading to advancements in how to approach early traffic loading on concrete pavement. He is also an advocate for implementation of the research results from MnROAD.

The Resilient Practices Recognition Award is presented annually to an organization that demonstrates leadership by implementing resilient design and construction practices that consider societal, environmental, and economic factors. This year’s recipient is the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Southern Region.

Collaborating with ACPA’s Southeast Chapter and ACPA, the FAA Southern Region has worked with airfield pavement designers and airport sponsors to develop alternative pavement rehabilitation choices, including concrete overlays, for several general aviation airports throughout the region. Decisions by the FAA Southern Region have also begun to capture the attention of designers and airport sponsors in other FAA Regions, spreading the reach of concrete pavement overlays at airports as a viable resilient pavement rehabilitation strategy around the country.

The Sustainable Practices Recognition Award is presented annually to an organization that demonstrates leadership by implementing sustainable design and construction practices that consider societal, environmental, and economic factors. This year’s recipient is the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Over the last few years, FHWA has introduced meaningful programs that will change the course of paving to become more sustainable industry-wide. First, FHWA introduced a program called the Climate Challenge which provided funding to states for projects that were using sustainable practices including Environmental Product Declarations and Life Cycle Assessment. Next, through the Every Day Counts program, they are providing information, training, and funding on how to use EPDs for project delivery. Finally, FHWA is doing work through grants and programing through the Inflation Reduction Act to help the industry create lower carbon-impact materials. FHWA is continuing to take the input from their Sustainable Pavements Technical Working Group and turn it into actionable programs.

The National Lifetime Pavement Recognition Award is presented to an agency/owner of an in-service concrete pavement that has demonstrated exceptional performance for its state and community, and for local users. This year the award recognized Old State Highway 20 in Woodbury County, Iowa. After more than 100 years of service, the highway has shown remarkable longevity, durability, and resilience. It holds immense historical significance as one of the oldest highways in the region and represents a crucial milestone in the evolution of transportation infrastructure.

The Best in Show Sustainability Award is awarded to the organization and project that best showcase sustainable operations and construction practices. This year’s award goes to the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation in recognition of West Layton Avenue, County Highway Y, in Greenfield, Wisconsin. The department teamed up with Vinton Construction Company on the West Layton Avenue project. Vinton Construction Company implemented sustainable practices in their construction through

the use of recycled materials, on-site concrete recycling, utilization of fly ash, performance engineered mixtures, paperless technology (e-ticketing), and hybrid weekly meetings. These initiatives not only reduce waste, conserve resources, and lower carbon emissions but also contribute to the overall environmental sustainability of the construction process.

The Best in Show Innovation Award is awarded to the organization and project that best showcase innovation in either the contracting process or during the construction phase to improve safety, cost to construct, value, quality, and performance. This year’s recipient is the Iowa Department of Transportation, in recognition of IA Highway 3 Accelerated portland cement concrete overlay in Plymouth County, Iowa, with the help of Croell, Inc. To facilitate the project, several traffic management innovations were used, such as using Mobile LiDAR for surveying the existing roadway profile (thus eliminating any surveyors working in the roadway during project setup) and profile milling the existing roadway under single lane closure with pilot cars (thus reducing the amount of detoured traffic).

Congratulations to all ACPA 2023 award winners.

About the American Concrete Pavement Association

The American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) is the national trade association for the concrete pavement industry. ACPA’s mission is to develop and protect concrete pavement markets through education, advocacy, marketing, and industry technical leadership. ACPA’s vision is for concrete to be the pavement material of choice, benefitting communities and society within U.S. state and local economies. Founded in 1963, ACPA is the world’s largest trade association that exclusively represents the interests of those involved with the design, construction, and preservation of concrete pavements.