Sources: American Concrete Pavement Association, Rosemont, Ill.; CP staff
The American Concrete Pavement Association, Iowa State University-hosted National Concrete Pavement Technology Center and allies have formed the Reduced Carbon Concrete Consortium (RC3) to assist state departments of transportation and other qualifying entities eyeing grants under the just-announced Federal Highway Administration Low-Carbon Transportation Materials (LCTM) program. RC3 will provide DOTs technical assistance and facilitate contractor preparedness with critical next steps in LCTM pursuits—starting with the preparation, solicitation and/or submittal of Environmental Product Declarations.
Joining ACPA and the CP Tech Center in RC3 leadership are Wiss, Janey, Elstner Principal Thomas Van Dam, Ph.D., P.E., FACI, LEED AP, and Michigan-based engineering consultant Lawrence Sutter, Ph.D., P.E., FASTM, FACI. In tandem with Consortium activities, ACPA will offer specifications and materials selection consultation, workshops, technical engineering support, and other LCTM program advisement. Early on, the CP Tech Center’s recently released Guide for Reducing the Cradle-to-Gate Embodied Carbon Emissions of Paving Concrete is available to help agencies reduce concrete pavement mix production environmental impacts prior to leaving the batch plant.
“We are aligned with the Federal Highway Administration and will be supporting their efforts in every way possible. We applaud their commitment to lowering the greenhouse gas emissions of U.S. infrastructure,” says ACPA CEO Laura O’Neill Kaumo.
The agency’s LCTM announcement, adds Van Dam, “Is the moment we’ve been waiting for [and] a great opportunity for the construction industry. RC3 is here to help agencies and contractors secure funding and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our infrastructure—something concrete, as a material, is well positioned to do.”