Concrete Pavement group amplifies resource utilization message to agencies

Sources: American Concrete Pavement Association, Rosemont, Ill.; CP staff

With a World of Concrete 2025 backdrop, American Concrete Pavement Association officials emphasized better use of state highway agency resources in light of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act funding limits now evident to transportation construction stakeholders. In addition to spotlighting the economic and environmental sustainability attributes attending concrete pavement, ACPA enters the new year planning to a) advocate at all levels of government for continued transportation construction funding; b) support state highway agencies in collaborative efforts to effectively use that funding; and, c) leverage the association’s strong industry partnerships to build out the science of concrete pavement’s sustainability profile, netting economic, environmental, and social benefits.

“Nationwide, growth in the concrete paving highway market has been modest. With the exception of one high-performing state, growth has been about 2.7 percent,” said ACPA CEO Laura O’Neill Kaumo. “We anticipate 4-5 percent growth in 2025—but that forecast is not certain. With the IIJA expiring in 2026, and hearings beginning in Congress now about reauthorization, ACPA is calling on Congress to continue to invest in highway infrastructure and for state agencies to have a plan to use their resources as effectively as possible. Collectively, we can rebuild our nation’s infrastructure, make safety and resilience a priority, and grow the industry.”

Photo: “Concrete Pavement’s Role in a Sustainable, Resilient Future,” ACPA, 2023

Consistent with research findings indicated in a 2023 ACPA white paper, “Concrete Pavement’s Role in a Sustainable, Resilient Future,” she added, 2025 member and staff initiatives will include:

  • Support for DOTs as they introduce greater levels of competition into the pavement bidding process, with a goal of achieving lower materials costs. Research to date shows that competition between material industries (inter-industry competition) has a larger impact than competition between multiple contractors (intra-industry competition). ACPA will also allocate funds in 2025 for further research on how inter- and intra-industry competition reduce unit costs.
  • Demonstrating how concrete pavements, with their rigid construction, offer resilience that contributes to sustainability’s triple bottom line (social, environmental and economic). Research has shown that rigid concrete pavements maintain their structural integrity after flooding events better than asphalt and are well equipped to perform under nearly all disaster recovery efforts. This level of resilience is becoming critical as weather-related disasters invite increased repair and building costs. 
  • Continued investment in RC3, an industry consortium of organizations and individuals providing direct expertise to state highway agencies. The RC3 was formed in 2024 to disseminate federal funding information, facilitate agencies’ Low Carbon Transportation Materials grant applications, provide technical assistance, and enhance contractor preparedness. In 2025, RC3’s definition and support of sustainability will expand to meet the ever-evolving needs of the industry, with an emphasis on pursuing longevity, resilience, innovation and economic performance.
  • Collaborating with the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub on its simplified pavement life-cycle assessment tool.

On the latter point, APCA Senior Director of Technical Services Eric Ferrebee notes: “The LCA tool reduces complexity while maintaining scientific rigor, making it as easy to use as possible to assess environmental impacts of pavements. The tool will expand to account for the economic sustainability conferred by pavement systems with the incorporation of life-cycle cost analysis.”