The American Concrete Pavement Association emphasizes the importance of state highway agency prioritizing better utilization of their resources in light of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act funding limits evident to transportation construction stakeholders. In addition to spotlighting the economic and environmental sustainability attributes attending concrete pavement, ACPA approaches 2025 planning to advocate at all levels of government for continued funding; support state highway agencies in collaborative efforts to effectively use that funding; and, leverage the association’s strong industry partnerships to build out the science of concrete pavement’s sustainability attributes, including 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,” says ACPA CEO Laura O’Neill Kaumo. “We anticipate 4-5 percent growth in 2025—but that forecast is not certain, and with the IIJA expiring in 2026, along with hearings beginning in Congress now about reauthorization, ACPA is calling on Congress to continue to invest in highway infrastructure and for state highway 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.”
Consistent with research findings indicated in the 2023 “Concrete Pavement’s Role in a Sustainable, Resilient Future” white paper, she adds, ACPA member and staff initiatives this year 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 reduces 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 alternatives and are well equipped to perform under nearly all disaster recovery efforts. This level of resilience is becoming critical as costs attending weather-related disasters escalate.
- Continued investment in RC3, an industry consortium of experts that provides direct expertise to state highway agencies. The RC3 was formed in 2024 to disseminate federal funding information, facilitate agencies’ Low Carbon Transportation Materials Program 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.
The latter, notes APCA Senior Director of Technical Services Eric Ferrebee, “reduces complexity while maintaining scientific rigor, making it as easy to use as possible to assess environmental impacts of pavements. The tool will also expand to account for the economic sustainability conferred by pavement systems with the incorporation of life-cycle cost analysis.”