Paving contractors stress resource utilization in agency outreach

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…

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Policymakers Should Pursue Stronger Construction to Save Lives and Homes

Originally published as a Real Clear Energy op-ed, January 2025 Natural disasters are projected to cost the U.S. nearly $40 billion annually by 2075, highlighting the escalating financial burden of climate-driven disasters. The mounting devastation caused by these extreme events underscores a sobering reality: inaction on current and future construction will only deepen the economic and human toll. The Trump…

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CarbonCure, MIT lab dive deep into CO2 mineralization in concrete

Sources: CarbonCure Technologies, Halifax, N.S.; CP staff A new Massachusetts Institute of Technology Masic Lab collaboration extends 10-plus years of CarbonCure Technologies research on carbon dioxide utilization and mineralization in fresh and finished concrete. Armed with advanced analytical spectroscopy and microscopy tools common in cement or aggregate quality control, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Admir Masic will lead…

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Study: Policy actions key to carbon-neutral pavements by 2050

A new study by MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) researchers shows that the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of all construction materials used in the U.S. pavement network are 11.9-13.3 megatons, equivalent to the output of a gasoline-fueled passenger vehicle logging 30 billion miles. As roads are built, repaved, and expanded, new approaches and thoughtful material choices are necessary to…

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MIT CSHub reviews carbon uptake mechanisms in concrete

Sources: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Concrete Sustainability Hub, Cambridge; CP staff The process by which cement-based products sequester carbon dioxide is key to understanding the life cycle impacts of the world’s most widely subscribed building material. In a three-point question & answer sequence, MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub Deputy Director Hessam AzariJafari describes how CO2 uptake is a key lever in the…

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MIT researchers confirm recycled glass pozzolanic performance

Sources: MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub, Cambridge, Mass.; CP staff The newest Research Brief from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-hosted Concrete Sustainability Hub illustrates how concrete practitioners can realize voluminous recycling and pozzolanic value extraction from municipal waste streams. “Open-loop Recycling of Glass in Concrete Provides Upcycling Opportunities” authors also posit a new metric for architectural/engineering/construction professionals: Mid- to high-rise buildings…

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ORGANIZATIONS – March 2022

Timothy Cullen has joined the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute as director of Technical Activities, tasked with developing and disseminating the PCI Body of Knowledge necessary for designing, fabricating, and constructing precast concrete structures. Before joining PCI, he was vice president of Blue Ridge Design, a structural engineering consulting firm in Winchester, Va., and was previously a design engineer with High Concrete…

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Value Tested

RMC Research & Education Foundation books 30 years of cutting-edge programs to advance the concrete industry BY JULIE GARBINI In 1991, the RMC Research & Education Foundation was founded with a modest ambition: To fund the purchase of a million-pound testing machine at the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association’s (NRMCA) A.H. Smith Research Laboratory in College Park, Md. Industry leaders…

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