Paving At Its Best

The American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) named the recipients of the 18th Annual "Excellence in Concrete Pavement Awards" and its "Distinguished Service Awards" last December, in Skokie, Illinois.

The "Excellence in Concrete Pavement Awards" program cites Gold- and Silver-level projects for quality, efficiency, smoothness, reduced costs, and for minimizing road-user delays. It recognizes the contractors, engineers and owners for the best work in airports, highways, streets, and roads as determined by an independent panel of judges. The "Distinguished Service Awards" program recognizes the commitment, focus and achievements of some of the most forward-thinking, innovative and determined professionals in the transportation community.

See the following page for the list of Gold Winners. Silver and Distinguished Service awards follow:

By Category

Winner: Reliever & General Aviation Airports — Loch Sand & Construction Company, city of Kansas City Aviation Department, and TranSystems for the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport Runway 1-19 Rehabilitation in Kansas City, Mo. This project gave the airport the facelift it needed to continue serving a large number of local companies in the Kansas City, Mo., area.

Improvements included the removal and replacement of Runway 1-19, as well as transverse joints, piping and extensive utility work. The work was done in three phases so small planes could still use part of the runway while construction took place. A solid communication plan and coordination among all stakeholders ensured that the end product satisfied the owner, provided a quality runway for local businesses, and maintained the safety of all involved.

Co-winner: Concrete Pavement Restoration — Penhall Company and Missouri Department of Transportation for the Route 370 Concrete Pavement Restoration in St. Charles and St. Louis Counties in Missouri.

Penhall Company used state-of-the-art technology in diamond grinding to achieve excellent smoothness on this 12.5-mile stretch of Route 370 in the greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Project work over the 39 lane miles included full and partial depth repairs; dowel bar retrofitting; lifting approaches and slabs; and shoulder milling and repairs.

Concrete Works of Colorado, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), and CDOT-Region 4 Materials were also Silver Co-winners for work on Colorado Interstate 25 in Ft. Collins and Loveland, Colorado.

Co-winner: Divided Highways-Rural — Cedar Valley Corp. and Iowa Department of Transportation for the Iowa Highway 60 Sheldon Bypass in Sheldon, Iowa.Cedar Valley crews were forced to remove 18 inches of asphalt overlay on Highway 18 (built in the 1930s) and add an unplanned detour route but still used a value engineering proposal with an on-site detour to save taxpayers six weeks of inconvenience and thousands of dollars. The project required zero blanking band smoothness and received a high incentive for smoothness, with no grinds required on the mainline and a maximum incentive for thickness.

Duininck Bros, Inc. and Texas Department of Transportation, Paris District, were also Silver Co-winners in this category for work on U.S. 75, from the Collin County line to F.M. 902, in Grayson County, Texas.

Winner: Divided Highways-Urban — Fred Weber, Inc.; Missouri Department of Transportation; and HDR Engineering, Inc. for the Route 367 freeway conversion in St. Louis County, Mo.The team set three goals: create a quality product, deliver it on time, and do it all in a cost-effective manner. The project (built in several stages using more than 150,000 square yards of concrete) converted Route 367 into an elevated, uninterrupted freeway. Fred Weber made several proposals to improve the project and save time at no additional cost. Seven value engineering proposals saved MoDOT a total of more than $780,000.

Winner: State Roads — Cedar Valley, IDOT and HGM Associates, Inc. for the Highway 2-Sidney Bypass in Fremont County, Iowa.A close partnering effort among the project team and other stakeholders overcame the challenges of mixture problems, uncooperative weather conditions, thousands of rodeo fans, and a tight 75-day schedule. Cedar Valley and IDOT's materials division tried a series of mixture designs on the local coarse aggregate to increase it from 40 percent to 45 percent, with superior gradation, to earn the maximum incentive for designing a concrete mixture with an optimum, combined aggregate gradation. Cedar Valley's improved jointing pattern to allow full-width paving through the entire job reduced inconvenience to motorists, optimized constructability and produced a smooth, durable and economical pavement that will serve the traveling public in Iowa well for many years to come.

Co-winner: Urban Arterials & Collectors — the Millstone-Bangert, Inc.; city of St. Charles — Public Works Department; and Kuhlmann Design Group for the North Fifth Street Extension in St. Charles, Mo.

Constant communication among stakeholders and with the city of St. Charles Public Works Department ensured this project was a smooth one, both in end-product and in minimizing impact on the traveling public. This project extended Fifth Street nearly a mile to the north, and included a 530-foot-long bridge and a number of aesthetic improvements. Millstone-Bangert consistently worked with stakeholders to ensure quality. Concrete slump and air content were continually monitored at the batch plant; fine and coarse aggregate gradation was constantly checked for standards; and cement, fine and coarse aggregate proportions also were monitored. The end product is a smooth pavement that earned the contractor 100 percent of available incentives for smoothness, completed seven months ahead of schedule.

The Great Lakes Construction Co., Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), and GPD Group were also Silver Co-winners in this category for ODOT Project 535-03 — S.R. 711 Connector in Youngstown, Mahoning County, Ohio.

Winner: County Roads — Cedar Valley, Monona County Board of Supervisors, and Kirkham Michael for County Road E-54 in Monona County, Iowa.Despite significant delays, the team conducted this project within the allotted time frame and achieved exceptional smoothness. The unique soil type led to a disturbing discovery: The existing road was both vertically and horizontally out of alignment. Cedar Valley worked closely with the county to lower the entire grade two inches for a consistent profile. To make up for lost time, the team set up an innovative lighting system for an additional two hours of paving per day. Extra measures also were taken to minimize disruption to a nearby 10,000-cattle feeding operation, a historic church drawing bus tours daily, and 26 farms. The project team received high compliments from IDOT for delivering a safe, long-lasting pavement with a smoothness of 2.25 inch per mile.

Co-Winner: Commercial Service & Military Airports — Interstate Highway Construction, Inc.; city and county of Denver's Department of Aviation; and Carter & Burgess, Inc. for the De-Ice Pad, "WA," Denver International Airport, Colo.

Granite Construction Company; Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW), and DMJM Aviation were also Silver Co-Winners in this category for the reconstruction of Taxiway K at DFW in Texas.

Winner: Overlays — Duit Construction Company, Inc.; Oklahoma Turnpike Authority; and Tetra Tech, Inc. for the Muskogee Turnpike (MU-MC-28) project in Wagoner County, Oklahoma.

Silver Co-Winner: Municipal Streets & Intersections (>30,000 SY) — Delta Construction Company, (owner) city of Springfield, and (engineer) Lane County Public Works—Engineering Division for the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and Roundabout construction in Springfield, Ore.

TTK Construction Company, Inc.; Oklahoma Department of Transportation; city of Edmond; and Clowers Engineering Co. were also Silver Co-Winners for the Grade, Drain, Surface, Lighting, and Landscaping on Kelly Avenue Between S. 15th and S. 33rd, STP 155B(375)AG, in Edmond, Okla.

Winner: Municipal Streets & Intersections (<30,000 SY) — Surianello General Concrete Contractor, Inc.; (owner) New York State Department of Transportation; and (engineer) URS Corporation for the Reconstruction of Routes 36 and 408 in the village of Mt. Morris and towns of Mt. Morris and Leicester in Livingston County, N.Y.

The ACPA announced James Lafrenz, P.E., as the first recipient of the Hartmann-Hirschman-Egan Award. This year ACPA formally recast the coveted Hartmann-Hirschman Award to include the name of Edward A. Egan for his steadfast leadership, dedication and legacy with the concrete pavement industry.ACPA honored Lafrenz for his contributions, inimitable style, technical expertise, and leadership. He was an officer of the United States Air Force Reserve, the director of Airfields for ACPA and program manager for the Innovative Pavement Research Foundation. Though officially retired from ACPA, Lafrenz continues to serve the industry as program manager for Innovative Pavement Research Foundation.The award, first presented in 1968, was originally named in honor of Harold W. Hartmann, who served as the Association's Secretary-Treasurer from 1964 until 1974. In 1987, Robert E. Hirschman's name was added in recognition of his term as the Association's chairman (then president) in 1967, as well as his tenure as secretary-treasurer from 1975 to 1987.

With its Presidential Award, the ACPA recognized Speedway Motor Sports and Baker Concrete Const., Inc. for the Bristol Motor Speedway project, located in Bristol, Tenn., giving the Association's 2007 Harold J. Halm Presidential Award to the team. This award is reserved for projects, organizations and individuals who demonstrate technical expertise, innovation, ingenuity, and extra effort. Harold J. Halm was the Association's first president and is honored by the award for his contributions and commitment to the concrete pavement industry.

The ACPA recognized Colin Jensen (retired), Irving F. Jensen Co., Sioux City, Iowa, as the recipient of its 2007 Honorary Life Member award for his 47 years of active involvement in the operations of Irving F. Jensen Co., leadership in ACPA and other associations, as well as his advocacy of quality concrete pavements.

At Irving F. Jensen, he served in many positions before retiring, including president and as co-chairman. Jensen led the company to become a formidable force in the concrete pavement industry and in the Midwest transportation-construction community.

Jensen's leadership in the ACPA includes serving as chairman of the board of directors in 1995; as chairman of the Innovative Contracting Task Force for more than five years; and as long-time member of the Technical Committee.

He also served the Iowa Concrete Paving Association, where he was its chairman in 1976. Additionally, Jensen has served The Associated General Contractors of America and its affiliated organizations in Iowa and Nebraska.The ACPA awarded its 2007 Marlin J. Knutson Award for Technical Achievement to James H. Woodstrom, PE, for advancing research, development and testing of concrete pavement specifications for California and the road-building community at large.

The ACPA also recognized the following for their contributions and achievements:

Guntert & Zimmerman Const. Div., Inc. (G&Z), Ripon, Calif., received its ACPA Outstanding Equipment Supplier Award; Michael T. Sheehan, P.E., County Engineer, Olmsted County, Minn., was cited as the Outstanding Government Official; Tim Smith, PE, Cement Association of Canada, was recognized for his Outstanding Health, Safety & Environmental Stewardship; Dennis Hogan ("Doc Fiber"), director of national accounts for Propex Concrete Systems, was named Outstanding Materials Supplier and given other recognition for his role in introducing fibers and their benefits to concrete pavement overlay applications; and Gerry Krozel, Prairie Materials Sales, Inc., was given the Outstanding Promoter Award.

Finally, Illinois Chapter, Inc. — ACPA was recognized for its outstanding efforts associated with the reconstruction of Interstate 74 in Peoria, Ill.

For more information about the awards or ACPA, visit the technical website at www.pavement.com or the public site at www.pavements4life.com.

Editor's Note: Information provided by the American Concrete Pavement Association.