Concrete Pavement Technology Update

August 2004

CPTP Executive and Engineering Expert Task Groups Guide Implementation Effort

Most Concrete Pavement Technology Program (CPTP) projects include provisions for establishment of expert task groups (ETGs) to provide technical advice and guidance to the project contractor teams in the conduct of the project. The ETGs typically meet at project milestones to review project status and products developed under each phase of the project. ETG membership includes experts in the subject matter from State departments of transportation (DOTs), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), industry, and academia.

For the CPTP Implementation effort (Task 65), two ETGs have been organized. The 19-member Executive ETG consists of senior management from State DOTs, FHWA, industry, and academia. The Executive ETG will provide broad guidance and recommendations concerning the needs of transportation agencies and industry, institutional issues and barriers, and product implementation strategies, and make other contributions to CPTP success. The Engineering ETG, consisting of technical experts from State DOTs, FHWA, industry, and academia, will focus on specific agency, industry, and academia needs and recommend how specific CPTP products can be deployed to meet these needs. The Engineering ETG will also assess the suitability of promising CPTP products and ascertain whether they need additional development.

Engineering ETG Reviews CPTP Projects

The 29-member engineering ETG, appointed in December 2003, represents a broad spectrum of CPTP stakeholders. The group will advise the Implementation Team regarding CPTP technology transfer, marketing, and communications activities.

Fifteen ETG members attended the first meeting in February 2004 in Denver, Colorado, with Implementation staff and Sam Tyson, FHWA contracting officer technical representative. Much of the agenda was devoted to bringing the members up to speed on projects. The staff and Tyson described the more than 30 CPTP projects, organized in six focus areas, and a lively discussion of the projects followed.

The ETG next discussed proposed project implementation activities including newsletters, workshops, and product briefs. Several members expressed keen interest in how communications and implementation efforts might proceed, and voiced their concerns and ideas, as in these examples:

• Linda Pierce of the Washington DOT urged strongly that avenues in addition to workshops be used to disseminate information, citing Web-based programs and interactive CDs as examples. Pierce later distributed a "pavement guide interactive" from her department as an example.
• Jerry Voigt of the American Concrete Pavement Association encouraged the group or CPTP staff to identify and prioritize "early wins"—projects that are ready for implementation. He noted thin white-topping software, high-performance concrete, and traffic management strategies for construction zones as possibilities.
• Moon Won, Texas DOT, urged the group to make sure that products promoted make sense to engineers and pointed out that the products must be saleable and without conflicting information.
• John Wojakowski, Kansas DOT, noted that program "flaws" must be avoided, as "it will take only one failure to destroy credibility." He agreed that conflicting findings must never be delivered.

Executive ETG Meets

The Executive ETG is chaired by Joseph Deneault, vice president, HNTB, and former chief engineer, West Virginia DOT. Highlights of the group's first meeting, held August 26 in Washington, DC, will appear in the next CPTP Update.

CPTP Training Opportunities

Many State highway agencies are beginning to specify long-life concrete pavements that are expected to provide low-maintenance, initial service lives of 40 to 50 years. Specifying such high-performing pavements requires the use of effective design features, optimal materials, and best construction practices. In each of these areas, the Concrete Pavement Technology Program (CPTP) is making a workshop available to State highway agencies. The three workshops incorporate innovative concrete pavement technologies and research findings that have emerged from CPTP projects.

• Best Practices for PCC Pavements: Long-Life PCCP Design and Construction Features
• Concrete Paving Materials and Optimizing Concrete Mix Design (under development)
• Concrete Pavement Construction Best Practices—Recent Advances (under development)

The first workshop in the series—Best Practices for PCC Pavements—was conducted at the request of the Alabama Department of Transportation in Montgomery in April 2004 by the CPTP Implementation Team and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) staff. Thirty Alabama staff attended, representing the design, materials, construction, and district offices.

The workshop covered a range of topics: pavement design, concrete materials and mix designs, the construction process and construction management aids, alternate design and bid approaches, and maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation. Instructors included Celik Ozyildirim, Kurt Smith, Shiraz Tayabji, Sam Tyson, and others.

The CPTP Implementation Team is available to present the three workshops at dedicated State or regional venues or to present condensed versions of the workshops in conjunction with other State, regional, and industry meetings. To schedule a workshop or participation in a meeting, contact Sam Tyson, FHWA Office of Pavement Technology: sam.tyson@fhwa.dot.gov.

The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers' names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the article.

More Information

• Latest Concrete Pavement Technology Update
• Pavement Publications

Contact

Sam Tyson
Office of Asset Management, Pavement, and Construction
202-366-1326
E-mail Sam