Author Archives: Nicole Aganon

2023 Annual Concrete Pavement Workshop Presentations

Sunday, 09 April 2023 21:13
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The presentations accessible by hyperlinks below have been provided by the presenters who utilized slides and shared their content for publication.  All speakers are shown for reference, but not all presenters used visuals.

General Session Presentations
Welcome  
Angela Folkestad, P.E., CO/WY Chapter – ACPA  
   
Concrete Overlay Construction & Performance
Ralph Bell, Castle Rock Construction Company  
   
Designing Concrete Overlays
Julie Vandenbossche, PhD, P.E., University of Pittsburgh  
   
The Benefits of Competition & A Balanced Paving Program: A Business Case for a Two-Pavement System  
Jim Mack, P.E., CEMEX
   
Constructing Quality Concrete Pavement for the Next Generation  

Craig Wieden, P.E., Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)
Matt Fonte, Fonte & Co.
Mike Praul, P.E., Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

  
Sunstainability Throughout the Concrete Pavement Life Cycle   
Eric Ferrebee, P.E., ACPA  
   
Paving I-80 Rock Springs & Leveraging FHWA’s Mobile Concrete Technology Center to Learn More
Greg Frazee, IHC Scott  
Brad McCullough, P.E., WYDOT
Mike Praul, P.E., FHWA  
 
Breakout Session Presentations
Materials – Advancements in Concrete Mixtures  Design & Construction – Concrete Overlays
Prioritizing Durability in Concrete Mixtures & Paving – A Discussion on New Approaches to Materials, Testing & Opening to Traffic Designing Bonded & Unbonded Concrete Overlays
Mike Praul, P.E., Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Julie Vandenbossche, PhD, P.E., University of Pittsburgh
Leif Wathne, P.E., National Concrete Pavement Technology Center (CP Tech Center) Get in, Get Out, Stay Out! Iowa SH 3 Accelerated Concrete Overlay
  Greg Mulder, P.E., Iowa Concrete Paving Association
   
Design & Construction – Smoothness Asset Management/Maintenance – Smoothness & Preservation
Constructing Smooth Concrete Pavements Concrete Pavement Preservation – Sustainable Solutions for Today & Tomorrow
Matt Fonte, Fonte & Co. John Roberts, P.E., International Grooving & Grinding Association (IGGA)
   
Longevity of Smoothness & its Relationship with Sustainability  Lessons Learned on Long-Term Smoothness 
Eric Ferrebee, P.E., ACPA Larry Scofield, P.E., ACPA & IGGA
   
Airports -Design & Construction Local Agencies – ADA Requirements
Everything Concrete Pavement for Airports! Discussions on P-501 & P-610 specifications, recently issued Engineering Bulletins, Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA), and tackling changing conditions and challenges during Construction.

ADA Design & Solutions – A Practical Discussion on Implementing ADA Requirements.
Gary Mitchell, P.E., ACPA Jesse Jonas, P.E., MO/KS Chapter – ACPA

 

Thank you for attending the 2023 CO/WY ACPA Concrete Pavement Workshop!

Tuesday, 14 March 2023 16:55
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We are so glad you were able to join us for a day of education and discussion on all things concrete pavement.  
Congratulations to all the Award Winners! 
We look forward to seeing you again in March 2024!

*Slideshows of the Presentations will be posted on our website soon!*

Thank you to our 2023 Workshop Sponsors!

Platinum

Castle Rock Construction Company
CEMEX
Chato’s Concrete
Fonte & Company
GCC
Holcim (US) Inc.
IHC Scott
Lawson Construction Company
Mountain Cement Company
Villalobos Concrete Company

Gold

Concrete Works of Colorado
GOMACO
Millstone Weber

Silver

American Highway
Chryso/GCP
CR Minerals
Faris Machinery
Flatiron
MAPEI
Master Builders Solutions
Power Curbers and Power Pavers
RockSol

Thank you to our 2023 Workshop Exhibitors!

Concrete Stabilization Technologies Inc.
Esch Construction Supply
Faris Machinery
Honnen Equipment

Additional Partners
Colorado Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP)
Colorado Public Works Journal
Transportation & Construction Girl

#MemberMonday with Castle Rock Construction Company

Monday, 23 January 2023 09:00
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Castle Rock Construction Company paving on I-25.

Owners: Employee-owned since 2002

Established: 1981 at its current name, but it’s history can be tracked back to 1898!

Company size: ≈ 100

We spoke with Amy Brooks, Chief Operating Officer and Co-owner, to learn a bit more about our member.

First things first:

  1. CRCC is a century-old industry leader specializing in the construction of transportation infrastructure.
  2. Very early beginnings: In 1898 a family-owned company in Iowa went on to become one of the early builders of concrete streets. Eventually, they wanted to bring concrete pavement to Colorado.
  3. Castle Rock Construction Company, based in Colorado, was established in 1981 to build concrete paving and related work in the Rocky Mountain region.
  4. Under the leadership of Erik Jensen, CRCC has since diversified to include grading, earthwork, curb & gutter, flatwork, concrete barrier, underground utilities, aggregate trucking and design-build in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico, South Dakota and Iowa.
  5. As of 2022, 35 people have been with CRCC for over 10 years and 11 have been with CRCC for over 30 years!

Amy Brooks with her husband, David Brooks – CFO at CRCC, and their daughter, Ava.

Amy, you’ve been with CRCC for nearly 10 years, starting as a project manager and now as the Chief Operating Officer. How did you find yourself in this industry?

I studied architectural engineering. I quickly realized that I didn’t want to be sat at a computer and I wanted to be outside and working with people. I also realized I wasn’t particularly interested in construction in the vertical world. I grew up around this – around pavers and road projects. I started working at Kiewit my first 4 years out of college. Then, when the opportunity came to be a part of ownership, we moved to Colorado. I started at the bottom of the structure to learn how CRCC manage their work… and just worked my way up from there.

Left, Chris Shoemaker (CRCC), Rhianna Poss (CDOT Region 4), and Rich Timian (CRCC) accepting the National ACPA Gold Awards in December of 2022 for Wiggins and 287 Passing Lanes in Nashville.

How would you define the values of CRCC?

  1. Driven to Overcome Every Challenge
  2. Innovators that Transform our Industry
  3. Develop & Retain High Performing, Passionate and Loyal Employees

What do you see as being the current challenges in the industry?

Building the workforce of the future. Our industry needs people who have a passion for what we do and can take us into the future and be successful at building infrastructure. But it’s about attracting the right people. Managing the market is a challenge. There are changes in the market every day and managing those changes, moving with it and maintaining capacity thru lulls is everything.

What is CRCC excited about in the future?

Again, building the team of the future. A strong team. The industry has gotten very tech and I see a need to get back to basics of good quality work.

You are also one of our Board Members. Do you have any other involvements?

I’m also on the Board at Colorado Contractors Association, just started in 2022.

What do you find valuable in being a member of an association? 

I have learned a lot from fellow contractors. We all get exposed to our own companies and used to our own ideas. It has been a blessing to be involved. I feel like I’m one of the younger people and yet I get to sit in the room and listen to others who have a lot of wisdom and experience. I’m not a big networking person but the exposure to other companies and how we should be thinking about things as a group: what’s good for the larger group, what’s good for contractors, concrete – and not just for my company. I get to be a part of something bigger.

Thank you, Amy and Castle Rock Construction Company, for your time in sharing a bit about what makes you great!
 

Left to Right: Rich Timian (CRCC),  Chris Shoemaker (CRCC) and Rhianna Poss (CDOT Region 4) at an ACPA event.

 

 

 

 

 

Recipients of National Excellence in Concrete Pavement Awards

Thursday, 22 December 2022 13:41
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The Colorado/Wyoming Chapter of the American Concrete Pavement Association is pleased to announce that three Colorado concrete projects have been recognized as winners of ACPA‘s 2022 National Excellence in Concrete Pavement Awards.  

Castle Rock Construction Company (CRCC) took home gold in the Concrete Pavement Restoration category for their I-76 Wiggins WB Pavement Rehabilitation project in Weld and Morgan Counties in Colorado. The Colorado Department of Transportation owns and engineered the pavement. Rehabilitating a 7-mile stretch of the westbound I-76 lanes west of Wiggins required removing 35,000 square yards of damaged concrete panels to their full depth and replacing them on-site with an optimized concrete mix. A 100-working-day timeframe for the scope of work required was daunting. In addition to removing and replacing damaged panels with a 1-inch asphalt bond breaker and grinding and texturing 96,755 square yards of slab, the contractor also had to saw and seal 144,917 linear feet of joints. All contractors on the project contributed to meeting the schedule, including committing full human and equipment resources. CRCC also removed and replaced 31 panels at their own expense to enable continuous paving for both the concrete and the asphalt bond breaker and to minimize the number of headers that required grinding. Overall, the paving schedule was the key to meeting the deadline, and all activities occurred concurrently. The timing of completion was key since each crew’s work followed closely to the previous crew’s work. 

 

Castle Rock Construction Company also won gold in the State Roads category with their US 287 & SH 40 Passing Lanes CM/GC project in Cheyenne and Lincoln Counties in Colorado. The pavement is owned by the Colorado Department of Transportation and the project was designed by Atkins. The paving site was located 25 miles southeast of Limon, Colorado, on US 287/SH 40, the ‘ports to the plains highway,’ a major thoroughfare from Mexico to Canada. The scope of the project was to complete six passing lanes between Hugo and Eads. Two of the sites were extensions of existing passing lanes, and four of the sites were new passing lanes. There were numerous examples of collaboration between CRCC and project partners to solve problems in a manner that best served the project goals, including inadequate subgrade material that required the use of geotextile fabric to decrease the likelihood of material settling or shifting under loads. CRCC managed to work on multiple sites at once, expediting the remainder of the schedule and successfully achieving completion prior to Thanksgiving. This deadline was critical, knowing that lane closures would not be safe along this corridor once it started snowing. 

 

IHC Scott was awarded gold in the Urban Arterials & Collectors category for their I-70B 1st Street & Grand Avenue project in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Colorado Department of Transportation owns and engineered the pavement. With over 30,000 vehicles per day using the intersection, it was necessary to keep it open during construction. The contractor used temporary roundabouts to divert traffic, which allowed longer concrete pours and resulted in smoother surfaces at this intersection. By utilizing the two temporary roundabouts, the project did not have to use the “Temporary Traffic Signal” item that was called out in the plans. Paving in Colorado in the winter months is always a challenge, so the Colorado Department of Transportation and the contractor met daily and weekly to discuss the freeze/thaw temperatures that could affect the project. The contractor provided maturity meters, and the department verified the maturity meters using a thermocouple and a probe to cross-check the contractor. 

“Sustainability, resiliency and innovation were on full display among this year’s award winners,” said Laura O’Neill Kaumo, ACPA President and CEO. “Congratulations to those who built these fine projects. The bar is set high for our industry.” 

 

#MemberMonday with Chato’s Concrete

Sunday, 04 December 2022 22:36
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Owners: Eleazar Villalobos and Marlene Andrade

Established: 2003

Company size: 65 employees

 

We spoke with Marlene Andrade, co-owner of Chato’s Concrete, to learn a bit more about our member.

First things first:

  • Anyone who knows Eleazor knows he goes by Chato.
  • Chato immigrated to the US from Mexico in the 80’s.
  • Started as a construction laborer.
  • In 2003, Chato approached his daughter, Marlene, who was just a few years out of high school, and asked her if she wanted to join him in creating his own business.
  • Thus, Chato’s Concrete was born.

How would you define your values at Chato’s Concrete?

Quality. Delivering a quality product to all jobs, large or small. Having respect for everyone along the way to get the work done. Everyone has value and their own expertise. So, respect and building relationships goes hand in hand with the quality of product and the quality of service.

What do you see as being the current challenges in the Industry?

Material shortages and there is so much work to be done.

What is Chato’s excited about in the future?

The Colorado infrastructure is growing tremendously, and we believe this is the new norm. We are proud to be part of it and want to continue to support that growth.

I understand you are also on the Board at Colorado Contractor’s Association. The best part of being a member of an Association?

The knowledge you get and the conversations with others in the industry. They know what affects you and what’s important to you. The legislative information you learn about opens a whole difference perspective of what potential issues can affect or benefit your company and the industry.  The Association is there to support you.  Even when communicating with direct competitors, they give you insight into your own company and yourself, and all that helps you get to that next level.

Thank you, Marlene and Chato’s Concrete, for your time in sharing a bit about what makes you great!