Economical | Quiet | Long-Lasting | Safe | Fuel-Efficient | Lower Overall Maintenance | Sustainable | Lower Energy Needs

Inter-Industry Competition in Pavements Benefits Taxpayers

Inter-industry competition is an important tool to assist DOTs and municipalities with maximizing their budgets. In today’s environment, every agency faces budget constraints.  Fair competition, including dual pavement system bidding, enables all owners to get the most lane miles or road for their budget. Healthy competition between pavement industries provides the highest rate of return for the public.

The MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub has studied the data on competition, and their results are insightful.  Learn more here:  https://cshub.mit.edu/pavements/competition

Colorado Public Works Journal Article: Concrete Pavement Inspector Certification

Partnership with CDOT

For the last 14 years, ACPA has partnered with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to provide a certification program for concrete pavement inspectors.

Since 2006, any person who inspects concrete pavement on CDOT
projects or projects using CDOT specifications, has been required to
hold a construction inspector certification. An inspector’s thorough
understanding of concrete pavement and the specific construction
processes required for concrete applications can lead to increased
quality and efficiencies at a project site.

Proper inspection plays a
key role in ensuring well-constructed, high quality pavement.
Attendees across the industry

Although CDOT appears in the course title, interested participants
need not be affiliated with CDOT projects to take this course and
earn the certification. By opening the class to all inspectors, ACPA
hopes to increase the understanding of good concrete paving and
inspection practices. Many local agencies have begun requiring
certification of inspectors, as well as contractor QC personnel. This
certification is offered to a wide variety of individuals across the
industry, contractors, consultants, and local agencies.

 

Updates to the training Program
The program is taught by Sarah Sanders, PE, Pavement Engineer for
the CO/WY Chapter of ACPA, and Val Niculae, PE, CDOT Concrete
and Physical Properties Program Support Engineer. Most classes
also feature guest speakers from the concrete pavement industry to
provide alternate perspectives. An overhaul of the curriculum was
recently completed, and updates were made to include new specifications, equipment, and best practices. The course also provides guidance on completing the required CDOT forms for documentation on a project. The focus of this course is to provide knowledge and understanding for an inspector to ensure proper paving practices are followed on the project site.

Additional topics help the inspector verify that pavement being placed will meet the long-term durability goals that are to be expected with concrete pavement.

The test was re-written to focus on the inspector’s understanding of important concrete paving and inspection topics instead of the ability to memorize specifications. Updated topics include:


• Performance Engineered Concrete Mix Designs
• Paving equipment
• Pavement placement, finishing & joints
• Smoothness Testing
• Contractor QC Plan and QC Notebook
• New testing technologies


2021 Classes
Classes are still being taught in-person following all CDOT COVID-19 Restrictions. Class sizes are limited and are filling up fast. For anyone interested in taking the class, study materials are available from the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center, Federal Highway Administration Concrete Clips series, and many other sources.

Visit the CO/WY ACPA website (www.cowyacpa.org/inspector-certification) for more information and to sign up for 2021 certification dates.

Excellence in Concrete Pavement Awards

Submittals due January 22, 2021

The Colorado/Wyoming Chapter of ACPA would like to invite you to submit nominations for the 2020 Excellence in Concrete Pavement Awards. These awards are given annually to concrete paving projects of exceptional quality and recognize the owner, engineer, and contractor of each award winning project. All projects in Colorado and Wyoming completed and/or opened to traffic by December 31, 2020 are eligible for consideration.

All project submittals must be completed online at www.acpa.org/acpa-excellence-in-concrete-paving-awards/, which is on the National ACPA website.  If you do not already have a login, you will need to register as a new user in the box labeled “Online Paving Awards Login.”  After registering you will be able to generate your submittal, upload pictures, and edit your submittal until the submission deadline. You can create your submittal in multiple sessions by going to the link and logging back in using your username and password. Once you are logged in, click on “Begin an Application for a New Project.” Make sure to check the appropriate award category for your project and check “Colorado/Wyoming Chapter – ACPA” as the Local Paving Awards Program you are entering.

For consideration, please submit a completed online nomination form by January 22, 2021.  If you have any questions or need further assistance with the online submittal process, please contact Angela Folkestad.

Join Us For the 2020 ACPA Annual Member’s Meeting

Please join other members of the CO/WY Chapter – ACPA to discuss the goals and initiatives for the Association in the coming year. 

When: 
Tuesday, October 06
11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Where: 
ACPA Office
6880 S. Yosemite Ct.
Centennial, CO 80112
(Second Floor Training Room)


RSVP is required.
This meeting is currently scheduled to be in-person and may be subject to change due to anticipated attendance to adhere to proper social distancing guidelines. 

Lunch will be provided!

To RSVP please contact Emma Dolan
720-297-9902
edolan@pavement.com