California Asphalt Pavement Association
Vol. 15, Issue 28 || July 11, 2022
|
|
Greetings!
This weekly report contains news and information of interest to the asphalt pavement industry, customers and agency partners in California. Please feel free to distribute this newsletter to others who may be interested in asphalt pavements. To provide feedback or story ideas click HERE. Having difficulty viewing this newsletter? View as Webpage
|
|
Registration open for Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference Oct. 26-28 in Sacramento |
Registration has officially opened for the 13th annual Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference, which will be held on Oct. 26-28 in Sacramento. Special pricing for CalAPA members and agency personnel is in effect. Details and on-line registration is HERE.
The confirmed opening speaker will be newly appointed Caltrans Director Tony Tavares (pictured), who was recently appointed to the top position by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Sam Hassoun, owner of Global Leadership Alliance and a CalAPA member, will deliver a motivational talk on partnering and innovation, drawing from his many years of experience in the public and private sector.
As in years past, the program will also include insightful programming on a myriad of technical topics, from the latest on Balanced Mix Design, the use of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavements (RAP), updated on specification and test method changes, regulations, funding projections and legislation.
The conference will feature a trade show floor and ample opportunities for networking to build and reinforce those relationships that are so essential to success.
An optional social event is being planned for Oct. 276at the Topgolf Sports and Entertainment Complex in Roseville. Although registration for that event has not yet opened, details can be found HERE.
There are a myriad of sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities attached to the Fall Conference. For more information or questions on those opportunities, contact Sophie You of CalAPA at (916) 791-5044, or send an inquiry to the association HERE. |
|
Former Caltrans Director Randy Iwasaki was interviewed by the news media at a previous CalAPA Asphalt Conference in Sacramento. |
|
About 200 people are expected to attend the Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference Oct. 26-28 in Sacramento. |
|
The Fall Conference will feature at trade show floor with various vendor displays. |
|
Cathrina Barros named permanent Chief of Caltrans Office of Asphalt Pavements |
Cathrina Barros was named permanent chief of the Caltrans Office of Asphalt Pavement, it was announced last week. She had been in the role on an acting basis since December.
"Her contribution to the office starts with an extensive background in materials and pavement engineering going back to the beginning of her career in Engineering Services in District 4," said Tom Pyle, Deputy Division Chief of the Caltrans Division of Maintenance and State Pavement Engineer in a July 6 internal e-mail announcement.
"Cathrina believes all these experiences help contribute to her effectiveness in asphalt pavement by understanding the importance of stakeholder input in Caltrans decision making," Pyle's announcement said. "She is eager to continue the Office of Asphalt Pavements’ efforts to encourage sustainability in pavement production and construction. Additionally, with the current shift to new ways to design pavement (with a computer program called CalME) she is excited to work with a team that includes the districts and the University of California Pavement Research Center.
"As she has a passion for sustainability," Pyle concluded, "she is thrilled to set up advanced methods of pavement design that allow 100% recycled pavement in our highways. Lastly, she is excited to partner with experts from around the country, as we make some major shifts in policies and practices." Pyle had previously held the position as chief of the Office of Asphalt Pavements before he was promoted last year to the State Pavement Engineer position.
According to her official biography, Barros has 25 years working in Materials, Geotechnical and Pavement Engineering throughout her Caltrans career. In District 4, which covers the San Francisco Bay Area, she worked in Engineering Services and Construction before her promotion to District Materials Engineer. As DME, she was responsible for running the District 4 Materials Laboratory, Independent Assurance Branch and Quality Control/Quality Assurance (QC/QA) program. She moved to the Headquarters transportation laboratory known as Translab to work in the Office of Asphalt Concrete as the Independent Assurance Program coordinator. While at Translab, she worked with the Districts, academia and industry to implement the use of Warm Mix Asphalt in Caltrans. She also supervised the Reference Sample Program and Skid Testing Unit. In 2015, she acted as the AASHTO/WASHTO coordinator for Caltrans and then worked in the Americans with Disabilities Act Infrastructure Program (ADA IP) in the Office of Civil Rights.
Prior to stepping into the acting role as Chief of the Office of Asphalt Pavements last December, she spent two years as the manager for the ADA IP, Contract Evaluation Branch and Engineering Support Branch. A registered civil engineer, she is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, as is also recognized nationally by the industry as a prominent "Woman of Asphalt." She currently serves as the co-chair of the Women of Asphalt California Branch.
In addition to interacting the asphalt industry at numerous technical meetings, conferences and other knowledge-sharing events over the years, she was a featured speaker at a special conference put on by CalAPA in 2009 devoted to the topic of Warm Mix Asphalt. Then-Caltrans Director Randy Iwasaki joined her on the program. CalAPA Technical Director Brandon Milar, P.E., who was also on the program, served as co-chair with Barros of the WMA committee.
“I’m very pleased to be able to get back to my engineering roots and bring my background and departmental expertise to the Office of Asphalt Pavement," Barros told Asphalt Insider shortly after she accepted the acting assignment to lead the Office of Asphalt Pavements last December. "I always enjoyed working with the asphalt pavement stakeholders and partners to improve standards, policies and processes that would improve California’s roadway system. Work on asphalt pavement policies, specifications and materials on such projects as warm mix asphalt, the thin overlay task group, and the Independent Assurance program have always been rewarding to me personally and I feel benefit everyone in the state and the industry. I look forward to taking on this challenge and working with everyone in Caltrans and Industry."
A previous Asphalt Insider story about Barros being named acting chief of the Office of Asphalt Pavements is HERE.
|
|
Issue to watch: Advanced Clean Cars II proposed regulations & the impact on transportation funding |
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is pushing ahead with an ambitious initiative that would require all passenger vehicles sold in California to be zero-emission by 2035. The meritorious goal has nevertheless created alarm in the transportation community, which fears that the major source of funding to repair roads -- now largely tied to the state's fuel taxes -- will quickly evaporate.
The proposed Advanced Clean Cars II regulations would rapidly scale down light-duty passenger car, truck and SUV emissions starting with the 2026 model year, through 2035. The regulation relies on advanced vehicle technologies, including battery-electric, hydrogen fuel cell electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to meet air quality and climate-change emission standards. A second component of the Advanced Clean Cars II program includes increasingly stringent standards for gasoline-powered cars and heavier passenger trucks to continue to reduce smog.
According to CARB, California has the largest zero-emission vehicle market in the United States, with more than 16% of new vehicles sold being zero-emission or plug-in hybrid models. The agency says various incentive programs are available to offset the cost of purchasing the ZEVs, which are substantially higher in cost than traditional gas-powered vehicles. The agency also is touting various state and federal investments in charging networks to be deployed across the state. The transportation sector is responsible for about half of California's greenhouse gas emissions and about 80% of smog-causing pollution, CARB estimates. More information on the Advanced Clean Cars II program is HERE.
A coalition of transportation infrastructure advocates, meanwhile, is sounding the alarm about the proposal because it devotes scant attention to how to pay for future road repairs. A draft coalition letter being circulated among various stakeholders says the group is in support of "California's path to a cleaner energy future," but that "there has been little to no in-depth discussion about filling this massive void of transportation funding as we transition away from internal combustion engine vehicles."
The draft coalition letter cites CARB estimates of a loss of $30 billion in transportation infrastructure funds in the next two decades due to the reduction in gasoline consumption, and that local governments will lose tens of billions in gasoline sales and excise taxes dedicated to transportation improvement projects. ZEVs, the coalition notes, are heavier than conventional vehicles and cause more damage to roads.
Many transportation and energy experts have also raised concerns that California's power grid is not prepared for an onslaught of ZEVs, USC Professor and transportation policy expert James E. Moore spoke in-depth on this topic in a recent issue of California Asphalt magazine, which is on-line HERE, and the concern was also raised during CalAPA's webinar series, "The Future of Powering Our Plants & Our Fleets" that was broadcast last month.
Transportation infrastructure advocates, including CalAPA, are fresh off a battle with the Newsom Administration and the Legislature over proposals to have a fuel-tax "holiday" as a way to provide broad inflation relief for Californians. The plan, which would have been included in the state budget for the fiscal year that began July 1, was scrapped in favor of a partial reduction in diesel fuel taxes, amounting to about .28 cents per gallon, financed not out of the State Highway Account but rather the state's overstuffed General Fund. The reduction will be in place for one year unless extended by the Legislature.
The CARB board plans to hold the second of two public hearings sometime in August to receive comment on the plan and its potential implications. The CalAPA Environmental Committee is monitoring this and other proposed air-quality and water-quality regulations and has engaged with agencies alone and in coordination with others.
|
|
In an article in last week's Asphalt Insider on the retirement of Brenda Mooney from Valero Energy, the organization where she performs volunteer work, and her title, were stated incorrectly. She is president of the Humane Society of the North Bay, which is located in Vallejo. The website of the organization is HERE.
|
|
Each week we highlight a word, acronym or other term commonly used in the asphalt pavement industry in California.
BOND BREAKER: Any material used to prevent bonding of adjacent pavement layers. A thin bituminous layer is often used as a bond breaker between a concrete pavement and an un-bonded concrete overlay.
|
|
Paving Pointer of the Week |
Each week we highlight a key point or best practice of interest to asphalt paving crews, inspectors and others working in the field. We welcome suggestions. More tips can be found in our "Asphalt Parking Lot Construction Checklist" HERE. Information on the CalAPA "Quality Paving Certificate" program is HERE.
RECORD RETENTION AFTER PROJECT COMPLETION: Take a final photograph or photographs of the site for your records and retain all records from the project including: copies of all truck delivery tickets and record of all the temperature recordings and compaction readings you took during the project.
|
|
Each week we highlight a term that is specific to climate-change issues related to the asphalt pavement industry. This feature is intended to raise awareness of the asphalt industry's climate-change initiatives and the specialized terminology that goes with them. More information on "The Road Forward" asphalt industry climate initiative can be found HERE.
CARBON NEUTRALITY: Net zero emission achieved through carbon offsets and elimination.
|
|
"A problem cannot be solved with the same consciousness that created it.”
– Albert Einstein
|
|
CALAPA CALENDAR:
View all CalAPA events HERE.
*
Women of Asphalt California Branch meeting (Virtual)
Thursday, July 14, Noon to 1 p.m.
Details & registration HERE.
*
Welcome back!
"Day at the Races" at Del Mar Race Track, Del Mar
Saturday, July 23
Details and registration HERE.
*
Registration open!
Fall Asphalt Pavement Conference
Oct. 26-28, 2022
Hilton Sacramento Arden West Hotel, 2200 Harvard Street, Sacramento.
For exhibitor and sponsor information, contact Sophie You at (916) 791-5044.
|
|
There's never been a better time to join the California Asphalt Pavement Association! Members receive insight and advanced notice on critical issues that impact every company's bottom line. CalAPA members also receive invitations to exclusive member-only events, in-depth "Member Alerts," our comprehensive asphalt market forecast for California, discounts and industry-specific networking opportunities not available anywhere else. CalAPA's new searchable on-line membership directory helps connect potential customers with member companies. Click HERE to download our Member Service brochure. Click HERE to view Vol. 1 of recent testimonials. Not convinced? Click HERE to view Vol. 2 of recent testimonials. With so much changing in the asphalt pavement industry, what you don't know can cost you! Click HERE to send us an e-mail inquiry, or contact Russell Snyder with CalAPA at (916) 791-5044. |
|
We hope you enjoy CalAPA's Asphalt Insider newsletter. We are committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information on technical issues, regulation, news, analysis, events and trends in California that is of interest to the asphalt pavement industry and our various agency partners. Click HERE to contact us with any comments or suggestions.
Sincerely,
Russell W. Snyder, CAE
Executive Director
California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)®
|
|
The "Asphalt Insider" is an official publication of the California Asphalt Pavement Association. For more information or to inquire about membership, call (916) 791-5044, or click HERE to contact us. Copyright © 2022 California Asphalt Pavement Association -- All Rights Reserved. The CalAPA name (No. 5,621,794) and logo (No. 5,621,795) are registered trademarks with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
|
|
P.O. Box 981300, West Sacramento, CA 95798
1550 Harbor Blvd., Suite 211, West Sacramento, CA 95691
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
