The California Asphalt Conference & Expo, held last week in Pomona, boasted the most content-rich program in the event's history at a new venue that afforded attendees plenty of educational options and an up-close look at the latest vehicles, equipment and technology.

The March 10-11 event at the sprawling events center at the Los Angeles County "Fairplex" venue brought industry, agency and academia together under one roof, and the concurrent sessions featured lively interactions between attendees on a host of topics, including technical, environmental and, as one presenter put it, "situational awareness" of a dynamic time for the industry. The agenda of topics and speakers can be found HERE. A link to electronic copies of all PowerPoint presentations delivered at the conference was sent to all registered attendees.

A national perspective was presented by Mitch Baldwin, Director of Governmental Affairs for the National Asphalt Pavement Association, a CalAPA partner. "This year is critical for our industry," he said, noting that the federal surface transportation act funding is set to expire on Sept. 30. NAPA and other coalition partners are working to keep up the pressure on elected officials to take action on road funding before it is too late. More information on NAPA's federal advocacy activities can be found HERE. A description of CalAPA's complementary state advocacy program is HERE.

Another national perspective was provided by Mark Buncher with the Asphalt Institute, or "the original A.I" as it recently has come to be known. He outlined the institute's research and deployment mission, noting, "Everything we do is rooted in quality." He also highlighted some recent resources deployed by the institute, including a report on asphalt supply nationwide and resources about odor management. Those odor management resources can be found HERE.

Mike Skinner, executive director of the CalAPA-supported Asphalt Pavement Alliance, kicked off Day 2 of the conference and spoke about innovations in pavements that are occurring in various states. He said the industry is striving for "progress, not perfection" in deploying innovations. Recognizing the risk-averse nature of engineers, particularly in the public sector, he said it takes courage to implement a new specification or technology. "Surprises on bid day are not a good thing," he said.

One promising new approach that is gathering momentum, Skinner said, is the use of a highly modified asphalt mixture on truck-heavy interstates in Utah and elsewhere. Some resources, including a recording of an educational webinar on the topic featuring Utah DOT officials and covers performance, construction, hauling, milling and field results can be found on the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association website HERE.

Training sessions attached to the conference were filled to capacity, including "Asphalt Pavement 101," taught by Roger Smith, a former Caltrans senior materials engineer, and a new offering, "Optimization of Your Pavement Investment," taught by CalAPA member Scott Dmytrow with PavementACES, a consulting firm. He was assisted by firm co-owner Cathrina Dmytrow, former chief of the Caltrans Office of Asphalt Pavements.

Other topics covered during the event included pavement preservation best practices, longitudinal joint construction, Balanced Mix Design strategies, recycling, and Percent Within Limits strategy and lessons learned, featuring Adam Hand with the University of Nevada Reno and Hadi Nabizadeh with Caltrans. Expert panel discussions featured Dr. John Harvey with the University of California Pavement Research Center, Scott Metcalf with Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Phil Reader with the Reed Family Companies and Reimond Garcia of Caltrans, moderated by CalAPA Technical Director Brandon Milar. Erik Updyke, formerly with the Los Angeles County Public Works Department and now attached to the UCPRC's City & County Pavement Improvement Center (CCPIC), shared various resources created for the benefit of local agencies. The CCPIC website is HERE.

One of the conference attendees, Shoreh Boustany with NOVA Services, a technical consultant, said the conference experience was "the greatest thing that can happen to my career" and "I'm leaving here much smarter." Her brief video testimonial, as well as others from the show, can be viewed on CalAPA's YouTube channel HERE. Additional photos from the event are posted on CalAPA's various social media feeds, including on CalAPA's Facebook page HERE.

CalAPA will bring additional insight to Northern California in June with its "Summit at the Summit" Executive Leadership Forum, to take place June 23-25 at Lake Tahoe. Registration on that event will open later this month. A calendar of all upcoming CalAPA events is HERE.

The Women of Asphalt California Branch was well-represented at last week's California Asphalt Conference & Expo in Pomona, conducting a popular raffle to raise funds for WofA educational activities. Pictured at the WofA CA Branch booth were Suzanne Morgan with Structure Groups (left) and Cathrina Dmytrow with PavementACES.

Coming on the heels of the national Women in Construction Week, the strong representation by women in Pomona pointed to a larger trend that is unmistakable: women are assuming more prominent roles in the world of asphalt (industry and agency) to a degree that is unprecedented. Consider:

Jackie Wong was appointed last week at chief of the Caltrans Materials Engineering & Testing Services (see story elsewhere in this issue), the first woman to ever hold the post in the history of the department. Other prominent women at Caltrans of note: Director Dina El-Tawansy, and Chief Engineer Donna Berry. Also, the chief of the Caltrans Division of Pavements is also a woman, Tigi Thomas. The head of the Caltrans Southern Regional Lab, Sarah Hartz, has filled in temporarily in the METS job before Wong's permanent appointment.

For good measure, we'll mention that the Executive Director of the California Transportation Commission is a woman (Tanisha Taylor), and the Executive Director of Transportation California, a prominent advocacy group, is also a woman, Kiana Valentine. The chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee? Assemblywoman Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City.

The trend is also showing up nationally, as the CEO of the National Asphalt Pavement Association, Audrey Copeland, is a woman, as is the recently appointed CEO of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (and former NAPA government affairs staffer) Michelle Stanley. Several prominent state asphalt pavement association executives are also women, including Florida's Amy Miller (formerly with the Asphalt Pavement Alliance) and Abbey Bryduck in Minnesota, who was recently elected an officer of the State Asphalt Pavement Associations, Inc. (SAPA). You can learn more about SAPA HERE.

We hesitate to call this the "Year of the Woman" because this is clearly a trend that will continue -- of exceptional people who happen to be women being recognized for their leadership by the larger asphalt community and public agencies.

Many of these leaders were featured on the cover in a special issue of CalAPA's official association magazine, California Asphalt, which can be accessed on-line HERE. To learn more about the Women of Asphalt California Branch, click HERE.

CalAPA is pleased to welcome its newest associate member, Precision Weed Control.

Precision Weed Control, a family-owned business based in Corona, specializes in weed abatement in many types of settings, including ensuring that pavement surfaces are weed-free prior to treatments. The firm is a California certified Small Business and Small Business for Public Works.

To learn more about the company and products, click HERE to visit their website, send an e-mail to: info@precisionweedcontrol.com , or call (951) 870-1540.

Each week we highlight a word, acronym or other term commonly used in the asphalt pavement industry in California.

CHECKING OR ALLIGATORING: Myriad cracks or checks in bituminous surfaces extending over areas of variable proportions and resulting from a yielding of wet subgrade or from the drying out of the surface. 

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.

COMPACTION: Check pavement temperature before compaction begins. Don't rely solely on an infrared temperature gauge. Have a probe thermometer on hand to check the internal temperature of the mat. The ability to achieve proper compaction requires a mat temperature of 175 degrees or greater. Do not let roller operators park equipment on the fresh mat while compaction is ongoing.

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. A recent CalAPA magazine story on the topic is HERE.

SLAG: Stony ore waste, a byproduct of smelting.

Editor's Note: As a convenience to our readers, Asphalt Insider reports the most current Caltrans "Statewide Crude Oil Price Index" posting. The department posts this monthly on its public website HERE. The index is used to calculate payment adjustments for paving asphalt under special provisions section "Payment Adjustments for Price Index Fluctuations" in those projects containing the section. The department posts the index on or about the first business day of the month using the daily Brent crude oil prices from the previous month as reported by Business Insider. Inquiries about the index should be directed to Caltrans at: Oil.Index@dot.ca.gov .

March 2026: $375.6 ($/ton)

Last month: $347.6

1 year ago: $406.4

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.”

– Beverly Sills

We hope you enjoy CalAPA's Asphalt Insider newsletter, widely regarded as the most influential publication of its type in California. We are committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information on technical issues, regulation, news, analysis, people, events and trends in California that is of interest to the asphalt pavement industry and our various agency partners. To subscribe to the newsletter, click HERE. For comments, questions or to suggest a story idea, click HERE. We are committed to promptly notifying our readers of any errors in this publication. Please click on the comment link above to alert the editor of any errors or omissions.

Sincerely,

Russell W. Snyder, CAE

Executive Director

The California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)®