MIke Keever, who has served as chief deputy director for the California Department of Transportation since 2021, will be retiring effective Sept. 5, Asphalt Insider has learned. An official Caltrans announcement has not yet been made on the change, and there was no word yet on his replacement.

The retirement of the No 2 official at the department comes on the heels of the departure of Caltrans Director Tony Tavares, who left in May to take the top post at the Alameda County Transportation Commission. He was replaced by Caltrans Bay Area District Director Dina El-Tawansy. An exclusive Q&A with Tavares appears in the current issue of CalAPA's association magazine, California Asphalt, which is on-line HERE.

Keever, 64, has served as chief deputy director since being appointed by the governor to the post on Dec. 23, 2021. He had been in the position in an acting capacity since May of that year.

Keever is well-known to the asphalt pavement industry, having previously held positions including deputy director for project delivery, which also carries the title of chief engineer, and overseeing the Engineering Service Center, and as Division Chief for Project Management. He is widely respected among the construction industry for his forthright manner and willingness to listen to contractor concerns and champion collaborative efforts to cut red tape and seek innovative solutions to delivering transportation improvement projects as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.

In previous interviews with Asphalt Insider, Keever has said he his proud of his role in helping deliver a record number of transportation improvement projects following the passage of SB1, the $50 billion Road Repair & Accountability Act of 2017. He also said he viewed the collaboration between Caltrans and the construction industry to have reached a high-water mark in recent years and expressed hope that it will continue.

During his tenure, Keever earned a reputation as someone who backed up his words with actions. He was a sponsor of the Caltrans-industry Pavement & Materials Partnering Committee that reviews and updates Caltrans specifications, test methods and construction standards as they pertain to pavements. Several high-profile improvements were pushed through on his watch, including an overhaul to the once-controversial Caltrans pavement smoothness standards. The effort set the tone for other collaborations between the department and industry. He also was a vocal supporter of the Caltrans-industry Joint Training & Certification Program for construction materials technicians, viewing it as another tangible result of productive industry-agency cooperation. A previous Asphalt Insider article about Keever is HERE. Keever's official bio is HERE.

As the Newsom administration winds down, more high-profile departures of executive managers in state government are expected. The governor, nearing the end of his second term, is prohibited from seeking a third term by the California Constitution. He will leave office in January of 2027, and there is already a crowded field of candidates campaigning to replace him. In the past year Newsom has taken steps to raise his profile nationally in preparation for an expected presidential run in 2028.

The Women of Asphalt, California Branch, is sponsoring a free educational webinar on Sept. 9 focusing on the use of Artificial Intelligence technologies on assessing pavement distresses. Registration is HERE.

The one-hour webinar is organized by the Women of Asphalt, California Branch Technical Subcommittee. The featured presenter is Betty Row, founder and CEO of DaveeSoft. The title of the presentation is, "“AI Is Our Tool, Not Our Driver: Shaping AI for Safer Roads."

The webinar will cover the basics of pavement distress, and how A.I. tools are being used to help capture and assess pavement distress information.

The webinar is scheduled to take place from noon to 1 p.m. Advanced registration is required. All registered attendees will be sent a link to participate in the live educational event. A flier about the event is HERE. A brief promotional video is HERE.

To learn more about the Women of Asphalt California Branch, click HERE.

At the national meeting of state asphalt pavement association executives, held earlier this month in Monterey and hosted by CalAPA, one of the more popular agenda topics was an opportunity for states to share best practices and resources with their colleagues.

The delegation from Pennsylvania, representing the Pennsylvania Asphalt Pavement Association (PAPA), touted its partnership with the state DOT and toll road authorities on a series of safety videos related to road construction. One such video focuses on the safe handling of hot asphalt materials. A link to that 9-minute video is HERE.

Of paramount importance is understanding the possibility for burn injuries when around hot asphalt products, how to prevent them, and the proper first aid when an asphalt-related burn victim is encountered. Another shared resource on this topic by our colleagues at the Australian Asphalt Pavement Association is a hot bitumen (asphalt) safety information fact sheet, with sections for workers and also for medical professionals. It is HERE.

Our thanks to Steve Koser, Associate Director of PAPA, for sharing these resources. For other safety-related videos, including some jointly developed by the DOT and the construction industry in Pennsylvania, click on the PennDOT video playlist HERE.

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

FRENCH DRAIN: A trench loosely backfilled with stones, the largest being placed on the bottom with the size decreasing toward the top.

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.

TONNAGE CALCULATION: Are there enough trucks on the run to haul the mix needed to complete the job? If you have five trucks on the round each carrying 25 tons = 125 tons per round. If each round takes one hour to make, then the production rate is 125 tons per hour. If the job requires 1,000 tons at 125 tons per hour = eight hours to get the mix to the job.

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.

ENERGY STAR: Pilot program to reduce energy consumption and costs at asphalt facilities. Additional information on the energy efficient programs as it relates to the asphalt industry is HERE.

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 .

August 2025: $375.2 ($/ton)

"Be the one who nurturers and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart, one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them."



– Marvin J. Ashton

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, 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)®