Reed Ryan will be the new top executive of the Asphalt Institute, a CalAPA partner that represents liquid asphalt manufacturers and suppliers worldwide. He replaces longtime executive Pete Grass, who announced his plans to retire earlier this year. The official Asphalt Institute announcement dated Nov. 12 is HERE.

Ryan will be familiar to CalAPA members. A former executive director of the Utah Asphalt Pavement Association, and chair in 2023 of the State Asphalt Pavement Associations, Inc. (SAPA), he was hired in February as executive director of the CalAPA-supported Asphalt Pavement Alliance. In that capacity, he was a featured speaker in June at the CalAPA "Summit at the Summit Executive Leadership Forum" at Incline Village, NV. A previous Asphalt Insider story about that event is HERE.

NAPA President & CEO Audrey Copeland was one of many who congratulated Ryan on his selection to lead AI. “We’re excited for Reed’s leadership as we advance our partnership with the Asphalt Institute,” Copeland said in a statement. "The APA partners – NAPA, SAPAs, and AI – affirmed their partnership and commitment to the future of the APA as they take steps to evaluate APA leadership." A search will be conducted to identify candidates to be the next executive director of the Asphalt Pavement Alliance.

In a recent LinkedIn post, Ryan referenced a speech he gave to the just-concluded Arizona Pavements and Materials Conference. "I didn’t tell anyone, but this was my last official speaking engagement as the Executive Director of the Asphalt Pavement Alliance -- a job I have absolutely loved this past year! As I caught a ride back to the airport, I couldn’t help but be grateful for Brittyn Heisler and Buzz Powell and all they have done and given this year to make the APA a success. Leaving a job you love is not easy, but the APA will thrive because of Buzz and Brittyn. I’m so proud of them not only as my colleagues but, more importantly, as my friends. My time with the APA was brief, but I am oh so glad I got to share it with them and all of you! Great things are indeed ahead!"

Grass, another familiar name to CalAPA members, will wrap up his tenue at the APA in December. He started with the Asphalt Institute in 2001 after a distinguished career that included leadership positions at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He recently sat down for a Q&A for CalAPA's association magazine, California Asphalt. That story can be viewed on-line HERE.

CalAPA member CRH Americas Materials has acquired Northern California asphalt producer Dutra Materials. The official announcement is HERE.

CRH officially entered the California market with its acquisition of Santa Rosa-based BoDean earlier this year. A previous Asphalt Insider story about that acquisition is HERE.

Dutra Materials, based in San Rafael, has asphalt production capabilities as well as aggregate resources. The Dutra website is HERE.

On Nov. 2, CalAPA member Knife River announced the purchase of Albina Asphalt, a liquid asphalt binder supplier, also a CalAPA member. An announcement, included in an investor call report, is HERE.

Gerry Graham of CalAPA member Reed & Graham, who passed away earlier this year, will be honored during a special ceremony at the CalAPA Annual Membership Meeting & Awards Dinner, which will take place on Thursday, Jan. 16 at the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles. Details and on-line registration for the event is HERE.

In the tribute to Graham, he will be inducted posthumously into the CalAPA "Hall of Fame" in recognition to his many contributions to the industry. He passed away Sept. 1 at the age of 78. A previous Asphalt Insider story about him is HERE.

Assemblywoman Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, will be the keynote speaker at the event. She represents the 11th District in the Assembly, which includes all of Solano County and portions of Contra Costa and Sacramento counties. Her official biography is HERE.

The festive evening will include an installation of officers for 2025, and the induction of longtime paving contractor and CalAPA Board Member Norman "Skip" Brown into CalAPA's "Hall of Fame," the posthumous tribute to Graham, as well as other festivities.

The Annual Dinner, one of the most popular CalAPA events of the year, will take place once again at the elegant Jonathan Club, 545 S. Figueroa St. in downtown Los Angeles. The surf-and-turf menu, fine wine and epic desserts make the event one members and spouses look forward to attending every year. The dress code for the event is business attire, and it will be strictly enforced by the Jonathan Club. Details on the dress code can be found HERE.

The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the dinner program commencing at 7 p.m. Space is limited and offered on a first-come, first served basis, so early registration is strongly recommended. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Sophie You of CalAPA at (916) 791-5044.

For those who prefer to consume information and insight presented in audio format, we have a couple of recent candidates for your consideration.

The Nov. 13 webinar hosted by CalAPA spotlighting prominent state technician training and certification programs featured representatives from California, Colorado, Oregon, Texas and Virginia. Industry and agency personnel who attended the event live commented in a post-event survey that there were lots of valuable take-aways from the 90-minute broadcast. The event, titled, "State Success Stories: "Training & Certifying Construction Materials Technicians," was sponsored by the State Asphalt Pavement Associations, Inc. (SAPA), a federation composed of representatives with local asphalt expertise, including CalAPA. To watch or listen to the broadcast, click HERE. For more information on SAPA, click HERE.

For policy wonks, CalAPA was prominently featured in an hour-long news radio interview program for a wide-ranging discussion about transportation infrastructure, Caltrans, asphalt pavements, funding, resiliency, EVs, trends, work-zone safety and more. That broadcast aired "live" along California's Central Coast on KVEC NewsTalk 920 AM & 96.5 FM, The Nov. 18 broadcast with host Jeff Bliss aired "live" during drivetime, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. For those who missed it, can be accessed as a podcast on the radio station's website HERE. The segment listing for the Dave Congalton Hometown Radio Show is "11/18/24 -- Guest host Jeff Bliss talks to former DC journalist and infrastructure expert Russ Snyder." CalAPA extends its thanks to the Caltrans District 5 public affairs staff for providing district project information, on short notice, which was shared during the broadcast, and also to KVEC producer Craig Hill for contributing quips and rocking playlist.

Incidentally, based on listener feedback, CalAPA will be banning its $1 novelty sound-effect machine from future broadcasts. Also, sharp-eyed readers may recognize the name of media personality Jeff Bliss. He co-authored a magazine piece on crisis communications that appeared in a previous issue of CalAPA's "California Asphalt" magazine. That issue can be accessed on-line HERE.

A joint Caltrans-industry meeting to discuss the Caltrans Statewide Crude Oil Price Index has been set for Thursday, Dec. 5 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. To request an invitation to the virtual meeting contact Caltrans at: Oil.Index@dot.ca.gov .

Recent developments in the oil industry impacting California has prompted the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to seek to meet with industry representatives to determine if changes are warranted in the Statewide Crude Oil Price Index used by contractors to guard against price fluctuations between the time they bid on a contract and when the asphalt is actually purchased and placed during construction.

As it has in the past, CalAPA is partnering with Caltrans to hold the meeting. Joseph Dongo with the Caltrans Division of Construction is the point-person on the effort for the Department. An anti-trust admonition will be read into the record at the beginning of the meeting.

The Caltrans Statewide Crude Oil Price Index was first developed during the 1970s in response to wild price spikes triggered by the Arab Oil Embargo. It has been refined several times since. It is used to calculate payment adjustments for paving asphalt under the special provisions section "Payment Adjustments for Price Index Fluctuations" for those contractors who have opted in to the index. If prices increase past a certain level, contractors can seek additional compensation from Caltrans, and if prices decrease, the department can seek a price credit on the contract.

Caltrans and industry representatives last met on the topic in 2020, during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, when oil prices globally underwent major changes. The California Statewide Crude Oil Price Index is determined each month by Caltrans using the average of the posted crude oil prices by Chevron, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips for the Buena Vista and Midway Sunset fields. Chevron recently announced that it would no longer post its California domestic crude prices as of Jan. 1. That announcement is HERE. Meanwhile, and the Phillips 66 refinery complex in Los Angeles County recently announced they would cease operations sometime next year. That announcement is HERE. Those events prompted Caltrans to seek a review the index. More information about the index can be found HERE.

CalAPA members seeking more information on this topic should consult a Nov. 8 "Member Alert," or contact CalAPA Executive Director Russell Snyder at (916) 791-5044.

CalAPA offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 28-29 for the Thanksgiving holiday. The offices will reopen on Monday, Dec. 2 during normal business hours.

Many CalAPA transactions, including registering for upcoming CalAPA events, can be done 24-7 on the CalAPA website HERE. Another 24-7 resource is the "HeyNAPA" AI-powered technical inquiry tool. That resource, hosted by the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), a CalAPA partner, can be found HERE. If you're getting into an argument around the Thanksgiving holiday dinner table about some technical aspect of asphalt, the HeyNAPA virtual assistant might be just the thing to break the deadlock. Or the alternative is just to rethink the dinner guest invitation list.

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

ROAD: A general term denoting a public way for purpose of vehicular travel, including the entire area within the right-of-way.

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.

PROJECT BOUNDARIES: Prior to the start of paving, the foreman and crew should "paint out" the

boundaries of the project and mark the paving lanes to identify the proper paving sequence. Once

paving starts, the inspector must monitor many items, including mix temperature, layer thickness,

smoothness, possible mix segregation and joint construction. These are done through observation

and utilization of numerous tools, including a straight edge, thermometer and density gauge.

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.

ROLLING RESISTENCE: Force resisting a tire's motion.

"It's hard to fail but it is worse never to have tried to succeed."



– Theodore Roosevelt

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.

Sincerely,

Russell W. Snyder, CAE

Executive Director

The California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)®