With the war with Iran showing no signs of abating, contributing to soaring pump prices at home, a renegade proposal to temporarily suspend the federal fuel tax devoted to transportation fizzled in Washington last week.

Similar to other "gas tax holiday" proposals have popped up in various states since hostilities began in February, which has triggered a global oil shock and pain for consumers at the gas pump.

The concept for a temporary suspension of the federal fuel taxes failed to achieve enough votes as Congress adjourned and elected officials returned home to face constituents in advance of the November 3 midterm elections.

A broad coalition that includes the asphalt industry in California and across the nation has opposed such suspensions with no replacement funds identified, warning that it could severely disrupt much-needed road repair work under way or in the pipeline. A similar measure earlier this year put forward by Republicans in the California Legislature went nowhere. The issue was also prominently featured in the runup to the June California gubernatorial primary election.

Nevertheless, elected officials are under pressure to do something about rising costs for constituents, with fuel prices a popular target. A previous Asphalt Insider article on this topic is HERE. The issue has also raised concerns that the cost of projects will soar, potentially siphoning funds for future work. A fact sheet about California's looming transportation funding crisis, produced by Transportation California, a CalAPA coalition partner, is HERE.

U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, R-MD, introduced the bill to temporarily suspend the federal fuel taxes, which currently stand at 18.4 cents on a gallon of gas and 24.4 cents for a gallon of diesel. HIs news release on his proposal is HERE. It failed to win enough support for a vote before the House adjourned until after the Nov. 3 elections. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) he blamed the lack of action on his proposal on "swamp creatures" within his own party who are "tone deaf to Americans' concerns over fuel costs. They refuse to even let the House have a vote to temporarily suspend the federal fuel tax during this time of conflict. Good luck in November."

The federal Highway Trust Fund, meanwhile, is hurtling toward insolvency. A breakdown of the situation by the National Asphalt Pavement Association, a CalAPA partner, is HERE. The current surface transportation act funding runs out Sept. 30 and will operate on short-term extension after that.

The dynamic has drawn additional attention to the Caltrans crude oil index, which has been in place since the 1970s to help insulate contractors from gyrating prices on asphalt binder, a petroleum product. Recently the concept has been put in place for fuel prices. Information about the Caltrans fuel index is HERE. Information about the Caltrans crude oil index utilized to compute paving asphalt adjustments is HERE. A previous Asphalt Insider article on the topic is HERE.

The third edition of the comprehensive Caltrans Maintenance Technical Advisory Guide (MTAG), a collaborative effort of the agency, industry experts and academia, is now available on the Caltrans website.

FIrst published in 2002, the MTAG has been an important reference work on maintaining asphalt pavements. Although geared toward Caltrans maintenance personnel, it is also an important resource for any public works agency and industry personnel. A link to the on-line guide, divided into 14 chapters, is HERE.

The significance of the MTAG was highlighted in a recent edition of the California State University, Chico Pavement Preservation Center newsletter, which noted:

"While intended primarily for the benefit of Maintenance Managers, Supervisors, and Superintendents, the MTAG has also proven immensely valuable to construction personnel and pavement designers in their respective roles. The MTAG provides a vital resource for maintenance personnel to make better and more informed decisions in selecting and applying maintenance treatments on highways. It is also a reference guide used by Caltrans staff in selecting different maintenance treatment strategies and their construction procedures.

"Over the years," the Pavement Preservation Center newsletter continued, "with the advancements in pavement preservation materials and techniques, the demand for an updated iteration of MTAG became evident. Since 2008, there have been many new developments in asphalt pavement preservation. Therefore, it was time for MTAG Volume I to be updated. With this need, Caltrans partnered with CP2 Center at CSU Chico to develop the third edition of MTAG Volume I, specifically addressing flexible pavement preservation."

The Pavement Preservation Center article goes on to acknowledge the many experts, including CalAPA members and staff, who contributed to the MTAG update. The newsletter can be accessed on-line HERE.

Elements of the MTAG are often referenced during CalAPA's "Asphalt Pavement 101" classes, taught by former asphalt association executive Roger Smith, a retired senior materials engineer for Caltrans. You can learn more about CalAPA's technical training program HERE.

A profile of the Cal State Chico Pavement Preservation Center that appeared in a previous issue of California Asphalt, the CalAPA association magazine, is HERE. A Q&A with CP2 Center Director Dr. DingXin Cheng that appeared in the magazine is HERE. A story about a CalAPA-supported summer asphalt workshop that took place earlier this year at CSU Chicois HERE.

Asphalt pavements designed to last 40 or more years are becoming increasingly common across California and the nation. The Asphalt Pavement Alliance, a CalAPA partner, wants to recognize those durable projects with a national award.

Applications are due by Oct. 1 for three categories of awards, "Perpetual by Performance," "Perpetual by Design" and "Perpetual by Conversation." More information about the awards and the applications can be found HERE.

According to the Asphalt Pavement Alliance, California has won two perpetual by performance awards, one by design award and one by conversion. The perpetual pavements are often called "Long-life" pavements in California, and have been prominently featured on Caltrans projects on the 710 Freeway in Los Angeles County, Interstate 5 in the North State and on Interstate 80. An article on California's long-life asphalt projects was featured on the cover of "California Asphalt," CalAPA's association magazine, HERE.

In the photo that accompanies this article, former NAPA CEO Mike Acott presents an award to Tony Tavares of Caltrans at a 2013 CalAPA asphalt conference in Sacramento in recognition of the Department's work in this area, backed up by research by the University of California Pavement Research Center.

Much has been made recently about the possibility of Artificial Intelligence technologies posing an existential threat to humanity. We are certainly not qualified to render judgment on that question. However, for asphalt-related information, the "Hey NAPA" tool developed by the National Asphalt Pavement Association, a CalAPA partner, delivers on all the positive attributes of Artificial Intelligence with none of the downsides. The "Hey NAPA" tool can be assessed HERE.

The tool draws from credible sources of information to provide answers to asphalt-related questions, drawn from a vast storehouse of technical papers that have been fact-checked and peer-reviewed. The queries also provide links to the original source material for ease of verification and additional information and context. CalAPA and other state associations have contributed to pooled funds to back the credible research and best-practices that are now just a few mouse-clicks away.

Having fast and easy access to reliable information was the promise of the Information Age, but in practice we have too often fallen short of that lofty ideal. At least when it comes to asphalt, technology is once again our friend. Besides, could anything that adorable mean us harm?

A previous Asphalt Insider newsletter article about this resource is HERE.

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

EARTHWORK: The work consisting of the construction of the roadway, excluding bridges, pavement structure, and selected capping material

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.

BALANCED MIX DESIGN: Use of performance tests to design pavement structure.

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 .

Sept. 2026: $481.4 ($/ton)

Last month: $455.4

1 year ago: $363.7

"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, 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)®