Pave Ahead Educates Industry Stakeholders Across Rocky Mountain Region

Last week, NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Greg Halsted traveled through the Rocky Mountains providing education and guidance on the efficiency, durability and sustainability of concrete pavements. Monday started off in Firestone, CO, with a half-day training session to flatwork trades personnel with D.R. Horton, Inc., the largest homebuilder by volume in the United States. The presentation, Keys to Successful Concrete Flatwork, covered the materials, mix designs, site work, placing, finishing, curing and jointing of concrete flatwork as well as how to troubleshoot slab defects and work with portland-limestone cement mixes. D. R. Horton requested the training after an earlier presentation in July that Halsted gave to the firm's construction and warranty team personnel. Tracy Moe, customer care manager for D.R. Horton, noted that the training will ensure that staff catches issues with concrete flatwork during construction as opposed to when the work is in warranty.

Halsted (seen here, preparing for a presentation) then headed north to Wyoming on Tuesday and Wednesday where he co-presented day-long workshops on Understanding Today’s Concrete Pavements in Riverton and Casper. The workshops were sponsored by the Wyoming Technology Transfer Center with Jamie Johnson, executive director of the Colorado/Wyoming Chapter of the American Concrete Pavement Association, as the other co-presenter.

At each location, Halsted gave three presentations: Mix Designs and Working with Type IL Cement, Best Practices for Jointing Concrete Pavements and The Concrete Parking Lot. The presentations, given to engineers, contractors and students, highlighted that understanding today's concrete pavements requires knowledge of their unique composition, construction techniques and long-term performance. The workshops introduced attendees to current mix design compositions, the latest design and construction practices, and the best techniques for ensuring durability, resiliency and sustainability of concrete pavements.

The final stop for Halsted was on Thursday in Helena, MT, where he presented two sessions: Introducing the NRMCA Design Assistance Program (DAP) and Concrete Pavement Jointing and Details as part of the Montana Joint Engineers Conference (JEC). The Montana JEC is an annual three-day event that attracts engineers of all types from across the state, with nine separate tracks offering more than 30 technical educational sessions sponsored by local engineering societies/associations.

Halsted’s presentations came at the request of Dan Ottman with NRMCA member Knife River who represented the Montana Contractors Association. The DAP presentation looked at how NRMCA can provide detailed street, road and parking lot design recommendations, including jointing plans, to help specifiers deliver quality concrete paving designs to ensure successful projects. The jointing presentation explained why it's a critical aspect of concrete pavement design and construction; Halsted discussed the types of joints, joint spacing and design, dowels and tie bars, joint construction techniques and joint maintenance and sealing.

“In every state, based on the enthusiasm of the audience, the number of questions asked and the positive interactive discussions, those in attendance learned a great deal about proper concrete pavement design and construction," said Halsted.

For additional information on Pave Ahead activities in the West, contact Greg Halsted at ghalsted@nrmca.org.