Early last month, Bob Long, executive director, Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the American Concrete Pavement Association, requested a message be driven home to those attending the annual Virginia Concrete Conference: "Let’s tear down all the excuses we hear for not using concrete for streets and local roads. There are so many decision makers who are walking around with asphalt crutches. It is time to kick those crutches out from under them."

This promotion call to arms led Long and his Virginia industry colleagues to invite NRMCA Senior National Resource Director Jon Hansen to speak on the success in his home state of Iowa where more than 65% of all streets and local roads are paved with concrete. The Des Moines-based Hansen gave a history of how concrete streets and road construction started in the state and how the development of the Statewide Urban Design and Specifications (SUDAS) in the 1980's influenced construction. The resulting SUDAS manual provides for uniform municipal infrastructure design resulting in cost saving construction. Hansen concluded his message with the simple statement that "concrete is hard, but it is not difficult to properly design, construct, maintain and repair. You just need to learn from others who have done it and copy their success."