FHWA Sustainable Pavements Technical Working Group Publishing Report on Pavement Sustainability

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has established a technical working group (TWG) to provide input and feedback on pavement and material sustainability, reports NRMCA Vice President Pavement Structures Brian Killingsworth. The working group is composed of representatives from state DOTs, other government agencies, academia and industry. The working group is part of FHWA's Sustainable Pavements Program, established in 2010, which strives to advance the knowledge and practice of sustainability in the pavements and materials areas. The integrated program covers asphalt, concrete, granular and recyclable materials used in pavement systems and promotes research into new sustainable materials and processes.

Program objectives include developing guidelines for designing and constructing sustainable pavement systems; evaluating materials, processes, technologies and tools to aid in the evaluation, design and construction of sustainable pavement systems; and conducting technology transfer and deployment activities. To support these objectives, the working group meets twice a year to exchange ideas, innovative solutions and evaluate products under development by the FHWA sustainable pavements team. The FHWA is developing a sustainability report, titled Advancing a Sustainable Highway System: Highlights of FHWA Sustainability Activities, with the goal of illustrating how sustainability has been incorporated into a wide variety of FHWA programs, projects, policies, processes and partnerships. It is intended to be published in late Summer 2014 and used by a diverse audience of transportation agency professionals at the federal, state and local levels as well as by the general public.

At a recent TWG meeting held in Minneapolis, comments from committee members on the draft report were reviewed and modifications made when pertinent. Killingsworth is a friend of the committee and ensures that the benefits of ready mixed concrete are considered in the work that the group performs.

Click here for more information about the FHWA Sustainable Pavements Program or contact Brian Killingsworth at bkillingsworth@nrmca.org or 830-438-2690.

National Ready Mixed Concrete Association