Concrete Pavement Reporter E-News Archive

July-September 2005

CP Road Map Plan Published

The Long-Term Plan for Concrete Pavement Resesearch and Technology: The CP Road Map, which was developed by Iowa State University in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and concrete pavement stakeholders across the country, has been published by the FHWA.

The CP Road Map is a comprehensive and strategic plan for concrete pavement research that will guide the investment of approximately $250 million over the next 10 years. The plan will result in technologies and systems that help the concrete pavement community meet the paving challenges of tomorrow. In short, the CP Road Map will result in a new generation of concrete pavements for the 21st century.

The final CP Road Map executive summary, tech brief, and plan volumes are available at www.fhwa.dot.gov.

Transportation Bill Includes Concrete Pavement Research Funding

A $10 million federal appropriation to an Iowa State University-based concrete technology center will help engineers from coast to coast develop pavements that last longer and need less maintenance.

That means better roads and fewer construction delays for American drivers.

President Bush signed the $286.4 billion federal transportation bill on August 10, 2005. The bill sends $10 million over five years to the center. The money will be used to support research projects and to leverage additional research funding from the pavement industry and state transportation departments.

Tom Cackler, PCC Center director, said the money will be spent according to a recently developed national research plan, the CP Road Map. The center led efforts by the federal government, state agencies and the pavement industry to write the plan.

The plan calls for about $250 million of research over the next 10 years. Its research goals include finding better ways to design concrete mixes, improving the restoration and preservation of pavement, developing techniques to monitor concrete quality during construction and producing safer, quieter and smoother pavement.

"We're working in a very collaborative way with industry and with research funders to be sure the work we do advances an agenda of national significance," Cackler said. "The taxpayers will get a real focused effort to be sure that our projects are of a national level."