Road projects around the country won top honors recently from the American Concrete Pavement Association, including a highway whose concrete is still in service after more than 100 years.

Old State Highway 20 in Woodbury County, Iowa, has won the ACPA’s National Lifetime Pavement Recognition Award.

“The fact that Old State Highway 20 has withstood over a century of continuous traffic and weather exposure is a testament to the exceptional durability of its concrete construction,” ACPA says. “The pavement’s ability to endure heavy loads, freeze-thaw cycles and other environmental stressors showcases its resilience and robustness.”

ACPA also gave awards for West Layton Avenue in Milwaukee County for the Best in Show Sustainability Award and Iowa Highway 3 Accelerated PCC Overlay for Best in Show Innovation Award. Other award winners included 22 contractors for various projects around the country that exhibited excellence in concrete.

Lifetime Pavement Award

For more than 100 years, this concrete section of Old Highway 20 in Moville, Iowa, has handled all kinds of vehicles.Google Earth/ACPAThe Old State Highway 20 section was designed and built by what was then called the Iowa Highway Commission in 1921 and is still in active service today.

The highway is historically significant as one of the earliest concrete pavements in the region. “It served as a pioneering example of concrete pavement technology during the early 20th century and represents a crucial milestone in the evolution of transportation infrastructure,” the association says. 

Despite its age, it has not required extensive maintenance. Local communities and transportation authorities have also worked to preserve the historical integrity of Old State Highway 20 by maintaining the original concrete surface yet also meeting modern safety standards. 

The highway, ACPA says, “serves as an invaluable living piece of history, inspiring current and future engineers to learn from its design principles and apply them in modern-day projects.”  

Best in Show Sustainability Award

West Layton Avenue / CTH Y, Milwaukee County, Greenfield, Wisconsin

Contractor: Vinton Construction Company 

Owner: Milwaukee County Department of Transportation

Engineer: Milwaukee County Department of Transportation

ACPAThis project involved converting a one-mile segment of rural, four-lane divided highway to an urban, four-lane divided highway with sidewalks, bus stops, turn lanes and on-street bike accommodations from South 43rd Street to South 27th Street.

The existing 9-inch concrete pavement was in poor condition. It was replaced with 8-inch concrete pavement over 6 inches of base aggregate. Storm sewer was added or extended; traffic signals were replaced, and numerous bus stops and turn lanes were added.

Construction began May 17, 2021, and was completed on December 22, 2021, five months ahead of schedule and under budget. 

Best in Show Innovation Award

Iowa Highway 3 Accelerated PCC Overlay; Plymouth County, Iowa

Contractor: Croell, Inc. 

Owner: Iowa Department of Transportation

ACPThe Iowa Highway 3, Accelerated Work Concrete Overlay, was a 9-mile project developed as a research project. The Iowa concrete industry, in cooperation with Iowa DOT, aimed to demonstrate that a concrete overlay with an accelerated construction schedule could be completed in less time than a traditional overlay schedule, while still maintaining the quality of the project and increasing safety.

The project was a 24-foot-wide, 6-inch-thick overlay with 6-foot-wide shoulders on each side. Conventional concrete and asphalt overlay methods would have taken roughly 90 days to complete, but the Accelerated Concrete Overlay took just 25 days with minimal closures to complete mainline paving, according to ACPA.

Mobile LiDAR (light detection and ranging) was used for data collection, lane closures and pilot vehicles to reduce traffic disruption.

Excellence Awards

ACPA also announced 31 recipients of its 34th Annual “Excellence in Concrete Pavements” awards, which recognize quality concrete pavements constructed in the United States and Canada. The awards program encourages high-quality workmanship, quality, and creativity in concrete pavement projects.

The award-winning projects were paved by 22 different contractors and are located in 12 states or regions represented by ACPA-affiliated chapters and state paving associations. Award winners were recognized during the annual Excellence in Concrete Pavements Awards Program held December 14 during ACPA’s 60th annual meeting in Marco Island, Florida.

The categories and winners for each award are as follows:

Municipal Streets & Intersections (less than 30,000 square yards)

Gold Award – USH 63, Spooner – Hayward (Greenwood Ave. to Poplar St.); Washburn County, Wisconsin

Contractor: Trierweiler Companies

Owner: Wisconsin Department of Transportation

Engineer: Northern Wisconsin Based Engineers (NWBE), Inc.

Silver Award – West 7th and 8th Avenue Concrete Reconstruction, West Homestead, Pennsylvania

Contractor: Golden Triangle Construction

Owner: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

Engineer: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

Municipal Streets & Intersections (greater than 30,000 square yards)

Gold Award – Hennepin Ave Downtown Reconstruction; Minneapolis, Minnesota

Contractor: TiZack Concrete, Inc.

Owner: City of Minneapolis

Engineer: Kimley-Horn and Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc.

Silver Award – Scott County MN CSAH 83; Scott, Minnesota

Contractor: Shafer Contracting Company, Inc.

Owner: Scott County

Engineer: Kimley-Horn and American Engineering Testing

Overlays (Streets & Roads)

Gold Award – Cannelburg Road Phases 4 & 5; Daviess County, Indiana

Contractor: Milestone Contractors LP

Owner: Daviess County

Engineer: Lochmueller Group

Silver Award – Intersection Improvements: Adams Ctr. And Tillman Rd.; Allen County, Indiana

Contractor: Milestone Contractors LP

Owner: Allen County Highway Department

Engineer: Allen County Highway Department

Overlays (Highways)

Gold Award – Iowa 31 Washta; Cherokee County, Iowa

Contractor: Cedar Valley Corp.

Owner: Iowa Department of Transportation

Silver Award – Iowa Hwy 3 Accelerated PCC Overlay SP#NHSN-003-1(106) –2R-75; Plymouth County, Iowa

Contractor: Croell, Inc.

Owner: Iowa Department of Transportation

Engineer: McClure Engineering

State Roads

Gold Award – US 169; Neosho/Allen Counties, Kansas

Contractor: Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc.

Owner: Kansas Department of Transportation

Engineer: GBA

Silver Award – US-287 Eads Passing Lanes; Kiowa County, Colorado

Contractor: Castle Rock Construction Company

Owner: Colorado Department of Transportation – Region 2

Engineer: CDOT Region 2 – Lamar Residency

Urban Arterials & Collectors

Gold Award – West Layton Avenue / CTH Y City of Greenfield; Milwaukee County, Wisconsin

Contractor: Vinton Construction Company

Owner: Milwaukee County Department of Transportation

Engineer: Milwaukee County Department of Transportation

Silver Award – Castle Pines Parkway Reconstruction; Castle Pines, Colorado

Contractor: Villalobos Concrete Company

Owner: City of Castle Pines

Engineer: Ulteig

Divided Highways (Urban)

Gold Award – Gilcrease Expressway; Tulsa, Oklahoma

Contractor: Gilcrease Constructors – Duit Const. Co., Inc.

Owner: Oklahoma Turnpike Authority

Engineer: Garver Engineering

Silver Award – I-44 Pavement Replacement at 744/Mulroy Road; Springfield, Missouri

Contractor: Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc.

Owner: Missouri Department of Transportation

Engineer: Missouri Department of Transportation

Divided Highways (Rural)

Gold Award – I-40 Vian; Sequoyah County, Oklahoma

Contractor: Duit Construction Co., Inc.

Owner: Oklahoma Department of Transportation

Engineer: Oklahoma Department of Transportation

Silver Award – I-80 East Bound, Rock Spring – Rawlins; Rock Springs, Wyoming

Contractor: WW Clyde

Owner: Wyoming Department of Transportation

Engineer: WYDOT District 3 – Rock Springs

Concrete Pavement Restoration for Highways and Airfields

Gold Award – Raleigh-Durham International Airport Runway 5L/23R and Taxiway B Preservation; Raleigh, North Carolina

Contractor: Zachry Construction Corp.

Owner: Parsons

Engineer: Jacobs

Silver Award – SP 4208-60th 59 CPR; Garvin, Minnesota

Contractor: Interstate Improvements

Owner: Minnesota Department of Transportation – District 8

Engineer: Minnesota Department of Transportation – District 8

Concrete Pavement Restoration for Streets & Local Roads

Gold Award – 2022 Annual Landside Pavement Rehabilitation; Denver, Colorado

Contractor: WW Clyde

Owner: City & County of Denver – Department of Aviation

Engineer: DEN Landside Engineering

Silver Award – Concrete Pavement Rehabilitation, East 56th Street; Indianapolis, Indiana

Contractor: Milestone Contractors LP

Owner: Indianapolis DPW

Engineer: First Group Engineering, Inc.

County Roads

Gold Award – Bass Rd. Construction, Phases 2 and 3; Allen County, Indiana

Contractor: Milestone Contractors LP

Owner: Allen County Highway Department

Engineer: American Structurepoint

Silver Award – Meade County Road 2 Reconstruction; Meade County, Kansas

Contractor: Koss Construction Company

Owner: Meade County

Engineer: Kirkham, Michael & Associates, Inc.

Roller Compacted Concrete – Industrial-Commercial

Gold Award – C&C Empty Container Yard at Bayport Terminal; Seabrook, Texas

Contractor: A.G. Peltz Group, LLC

Owner: Nigel Nixon and Partners, Inc.

Engineer: Jacobs Engineering

Silver Award – Spokane International Airport Rail–Truck Transload Facility; Spokane, Washington

Contractor: Peltz Companies, Inc.

Owner: Spokane International Airport

Engineer: KPFF

Roller Compacted Concrete (Roadways and Airfields)

Gold Award – RCC for Red Mountain Expressway; Birmingham, Alabama

Contractor: A.G. Peltz Group, LLC

Owner: Alabama Department of Transportation

Engineer: Alabama Department of Transportation

Industrial Paving

Gold Award – Old Dominion Freight Line; Bonner Springs, Kansas

Contractor: Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc.

Owner: D.F. Chase

Engineer: Hoyt+Berenyi

Reliever & General Aviation Airports

Gold Award – ATW Runway & GA Taxiway Rehabilitation; Appleton International Airport, Wisconsin

Contractor: Vinton Construction Company

Owner: Wisconsin DOT Bureau of Aeronautics

Engineer: Westwood

Silver Award – Ellsworth Municipal Airport Runway Reconstruction; Ellsworth, Kansas

Contractor: Koss Construction Company

Owner: City of Ellsworth

Engineer: Benesch

Military Airports

Gold Award – Cannon Air Force Base Reconstruct Taxiway Mike and Taxiway Delta; Clovis, New Mexico

Contractor: Southwest Concrete Paving Company (SWCP)

Owner: 27th Special Operations Wing

Engineer: Blair Remy Architects

Commercial Service Airports

Gold Award – Runway 13R-31L & Taxiway C Phase 1 Reconstruction; Dallas, Texas

Contractor: Flatiron

Owner: City of Dallas Department of Aviation

Engineer: HNTB Corporation

Silver Award – Rehabilitate Runway 1L-19R Phase 2; Kansas City Missouri

Contractor: Ideker Inc.

Owner: Kansas City Aviation Department

Engineer: HNTB Corporation