The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) presented several awards during its Annual Meeting in Orlando.
The awards handed out were the Larry H. Lemon Quality in Construction Awards, its Operational Excellence Awards, the Ray Brown Asphalt Pavement Award and the Sheldon G. Hayes Award. More than 15 projects were recognized with 10 receiving the Larry H. Lemon Award, three receiving Operational Excellence Awards, one being named the Ray Brown Asphalt Pavement Award winner and one receiving the Sheldon G. Hayes Award.
Larry H. Lemon Award winners
The Larry H. Lemon Quality in Construction Award for excellence recognizes the 10 highest-scoring projects submitted for a Quality in Construction (QIC) Award in the General Paving (less than 50,000 tons) category, according to NAPA.
“The asphalt pavement industry is committed to building high-quality projects that deliver superior performance to the traveling public,” says Christian Zimmermann, 2023 NAPA chair. “All contractors’ projects earning a Quality in Construction award are measured against best practices designed to live up to that commitment.”
The 2023 winners and their projects are:
• APAC-Kansas, Shears Division – a CRH company – of Hutchinson, Kansas, for US 183 in Clark County, Kansas and US 54 in Meade County, Kansas
• CWR Contracting – a Construction Partners company – of Wildwood, Florida, for SE 73rd Ave. in Marion County, Florida
• Cadillac Asphalt – a CRH company – of Farmington Hills, Michigan, for Exeter Road in Monroe, Michigan
• Granite Construction Co. of Everett, Washington, for fish passage in Skagit County, Washington
• Howard Cos. of Indianapolis, for various roads in Carmel, Indiana
• Pike Industries – a CRH company – of Belmont, New Hampshire, for I-91 NB in Westminster, Vermont
• Scotty’s Contracting and Stone of Bowling Green, Kentucky, for SR 136 (Livermore Rd.) in Ohio County, Kentucky
• Shelly & Sands of Zanesville, Ohio, for SR 13 and SR 550 in Athens County, Ohio, as well as SR 513 and SR 761 in Guernsey County, Ohio.
Projects submitted for a QIC Award are evaluated by an independent pavement engineer who assigns each project a numerical score based on how well the contractor met specifications and achieved density on the finished pavement, according to NAPA. All pavements meeting a benchmark figure earn the QIC Award, and the Larry Lemon Award honors the 10 highest-scoring projects, as determined in the review.
The award is named after Larry Lemon of Haskell Lemon Construction in Oklahoma City. Lemon served on the NAPA Awards Committee for 18 years, before serving as Chairman of the association’s Board of Directors in 2010, prior to his retirement. Lemon was instrumental in the creation of the rating system for the Quality in Construction Awards, NAPA says, which requires qualitative analysis using data and test results to determine the winners.
Operational Excellence award winners
NAPA presented three companies with its Operational Excellence Awards, which cover environmental leadership and community involvement.
The organization also named a finalist for its Community Involvement Award.
“NAPA members strive for excellence beyond constructing high-quality asphalt pavements,” Zimmermann says. “The two categories of the Operational Excellence Awards – environmental leadership and community involvement – recognize a company’s commitment to operations that make them good contractors, good industry ambassadors and good neighbors.”
Tilcon Connecticut – a CRH company – of New Britain, Connecticut, received the 2023 Environmental Leadership Award for its New Britain Drum Plant.
Winners of the 2023 Community Involvement Award were Callanan Industries – a CRH company – of Albany, New York, for its Callanan Cares program, and Lehman-Roberts/Memphis Stone & Gravel of Memphis, Tennessee, for its Community Engagement program.
Ajax Paving Industries of Florida of Venice, Florida, was a finalist for the Community Involvement Award for its Pave It Forward Program.
Ray Brown Asphalt Pavement Award winner
Allan Myers of Worcester, Pennsylvania, received the 2023 Ray Brown Asphalt Pavement Award for excellence in construction of an asphalt pavement.
The company won the award for Lancaster Airport Runway 8-26 in Lititz, Pennsylvania. To limit impact on airport operations – and with the July 4 holiday looming – the company had to complete milling, leveling and paving within a 28-day runway shutdown, according to NAPA.
The Allan Myers team spent four months developing a work plan, quality control and risk management processes, and mix testing and verification. Yet, the presence of rock far beyond what was anticipated caused a two-week paving delay. They acquired the necessary permits, hired a blasting contractor and reconfigured the work plan, NAPA says.
Back on schedule, they had to reject the first ten truckloads of asphalt because they did not meet specifications. Despite these unforeseen, the team delivered the project within its original schedule.
“The asphalt pavement industry is committed to building high-quality projects that deliver superior performance to the traveling public,” Zimmermann says. “Earning the Ray Brown Award demonstrates that Allan Myers has met or exceeded rigorous standards.”
The award is named after Ray Brown, who was the director of the National Center for Asphalt Technology from 1991 to 2007. Under Brown’s guidance and tenure, the center became renowned for its asphalt pavement research. The award is presented to the highest scoring QIC airport pavement project.
Sheldon G. Hayes Award winner
The Sheldon G. Hayes Award, bestowed annually since 1971, recognizes the country’s highest quality highway pavements.
APAC-Kansas and the Kansas Department of Transportation (DOT) were named the 2023 winner of the award for their work on I-70 in Grove County, Kansas.
“The asphalt pavement industry is committed to building quality pavements that deliver high performance and drivability to the public,” Zimmermann says. “All contractor’s projects earning a Sheldon G. Hayes Award are measured against industry best practices, rated for smoothness a year after construction, and visually inspected to ensure the project lives up to our promise.”
A finalist for the award was Lindy Paving of New Galilee, Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania DOT, District 1, for their work on SR 90 in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Pike Industries and the Vermont Agency of Transportation were also a finalist for their work on VT 113 from Chelsea to Thetford, Vermont.
The Sheldon G. Hayes Award winner and finalists are determined through a two-year evaluation process, according to NAPA. All highway pavement projects using more than 50,000 tons of asphalt are eligible for consideration.
Initially, the project must win a QIC Award, which is determined by numerical scores given by independent pavement engineers based on how well the contractor met specifications and achieved density on the finished pavement. All pavements that meet a benchmark figure earn the QIC Award.
The year after a project wins a QIC Award, it is eligible for consideration for the Sheldon G. Hayes Award, NAPA says. The top-ranked projects from each year are tested for smoothness, and then visually inspected by an independent pavement consultant with many years of experience in the industry. This year, the evaluator praised all the candidates for their high-quality construction practices, which resulted in smooth, safe and durable pavements, according to the association.
The award is named for Sheldon G. Hayes, a founder of NAPA and the association’s first chairman. Hayes spent his entire career striving for better construction techniques and improvements in the quality of asphalt pavements, NAPA says.