Excellence in
Concrete Pavements
American Concrete Pavement Association Annual Awards
T he American Concrete Pavement Association
(ACPA) has named the recipients of its 20th annual
“Excellence in Concrete Pavement” awards for 2009,
which recognize quality concrete pavements constructed
in the U.S. and Canada. Judges representing various
stakeholder groups in the transportation/construction
community evaluated and voted on the projects.
The contractors, engineers, and project owners who
completed outstanding projects are formally recognized
each year during a gala awards ceremony held at
ACPA’s annual meeting. Awards are given in 12 categories
applicable to the construction and rehabilitation of
highways, roadways, and airports and, for the first time,
industrial pavement facilities. The gold-level award
winners, by category, included:
Commercial service and military airports
Main Base Runway Replacement, Edwards Air Force
Base, Kern County, CA; Contractor/Engineer: CH2M
Hill-IHC, a joint venture of CH2M Hill and Interstate
Highway Construction, Inc.; Owner: U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers.
Prior to decommissioning the existing main runway
at Edwards Air Force Base, a temporary 12,000 x 200 ft
(3660 x 61 m) runway had to be built, as the construction
project could not compromise flight operations. More
than 445,000 yd2 (372,000 m2) of existing concrete had to
be demolished in 9 weeks and then the crews placed a
total of 28 miles (45 km) of concrete pavement, 33 to 38 ft
(10 to 11.5 m) wide and in thicknesses of 12, 16, and 20 in.
(304, 406, and 508 mm). Crews had to deal with the harsh
environmental conditions of the high Mojave Desert, with
daily temperatures sometimes reaching 110˚F (43˚C), with
low humidity and wind gusts often exceeding 25 mph
(40 km/h).
Concrete pavement restoration (CPR)
Airfield Concrete Pavement Rehabilitation at Denver
International Airport, Denver, Co; Contractor: Interstate
Highway Construction, Inc.; Owner/Engineer: City and
County of Denver Department of Aviation.
This $17.3 million CPR project involved removal and
replacement of 83,000 yd2 (69,400 m2) of 17 in. (431 mm)
thick pavement on taxiways and runways (approximately
2000 panels), as well as more than 450 in-pavement lights.
The project also included 500 ft2 (46 m2) of spall repair,
replacement of heavy-duty expansion joints, stabilizing
(mud-jacking) 34 panels, joint sealing, and 4000 yd2
(370 m2) of surface grinding. With aircraft taxiing only a
few feet from the work zone, safety measures were
strictly followed. Despite the challenges of this project,
the runway opened 17 days earlier than expected.
County roads
William White Blvd. (defense access road), Pueblo
County, CO; Contractor: Castle Rock Construction
Co.; Owner: Pueblo County, CO; Engineer: Short Elliot
Hendrickson, Inc.
William White Blvd. connects State Highway 47 with
the Pueblo County Airport, which is a U.S. Department of
Defense installation surrounded by a number of defense
contractors. The 2.6 mile (42 km) long project consisted
of 98,700 yd2 (82,500 m2) of 10 in. (254 mm) doweled and
grooved concrete pavement, 5000 yd2 (4180 m2) of
concrete driveway, and 15,000 ft (4570 m) of integral curb
and gutter. The concrete pavement was 65 ft (20 m) wide
in the reconstruction area and 60 ft (18 m) wide in the
new construction area. The entire reconstruction area
required excavation to a depth of 3 ft (0.9 m), with no
disruption to utilities.
Divided highways—rural
Interstate 25, Cheyenne, WY, to the Colorado State Line;
Contractor: Interstate Highway Construction, Inc.; Owner/
Engineer: Wyoming Department of Transportation (DOT).
With a 212-day project window to place 7.64 lane miles
(12.2 km) of 10 in. (254 mm) concrete, Interstate Highway
Construction removed and replaced an almost 50-year-old
Concrete international / February 2010 31
 plain concrete pavement on the northbound lanes of
the interstate and replaced the sections with jointed,
doweled concrete pavement and concrete shoulders. The
project also included rehabilitation of four bridges and
installation of median cable guardrail, new right-of-way
fencing, a roadway management system, interchange
lighting, and a winter road-closure station. The project
was the first in Wyoming to feature a longitudinally
tined texture.

Edwards Air Force Base Main Base Runway Replacement
Divided highways—urban
Interstate 75, Birch Run Creek to Bridgeport Inter-
change, Saginaw County, MI; Contractor: Interstate
Highway Construction, Inc.; Owner: Michigan DOT;
Engineer: Rowe Professional Services Co.
In this $50 million reconstruction of 6.5 miles (10.4 km)
of highway, the contractor removed and replaced three
lanes of existing concrete pavement, but the project
also involved widening to the median; adding a fourth
lane, valley gutter, and a permanent barrier wall; and
reconstruction of a park-and-ride facility. Adding to the
complexity was the removal, replacement, and widening
of four bridges. A new barrier gate system, the first of its
type in Michigan, was installed in the median barrier wall
to allow authorized vehicles entry with a key code. This
provides critical access to the opposite roadway without
going to the nearest interchange.

Industrial pavements
Oklahoma Welcome Centers’ parking areas, Kay
County and Beckham County, OK; Contractor: Duit
Construction Co., Inc.; Owner: Oklahoma DOT; Engineer:
Tetra Tech FHC.
Pavements for the Welcome Centers on Interstate 40
and Interstate 35 were constructed in 8, 9, 10, and 11 in.
(203, 228, 254, and 279 mm) thicknesses and from two
different concrete mixtures. Duit Construction had to
address complex patterns in the joint design and
construction and used guidance from ACPA to ensure
the proper types of tied and doweled joints were used.
Some 34 different radii made the joint layout challenging,
so numerous tapers were included to ensure against
premature failure.

Municipal streets and intersections

Denver International Airport Pavement Rehabilitation
(greater than 30,000 yd2)
State Highway 59, Donkey Creek to Interstate 90,
Gillette, WY; Contractor: Concrete Works of Colorado, Inc.;
Owner: City of Gillette, WY; Engineer: WWC Engineering.
Severely distressed asphalt pavement was replaced
with more than 81,000 yd2 (67,700 m2) of 9 in. (228 mm)
concrete pavement. Highway 59 was widened through the
city of Gillette, resulting in the equivalent of 10 lanes
(three through lanes in each direction, as well as double

32 February 2010 / Concrete international

left-turn lanes at all intersections and shoulders). The
project also involved 10,000 ft (3050 m) of curb and
gutter; a raised, colored median and median skirt; a
sidewalk/bike path; and precast box culverts. The project
was constructed in numerous phases, which required
more than 25 individual bulkheads in both the north-
bound and southbound directions. The contractor earned
significant smoothness incentives and earned a $1 million
early completion bonus.

Municipal streets and intersections (less

than 30,000 yd2)
South Main Street Design/Build Project, Maryville,
MO; Contractor: Loch Sand & Construction Co.; Owner:
City of Maryville, MO; Engineer: Snyder & Associates.
To fix the city’s primary artery, comprised largely of
deteriorated asphalt overlays that required almost daily
maintenance, the contractor proposed removing the Interstate 75, Birch Run Creek to Bridgeport Interchange
deteriorated roadway to a full 32 ft (10 m) width and then
placing concrete pavement, as well as curb and gutter. To
manage the project while allowing access, the contractor
built the project in two phases. Although the contractor
had 5-1/2 months to complete the project, the work was
finished a month ahead of schedule.

Overlays
Interstate 77 Reconstruction Design-Build Project,
Yadkin County, NC; Contractor: The Lane Construction
Corp.; Owner: North Carolina DOT; Engineer: HDR
Engineering, Inc., of the Carolinas.
This project involved 26.1 lane miles (42 km) and used
11 in. (279 mm) thick concrete for mainline sections,
13 in. (330 mm) in full depth reconstruction (FDR) areas,
and 9 in. (228 mm) on ramps and loops. The overlay was
placed on existing continuously reinforced concrete with
1.5 in. (38 mm) of surface course bond breaker, while
the FDR areas used 6 in. (152 mm) of stone and 4 in.
(101 mm) of asphalt base course. Because of holiday and
seasonal restrictions, Lane had very short time windows
to complete the work on various sections before
they needed to be reopened to traffic. To address the
challenge, the projects were separated into multiple
sections that allowed completion of each section over a
span of 2 to 3 months. Because ramps, loops, and bridge
tie-ins could only be closed for 11 days, the construction
team worked around the clock to complete the work
during these closures.
Project NHY-033N (012), Sequoyah County, OK;
Contractor: Duit Construction Co., Inc.; Owner/Engineer:
Oklahoma DOT.
The U.S. 59 roadway was experiencing premature
deterioration. The Oklahoma DOT decided to correct the
problem with a 7 in. (178 mm) doweled jointed plain State Highway 59, Donkey Creek to Interstate 90
concrete pavement. Time was critical, as only 30 calendar

Concrete international / February 2010 33

 South Main Street Project

days were allotted for the project, which involved

1.61 miles (2.6 km) of four-lane divided highway for a
total of 7.05 lane miles (11.3 km). The work was done in
two phases and involved moving daily traffic in a two-
lane, head-to-head configuration while the adjacent side
was repaired. An optimized gradation mixture design
using the Shilstone method was credited with creating a
concrete pavement that is strong, long lasting, and cost
effective. The average compressive strength of the
concrete was 4460 psi (31 MPa) for the mainline sections.
U.S. 131 Concrete Overlay, Kent County, MI; Contractor:
Ajax Paving Industries, Inc.; Owner: Michigan DOT, Grand
Overlay, Sequoyah County
Rapids Region; Engineer: Michigan DOT-Grand Rapids
Transportation Service Center.
Ajax Paving Industries, Inc., placed a 6.5 in. (165 mm)
unbonded concrete overlay on 26 miles (42 km) of an
existing 40-year-old concrete pavement, using a 1 in.
(25 mm) asphalt separator layer. The original pavement
was on a 6 in. (152 mm) aggregate subbase on 12 in.
(305 mm) of sand subbase. Some full-depth reconstruction
was required at areas under bridges where the roadway
passed over the freeway or transitioned down to bridge
decks on the freeway and over streams or local roads. A
Shilstone-type well-graded concrete mixture, with three
aggregates, was used. The mixture, which contained
40% slag cement, used only 294 lb/yd3 (174 kg/m3) of
portland cement.

Overlay, U.S. 131 Reliever and general aviation airports

Delphi Municipal Airport Runway 18-36 Rehabilitation,
Delphi, IN; Contractor: E&B Paving, Inc.; Owner: Delphi
Board of Aviation Commission; Engineer: NGC Corp.
This airport features the first full concrete overlay
to be built on an airport runway in Indiana. Initially
constructed in the early 1970s, the 2652 ft (808 m)
long asphalt pavement runway was poorly drained
and in need of complete rehabilitation. The contractor
paved in 20 ft (6 m) wide lanes and placed about
1300 lineal ft (396 m) per day, completing the paving in
6 days. Profilograph testing revealed extraordinary
smoothness. The overlay project saved the Delphi
Board of Aviation Commission about $200,000 against a
$900,000 rehabilitation budget.

State roads
Reconstruction of U.S. 34 in Union County, Creston,
IA; Contractor: Cedar Valley Corp.; Owner: Iowa DOT.
This project generated some major concerns because
the city of Creston would have been temporarily divided
in two if the highway were closed. The paving was staged
one half at a time to maintain traffic, and the plans
permitted continuous access to the highway or designated
side streets for all businesses and residents along the
highway. As the work began, more than 50 in. (1270 mm)

34 February 2010 / Concrete international

of rain fell during the construction period. Adding to the railroads. Other features included construction of water
challenges were utility conflicts that were exacerbated by retention ponds and reconstruction of the historic
different elevation conflicts. Still, the staging enabled Big Detroit Lake scenic overlook. Short work schedules
completion of the challenging paving project, allowing the and major environmental considerations also added to
contractor to place 8 lane miles (13 km) of 9.5 in. (241 mm) the complexity.
concrete on 20 ft (6 m) joint spacings and, at the same time,
averting flooding that could have threatened the downtown Visit www.acpa.org for more information.
area were it not for expert planning and coordination.
Highway 10/Connect
Urban arterials and collectors
Highway 10/Connect, Detroit Lakes, MN; Contractor:
Shafer Contracting Company, Inc., and Hoffman Construction;
Owner: Minnesota DOT; Engineer: HNTB.
The goal of this design-bid-build project was to improve
safety and mobility along the Highway 10 corridor. Shafer
placed 12 lane miles (19 km) of concrete pavement with
joint spacing of 15 ft (4.5 m). This complex project required
coordination of several different features, including
demolition of business and residential properties,
realignment of 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of railroad tracks,
improvement of the busy intersection of Highways
59 and 34, and construction of a five-lane bridge over two

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Concrete international / February 2010 35