Pave It Black: The Official Podcast of NAPA National Asphalt Pavement Association

In the penultimate episode of Conversations from the Capital, we revisit the topic of airfield paving. To understand how agency and industry work together to improve pavement performance, Richard and Brett sit down with Jeff Crislip from the Federal Aviation Administration and Marty McNamara from Granite Construction. Tune in to learn more about the upcoming changes in airfield specifications, the reason behind stricter specifications for airfield projects, and why communication is a vital aspect of the process.

Richard and Brett discuss airfield construction and the importance of employee training. In this high-stakes environment, ensuring that employees are well-trained is vital for constructing quality pavements. They talk to Matthew Hoyle from the US Army Corps of Engineers and Travis Walbeck from the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) at Auburn University to learn more about the Airfield Asphalt Certification Program. Listen to discover why the program was developed, how to enroll, and its impact on the asphalt pavement industry. Visit https://airfieldasphaltcert.com/ to learn more.

In this week's episode of Pave It Black, Richard and Brett delve into the topic of electric vehicles (EVs) and how they affect the asphalt pavement industry. With more EVs on the road, new technologies are emerging to support these vehicles. To shed light on these developments, Reed Ryan from the Asphalt Pavement Alliance and Amir Golalipour from the Federal Highway Administration were invited to discuss inductive charging and its implications for the asphalt pavement industry. Tune in to learn what inductive charging is, which organizations are making progress in this area, and how this technology could be integrated into the lifespan of a pavement.

For this episode of Pave It Black, Richard and Brett discuss the topic of standards and their role in the asphalt pavement industry. With the help of Oak Metcalf from the Montana Department of Transportation and Kelly Cook from the Edward Levy Company, we learn how industry and agencies work on specifications to ensure that our products help build the best highway systems and roads. Deep dive into the world of AASHTO and ASTM, learn how you can get involved, and why it’s important to be involved in this process.

In the latest episode of Pave It Black, Richard and Brett catch up with NAPA's Government Affairs Team to get an update on their recent advocacy activities and upcoming plans. Nile Elam, the Vice President of Government Affairs, joins the conversation to discuss NAPA's advocacy goals, his World of Asphalt PPP session, and the upcoming efforts planned for Distracted Driving Month. Listen and find out how you can participate in the upcoming advocacy events, including the TCC Fly-In on May 14-15 and the Hill Days on September 25-26.

In this episode of Pave It Black, Richard and Brett explore the use of low carbon construction materials in the asphalt pavement industry. To guide our conversation, we spoke with Walter Tersch from the General Services Administration, as well as Scott Legg and Fred Marvel from Brannan Companies. Gain insight into the specific requirements the GSA asks of businesses, including the importance of providing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for asphalt products.

To learn more about how the GSA interacts with the asphalt pavement industry, attend their upcoming Virtual Inflation Reduction Action Industry Exchange webinar on March 21 at 11 AM ET. Register here: https://sam.gov/opp/5417ad0239dc448880c9947ecb92ba87/view