AASHTO Meetings

AASHTO Meetings: Relationships, Spec Writing, and Problems Solved

October 29, 2019

As the voice of the reinforced concrete pipe industry, the American Concrete Pipe Association is actively involved in a number of organizations and associations relating to the design and specification of concrete pipe. For many years, we’ve participated in the activities of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), working alongside our partners at state DOTs to help write specifications, problem solve and serve as a resource for all things relating to a reinforced concrete pipe and box culverts.

AASHTO is active throughout the year, with committee meetings held during the summer months. . ACPA is involved in these summer committee meetings, helping prepare items for the ballot, discussion, and formal presentation. Participation in the AASHTO summer meeting functions provides an informal setting where ACPA and industry members can discuss relevant issues and meet and interact with their DOT representatives.

Our industry shows its support for the work the AASHTO committees do by sponsoring and hosting various events during the meetings. For example, ACPA is an AASHTO Capital Sponsor, which provides excellent recognition and exposure for ACPA and our industry.  Almost all AASHTO meetings have ACPA participation as a sponsor or host of an event, allowing us the opportunity to get to know the participants and help educate them about ACPA.

When the ACPA learns about local concerns at AASHTO meetings and events, our regional engineers, staff, and member volunteers are able to reach out to DOT and local connections generated through AASHTO participation and help work toward finding solutions or specification improvements when needed.

A few highlights from AASHTO summer meetings include:

Committee on Bridges and Structures, June 24-27, Montgomery, Ala.:

1. Reference to ASTM C1840 in the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Construction Specifications –ACPA advocated that ASTM C1840, the standard on pipe inspection, be included in Section 27 of the AASHTO LRFD Construction Code. The inclusion of ASTM C1840 will help provide DOTs with valuable guidance on inspection and acceptance of installed reinforced concrete pipe.
2. ACPA Project Achievement Winner – Each year, ACPA invites member agencies to nominate projects that have utilized reinforced concrete pipe or box culverts in an effective or unique way. At this year’s AASHTO Bridge meeting, we presented this year’s award-winner: Project NEON in Las Vegas, the largest infrastructure project in Nevada’s history.

Committee on Materials and Pavements, Aug. 5-8, Baltimore: Progress was made on the revised AASHTO M 259 Standard for Precast Box Culverts, as the subcommittee approved the draft to go to main committee ballot this fall. ACPA has worked diligently with the members of the subcommittee on rigid culverts to develop a draft standard that provides a quality product for the public and maintains consistency with the ASTM C1577 Precast Box Culvert standard for box culvert manufacturing.

Committee on Construction, Aug. 11-15, Nashville: Throughout the week, ACPA built and fostered relationships with those involved with the Committee on Construction, through many activities and events including an ACPA dinner attended by representatives from DOTs and AASHTO. The week provided a great opportunity to meet with construction engineers and learn how we can be a resource for them.

Regional Events

• Western Association State Highway Transportation Officials (WASHTO): June 9-12, PhoenixRegional AASHTO meetings are an event where DOT leaders and staff are able to attend and learn from others in their region. At the WASHTO event, there was a special tract for the next generation of transportation leaders. Topics discussed included safety, emergency response, connections and time. ACPA was able to foster the connections part of the week by sponsoring the State Night event at Top Golf. Many of the young DOT stars were able to interact with their leaders in a relaxed setting. That event was one of the highlights of the conference.

AASHTO Annual Meeting, Oct. 5-9, St. Louis: ACPA holds our annual board meeting concurrently with the AASHTO Annual Meeting, which gives us the opportunity to say hi and support our transportation official colleagues.

The relationships fostered at AASHTO meetings are invaluable to solving real-world problems, and ACPA is an active participant in the process. Our AASHTO and state DOT partners have a huge responsibility in specifying, regulating and overseeing industry best practices. The more we coordinate with each other at these meetings and understand industry issues, the better prepared we are to work together to find the best answers and solutions. If you have a question or issue in your local area, let us know and one of our regional engineers will get in touch.