The top official at Caltrans in charge of pavements announced his plans to retire in June. Tom Pyle, the chief of the Pavement Program within the Division of Maintenance, made his plans known in an April 10 e-mail message shared internally and with some key stakeholders with the subject line, "Count down to June 30."

"It's been a long amazing run, and I have a bittersweet feeling inside," Pyle wrote, noting that his career at the department began more than 30 years ago, or according to his time sheet, exactly 452 months and counting.

Pyle is a well-known figure in the asphalt pavement industry for his work in specification development, and overseeing the Office of Asphalt Pavement within the Pavements Program before being promoted to his current post in 2021. The job comes with the title "State Pavement Engineer." In that position he was one of the key Caltrans leaders participating in the industry-agency "Pavement & Materials Partnering Committee" (PMPC), which has earned a reputation in recent years for effective collaboration in the development of new specifications and test methods.

Although he was part of many high-profile projects during his career, his recent work to develop a new pavement smoothness specification that ended years of controversy earned him widespread praise and a special recognition by Caltrans executive leadership in 2019. The development of the new pavement smoothness specification was named one of the top 10 news stories by Asphalt Insider in 2019 (see related article elsewhere in this issue).

"There are still some important accomplishments to push forward in the coming months in the PMPC," Pyle wrote in his farewell e-mail. "The PMPC structure and trail of accomplishments is -- without question -- one of the highlights of this last chapter at Caltrans. Thank you everyone for your dedication and attention to this group we call a committee, but is so much more."

His June 30 departure coincides with the end of the state's fiscal year. The department has not yet announced plans to fill his position.

A story that appeared in the Asphalt Insider newsletter about Pyle's promotion as head of the Pavements Program is HERE. A story about the Caltrans pavement smoothness specification recognition is HERE. A Caltrans video from 2017 featuring Pyle discussing the compositioin of asphalt and concrete materials is HERE.

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt of an article that was published in the Dec. 30, 2019 issue of the CalAPA "California Asphalt Insider' newsletter as part of the annual roundup of top stories that impacted the industry over the previous year. It ranked at No. 3:

No. 3. New Caltrans pavement smoothness specifications

Caltrans pavement smoothness specifications were mired in controversy ever since they were first rolled out in 2014. As the complaints and lawsuits piled up, the specs attracted the attention of elected officials and the news media. By 2018, CalAPA and several other construction trade associations had designated the problematic smoothness specifications as the No. 1 concern with performing Caltrans work. In 2018 the department announced it would undertake an industry-agency collaboration to develop new smoothness specifications, which took most of the year to complete. In early 2019 Caltrans released its long-awaited guidance to Caltrans engineers that made major changes to its pavement smoothness specifications for existing asphalt pavement projects. The Construction Procedure Directive (CPD 19-6), dated March 4, 2019, was posted on the Caltrans website, along with various supporting documents. The new specification language began appearing in projects in the months that followed. By Oct. 17, Caltrans was pleased enough with the results that it was handing out awards to the various participants in the pavement smoothness task force. "Partnership is about listening and learning. I think this is what partnership is about -- finding something, working on it and getting it done," said Steve Takigawa, Caltrans Deputy Director for Maintenance & Operations during the award presentation at Caltrans Headquarters in downtown Sacramento. "I appreciate that."

Counties own and maintain about 46% of the nation's roads, making them the single largest stakeholder in local pavement infrastructure construction, rehabilitation and maintenance. This week the National Association of County Engineers organization is holding their annual conference and trade show in Palm Springs, with more than 400 county road officials expected to attend.

CalAPA coordinated with NACE to arrange technical presentations to be part of the April 15-18 event, to be delivered on Thursday, April 18 by CalAPA associate member Scott Dmytrow with PavementACES consulting. The presentations will cover various pavement maintenance and preservation strategies, tools, techniques and best practices. CalAPA's Director of Technical Services, Brandon Milar, P.E., advised Dmytrow in the development of the presentations. They are pictured in CalAPA's offices last week fine-tuning the presentations in preparation for the big event. A story about PavementACES appeared in the March 18 issue of Asphalt Insider HERE.

CalAPA and other state asphalt pavement associations work collaboratively with local agencies to help them protect and enhance their pavement assets, and to help get the most value out of pavement maintenance dollars. NACE represents about 3,000 county engineers, road managers and related professionals in the United States and Canada. Learn more about NACE HERE. The County Engineers Association of California website is HERE.

They say is picture is worth a thousand words. But what about a video? Last week we reported about registration opening for one of the most highly anticipated asphalt industry events of the year -- CalAPA's "Summit at the Summit" Executive Leadership Forum June 11-13 at beautiful Lake Tahoe. The on-line registration page is HERE. A timed agenda of activities, speakers and topics is HERE. For ease of sharing, a one-page flier of the event is HERE.

The event, being held at the luxurious Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa & Casino in Incline Village, NV., will bring together asphalt industry leaders in a spectacular setting for inspiration, insight and rejuvenation, with a diverse lineup of activities guaranteed to have something for everyone. The event will also mark the official launch of CalAPA's charity, the California Asphalt Education & Research Foundation, which will support workforce recruitment and development activities, and other people-centric causes.

A new promotional video provides a brief overview of what attendees can expect at the summit. View the video HERE. The video was produced for the association by CalAPA member Construction Marketing Services.

For additional information, or for sponsorship opportunities, contact Sophie You of CalAPA at (916) 791-5044.

A series of activities are planned for national Work Zone Safety Week, which is scheduled for April 15-19, with a national "Go Orange" day set for April 17. The entire month of April also has been designated as Distracted Driving Month, to remind motorists to always be safe behind the wheel.

The National Asphalt Pavement Association, a CalAPA partner, has assembled a page of resources to help get the word out about this important safety campaign. It is HERE. A Caltrans "Be Work Zone Alert" page of resources is HERE.

NAPA will host a free webinar on the topic on April 17 at 10 a.m. PDT. Details on how to register for the webinar can be found HERE.

In 2021, 956 lives were lost in roadway work zones. The asphalt pavement industry and its public agency partners are committed to preventing these needless tragedies by educating motorists about the importance of driving safety in highway work zones, and at all other times as well.

Each week we highlight a word, acronym or other term commonly used in the asphalt pavement industry in California.

ASPHALT OVERLAY: One or more courses of asphalt construction on an existing pavement. The overlay generally includes a leveling course to correct the contour of the old pavement, followed by a uniform course or courses to provide needed thickness.

Each week we highlight a word, acronym or other term commonly used in the asphalt pavement industry in California.

SHOULDER: The portion of the roadway contiguous with the traveled way for accommodation of stopped vehicles, for emergency use, and for lateral support of base and surface courses.

Each week we highlight a key point or best practice of interest to asphalt paving crews, inspectors and others working in the field. We welcome suggestions. More tips can be found in our "Asphalt Parking Lot Construction Checklist" HERE. Information on the CalAPA "Quality Paving Certificate" program is HERE.

SITE PREPARATION: If overlaying an existing or milled surface, has the surface been cleaned/swept and given a full "tack coat" (a bonding agent between the two surfaces)? What is the specified coverage rate for the prime/tack coat? Is the application uniform? Has the material been given enough time to "break" (evaporate the water)? 

Each week we highlight a term that is specific to climate-change issues related to the asphalt pavement industry. This feature is intended to raise awareness of the asphalt industry's climate-change initiatives and the specialized terminology that goes with them. More information on "The Road Forward" asphalt industry climate initiative can be found HERE.

'GREENWASHING': Green (seemingly pro-environment) public relations, which are deceptive about a product, aims or policies. 

"The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it."

– William James

We hope you enjoy CalAPA's Asphalt Insider newsletter. We are committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information on technical issues, regulation, news, analysis, people, events and trends in California that is of interest to the asphalt pavement industry and our various agency partners. To subscribe to the newsletter, click HERE. For comments, questions or to suggest a story idea, click HERE.

Sincerely,

Russell W. Snyder, CAE

Executive Director

The California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)®