08/01/2025
Last month, Nick Davis, Director of Technical Services, IGGA/ACPA joined the Latin American association of concrete pavements to offer a technical presentation on current practices in the U.S. and the importance of preservation. Also presenting, Hessam Azarijafari of MIT CSHub gave an update on the environmental and economic benefits of a healthy concrete paving industry.
While many Latin American countries diligently try to emulate the best practices for concrete paving embraced in the US, they often face economic and logistical challenges unseen in US markets. For example, some countries have had to reduce the amount of pavement placed because of the devaluation of their currency. While the US market has experienced inflation impacts on project cost, currency devaluation seems to be a similar but more aggressive problem. Many of the countries represented at the conference have limited access to equipment, skilled labor, and materials, especially in rural areas. While the U.S. has transitioned to maintenance and reconstruction of existing highways, Latin American countries are building new highways over dirt roads. As we know from the history of highways in the U.S., this lends itself to the concrete paving industry as building a robust foundation for the future is important when building new roadways.
This opportunity to support our Latin American partners strengthened our relationships on behalf of international members and expanded the ACPA brand and impact beyond the U.S. borders.
