Strengthening the Future of Asphalt through Resilience

NAPA Annual Meeting Workshop

The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) held its annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, on January 28th-31st. Katie DeCarlo, Ph.D., EIT, from the Heritage Research Group, had the opportunity to moderate a workshop at the event titled Strengthening the Future of Asphalt through Resilience. “It was a great opportunity to collaborate on an important topic in the asphalt industry and provide real case study examples for participants,” said DeCarlo.

We know our climate is changing, which results in pavement infrastructure facing different climate stressors, such as extreme events, increased temperatures, precipitation, increased flooding, and wildfires. The workshop was designed to be interactive. An overview of resilience was provided, followed by a few examples specific to plant operations, production, and construction. While there are many definitions of resilience, the discussion during the workshop was framed around using FHWA order 5520, which sets forth their policy to prepare for and address infrastructure resilience. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law defines resilience as:

“a project with the ability to anticipate, prepare for, or adapt to conditions or withstand, respond to, or recover rapidly from disruptions, including the ability–

(A)(i) to resist hazards or withstand impacts from weather events and natural disasters; or

(ii) to reduce the magnitude or duration of impacts of a disruptive weather event or natural disaster on a project; and

(B) to have the absorptive capacity, adaptive capacity, and recoverability to decrease project vulnerability to weather events or other natural disasters.”

The full definition can be found in section 11103 of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), enacted as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. 117-58 (Nov. 15, 2021).

One of the resilience examples shared during the workshop was featured on NAPA’s Pave it Black podcast Season 6, Episode 8 – Ensuring Resilience Beyond Infrastructure. Andy Decraene – from AJAX Paving in FL shared his thoughts on how you set up a company to be able to respond to events like hurricanes and other natural disasters. It is critical to have a disaster recovery plan in place and to review that plan annually.

One major point stressed is the importance of taking care of your employees immediately, so they and their families are safe before returning to work. Generally, the first few days are emergency response with little construction, so it’s helpful to use that time to make sure the employee and family needs are taken care of first.

The group discussed improving resilience in your plant operations, production and construction zones. Resources and training/tools to enhance or communicate resilience were also explored. Participants in the workshop better understood how resilience can be built into everyday choices at the plant or on the road.

Some examples included the following:

• Develop risk assessments and emergency action plans for each facility
• Focus on training and cross-training
• Standardize processes wherever possible
• Have cash available for emergencies and family support
• Inventory of parts and personnel regularly
• Stockpiling parts for equipment when available
• Maintain professional relationships with owners and competitors
• Plan for communication disruptions (e.g. satellite phones)
• Backup data and maintain cyber security
• Make the public aware of your response