The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) announced the winner and finalists of the 2021 Sheldon G. Hayes Award for excellence in construction of an asphalt pavement.
The award, bestowed annually since 1971, recognizes the country's highest quality highway pavements.
Eurovia Atlantic Coast, dba Northeast Paving Co. LLC, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation — District 12 were named the winner of the 2021 Sheldon G. Hayes Award for their work on I-70 in Washington, Pa.
Finalists for the award were Seaboard Construction Co. and the Georgia Department of Transportation for I-95 in Camden County; and Shelly & Sands Inc. and the Ohio Department of Transportation District 5 for I-70 in Muskingum County.
The Sheldon G. Hayes Award winner and finalists are determined through a two-year evaluation process. All highway pavement projects using more than 50,000 tons of asphalt are eligible for consideration.
Initially, the project must win a Quality in Construction (QIC) Award, which is determined by numerical scores given by an independent pavement engineer on the basis of how well the contractor met specifications and achieved density on the finished pavement. All pavements that meet a benchmark figure earn the QIC Award.
The year after a project wins a QIC Award, it is eligible for consideration for the Sheldon G. Hayes Award. The top-ranked projects from each year are tested for smoothness, and then visually inspected by an independent pavement consultant with many years of experience in the industry.
This year, the evaluator praised all the candidates for their high-quality construction practices, which resulted in smooth, safe and durable pavements.
At NAPA's 67th Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., the winner and each finalist were presented with an award for their achievement.
"The asphalt pavement industry is committed to building quality pavements that deliver high performance and drivability to the public," said James Winford, NAPA 2021 chairman.
The award is named for Sheldon G. Hayes, a founder of NAPA and the association's first chairman. Hayes spent his entire career striving for better construction techniques and improvements in the quality of asphalt pavements.
For more information, visit www.asphaltpavement.org.
