TAMPA, FL — The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) recently announced the finalists of the 2022 Sheldon G. Hayes Award for excellence in construction of an asphalt pavement at a ceremony during NAPA’s 2023 Annual Meeting in Miami Beach, Florida. The award, bestowed annually since 1971, recognizes the country’s highest quality highway pavements.

The finalist for the award in the Construction News area was:

• Preferred Materials Inc., a CRH company, and the Florida Department of Transportation for SR 93A (I-75) in Tampa, Florida

All highway pavement projects using more than 50,000 tons of asphalt may apply for the Sheldon G. Hayes Award. The winner and finalists are determined through a two-year evaluation process.

Initially, the project must win a Quality in Construction (QIC) Award, which is determined by numerical scores given by independent pavement engineers based on how well the contractor met specifications and achieved density on the finished pavement. All pavements that meet a specified benchmark 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, then visually inspected by an independent pavement consultant with many years of experience in the industry. In the 2022 cycle, the evaluator praised all the candidates for their high-quality construction practices, which resulted in smooth, safe, and durable pavements.

At NAPA’s 68th Annual Meeting in Miami Beach, Florida, the winner and finalists were recognized for their achievements. “The asphalt pavement industry is committed to building quality pavements that deliver high performance and drivability to the public,” said James A. Mitchell, 2022 NAPA Chairman of the Board.

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.