BIRMINGHAM, AL — At its Annual Meeting, the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) presented the 2025 Ray Brown Airport Asphalt Pavement Award to Dunn Construction Co. Inc. of Birmingham, Alabama, for their work on Taxiway H Connector at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM).
“Airports are vital to the nation’s infrastructure and require uncompromising precision,” NAPA 2025 Chairman Pat Nelson said. “The Ray Brown Award recognizes a project of superior engineering that ensures flawless safety and performance."
The award recognizes the highest-scoring airfield asphalt paving project in the nation among submissions to the Quality in Construction Awards.
It honors Ray Brown, who was the Director of the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) at Auburn University from 1991 to 2007. Under his guidance, NCAT became renowned for its asphalt pavement research. Brown himself was present to confer the award bearing his name.
The BHM project involved removing the existing asphalt pavement and installing a new surface on the taxiway connector — a paved pathway that connects runways with terminals and other airport facilities, helping aircraft navigate safely on the ground. The work improved ride quality and pavement strength. Dunn also installed new taxiway striping that meets FAA safety standards.
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Despite tight scheduling windows and the challenge of coordinating construction around ongoing airport operations, the project was completed on time with the improved taxiway connector opening to traffic on September 12, 2025.
