HUTCHINSON, KS — The National Asphalt Pavement Association’s (NAPA) Sheldon G. Hayes Award for excellence in construction of an asphalt pavement has been bestowed annually since 1971. APAC-Kansas Inc., Shears Div., A CRH Co., of Hutchinson, Kansas, and the Kansas Department of Transportation were named finalists for the Sheldon G. Hayes Award for their work on US 400 in Greenwood County, Kansas.

“The asphalt pavement industry is committed to building quality pavements that deliver high performance and drivability to the public,” said 2024 NAPA Chairman Brady Meldrem of Norris Asphalt Paving Co. “All contractors’ projects earning a Sheldon G. Hayes Award are measured against industry best practices, rated for smoothness a year after construction, and visually inspected to ensure the project lives up to our promise.”

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 pavement mixture are eligible for consideration. Initially, the project must win a Quality in Construction (QIC) Award, which is scored by independent pavement engineers based on how well the contractor met specifications and achieved density on the finished pavement. All pavements that meet a 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 are tested for smoothness, then visually inspected by an experienced independent pavement consultant. For 2024, the evaluator praised all candidates for high-quality construction practices that resulted in smooth, safe, durable pavements.

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.