The National Concrete Pavement Technology Center (CP Tech Center) at Iowa State University is proudly celebrating its 25th anniversary, marking a quarter-century of dedicated service to the concrete pavement community writes InTrans. Initially established as the Center for Portland Cement Concrete Pavement Technology (PCC Center) in 2000 with support from the Iowa Concrete Paving Association (ICPA) and the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), the center quickly grew, earning its national charter as the CP Tech Center five years later. Its core mission has always been to unite public agencies, industry, and academia to develop and implement innovative technology and best practices for sustainable concrete pavement construction and maintenance. Current Director Peter Taylor affirmed the Center’s commitment to accelerating the adoption of advanced materials and technologies in the coming decades, building on its history of comprehensive national impact.
Over its 25-year history, the CP Tech Center has built an expansive network of collaboration, having worked with all 50 US states, 23 universities, and 27 consultants. The Center’s influence is evident in its major national and multi-state initiatives, including the National Concrete Consortium, which was established in 2008 and now includes 33 supporting states. Furthermore, the Center secured its third Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) cooperative agreement in 2024, now involving 11 academic and 10 consultant partners across 18 states. Other significant programs include the $3 million annual Airport Concrete Pavement Technology Program with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Performance Centered Concrete Construction Pooled Fund initiated in 2022 with 12 state agencies.
The sheer volume of the CP Tech Center’s outreach highlights its role as a leading technology transfer hub. The Center conducts about 40 in-person workshops and conferences annually, reaching thousands of engineers, and its monthly webinars have amassed over 22,000 attendees since 2020. Providing free and accessible resources, the Center offers hundreds of publications that have seen 25,000 downloads in just the last 18 months, with early guides such as the Integrated Materials and Construction Practices and Guide to Concrete Overlay Solutions remaining among the most popular. Director Taylor emphasized that this extensive work is accomplished by facilitating strategic short- and long-term partnerships that effectively help set and implement a national research agenda for the entire concrete paving community.
Read more here: https://www.intrans.iastate.edu/news/intrans-cp-tech-center-celebrates-25-years/