World of Asphalt kicks off in St. Louis
World of Asphalt kicked off at the America’s Center in St. Louis on Tuesday, bringing thousands of attendees to Missouri for education sessions, networking events, and the largest trade show floor in the show’s history.
NAPA Director of Government Affairs Mitch Baldwin led one of the first education sessions of the People, Plants, and Paving Conference, in Bringing Your A Game to Work Zone Safety, along with Nagham El-Zine with the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA).
NAPA and ATSSA are leading a coalition of stakeholders aiming to ensure work zone safety considerations are included in any future highway authorization bills.
“Over the last year, awareness and education has really been the center point in our in our efforts on the Hill, making work zone safety top-of-mind for members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) committee,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin chronicled the accomplishments during 2024, which included the hosting of more than a dozen members of Congress at NAPA member plants, jobsites, and offices, many of whom then raised work zone safety-related topics during subsequent hearings.
Engaging on work zone safety on the Hill has already led to some creative approaches, Baldwin said, noting that one lawmaker suggested that work zone safety policies, like work zone contingency funds, could possibly find a home within another bill.
The contingency funds were originally included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and intended to allow contractors to access additional federal money to make work zones safer through innovative methods. Baldwin said the rollout of the additional federal share has been slow, however, with only three states participating.
Baldwin said one of the goals is to establish a federal working group on work zone safety to bring all of these ideas, and the relevant stakeholders, to the table.
While Baldwin said advocates for roadside construction workers would soon be pulling out all the stops to ensure their safety is considered in the next highway bill, he cautioned that there is no guarantee that driving behaviors will be changed.
“This is a multi-faceted issue, and changing the law of the state or changing the law at the federal level is not going to necessarily change the outcomes,” he said, adding that he hopes new technology will begin to change driving behaviors.
ATSSA Innovation and Technical Services Manager Nagham El-Zine, who leads ATSSA’s New Product Rollout, introduced several new innovations ATSSA has reviewed in recent years that could be the future of work zone safety.
Attenuators, traffic cones, and drones are already spotted on job sites, but this next wave of innovations leverages this equipment to solve lighting, traffic control, and work zone intrusion challenges.
From cones that detect reckless motorists to an automated flagger, many products are aimed at keeping traffic away from roadside workers, including a machine that deploys rumble strips, eliminating a risk for crew members setting up work zones.
NAPA’s Government Affairs team can help!
NAPA has the resources to support your efforts to build strong relationships with your elected officials while also creating policy champions that will help safeguard the longevity of the asphalt pavement industry.
Email Vice President for Government Affairs Nile Elam or Government Affairs Director Mitch Baldwin to learn more.
Learn more about NAPA’s work zone safety efforts at WatchFor.Us.
