Submitted photo The West Virginia Division of Highways entered the Perpetual Pavement Awards competition for the first time in 2023, and won all three categories.

CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) swept all three categories in the national Asphalt Pavement Alliance’s 2023 Perpetual Pavement Awards. The awards were announced at the Asphalt Pavement Association of West Virginia’s annual Fall Meeting held Thursday, October 10, 2024, through Sunday, October 13, 2024, in Glade Springs.

“We have been using a data-driven approach to designing projects,” said Todd Rumbaugh, P.E., WVDOH Chief Engineer of Construction. “This shows that what we’re doing works, and we’re being recognized nationally for our efforts.”

The WVDOH entered the Perpetual Pavement Awards competition for the first time in 2023, and won all three categories.

“This prestigious award recognizes asphalt pavements which have been designed and built with outstanding care and exceptional quality,” said Brittyn Heisler of the Asphalt Pavement Alliance. “The National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) at Auburn University carefully evaluated your project and determined that it exemplified the high standards set forth in the award criterion. As a recipient of The Asphalt Pavement Alliance’s 2023 Perpetual Pavement Award, you will receive the coveted crystal obelisk.”

The Asphalt Pavement Alliance believes asphalt roads can last indefinitely with regular maintenance if properly built and cared for. Perpetual Pavement Awards recognize roads that have lasted more than 35 years without a structural failure and have received normal maintenance, roads that have been switched to pavement that are expected to meet those standards, or newly build roads built to standards such that they should last at least 35 years with normal maintenance.

The WVDOH won a Perpetual Pavement Award By Performance for an approximately 2.5-mile section of US 250 in Barbour County. The Perpetual Pavement Award By Design was awarded to the WVDOH for the four-lane upgrade of US 35 in Putnam County, completed in 2021. The Perpetual Pavement Award By Conversion went to the WVDOH for a section of Interstate 64 converted from concrete to asphalt in Greenbrier County.

Rumbaugh said it was unusual for a state to sweep all three categories in the Perpetual Pavement Awards.