[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 17, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E995-E996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING THE NATIONAL ASPHALT PAVEMENT ASSOCIATION'S 50TH 
                              ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. HAROLD E. FORD, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 17, 2005

  Mr. FORD. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to commemorate the 50th 
Anniversary of the founding of the National Asphalt Pavement 
Association. NAPA was established on May 17, 1955.
  For half a century, NAPA has worked tirelessly in representing its 
members and advancing new asphalt technologies to make our roads and 
highways last longer and safer for the motoring public. Since 1955 and 
over the next fifty years NAPA has pioneered groundbreaking research 
through its National Asphalt Pavement Research and Education Foundation 
that has revolutionized the manufacturing of asphalt.
  NAPA and its members have also invested in America's future by 
helping to finance the education of future professionals in the 
construction industry. Through its research and education foundation, 
NAPA has awarded nearly 800 students with scholarships to support their 
undergraduate and postgraduate education.
  NAPA members also sponsored the Smithsonian Institution's new 
transportation exhibition, America on the Move with a generous donation 
of $1 million. This permanent exhibition at the National Museum of 
American History is designed to show how America's roads and highways 
transformed the nation from the 1890's to present day.
  An interesting sidebar to the exhibition is the story of the genuine 
asphalt pavement used in one of the displays. The pavement was 
fabricated off-site by a NAPA member, Superior Paving Corp., Virginia, 
and allowed to weather before installation in the exhibit.
  I also went to extend congratulations to the employees of Lehman-
Roberts Company from Memphis, Tennessee. Lehman-Roberts Company was a 
founding member of NAPA and its current President, Richard C. Moore, 
Jr., is also NAPA's 2005 Chairman of the Board. Lehman-Roberts Company 
has deep roots in Tennessee. The company was established in 1939 and 
currently employs sixty people.
  NAPA and its members should be very proud of its accomplishments over 
the last fifty years. Our road system which NAPA's members helped to 
build is the foundation from which our economy could not thrive 
without. Fifty years after the creation of the Interstate Highway 
System we can now say, ``Mission accomplished.'' The Interstate Highway 
system has been built.
  However more work needs to be done. We need to rehabilitate and 
reconstruct the pavements, many of which have exceeded their original 
design life. We also see ever-increasing congestion and mix of 
passenger vehicles with trucks on our roadway system that has

[[Page E996]]

led to serious safety issues and unnecessary loss of life.
  Fifty years after the advent of the Interstate Highway System, it is 
time for us to plan a freight and highway policy that will create a new 
vision for the future. I know NAPA and its members will rise to this 
challenge and are committed to securing our nation's future for the 
next fifty years.

                          ____________________