Pave It Black: The Official Podcast of NAPA

How does a slab of asphalt end up inside the Smithsonian? In this episode of Pave It Black, NAPA legends Peter Wilson and Ron White explain how the asphalt pavement industry became part of the National Museum of American History's America on the Move exhibit, a look at transportation's role in shaping the country. Wilson and White walk through the fundraising campaign that made ...

What does it take to build a world-class research institution? Former and current NCAT Directors, Ray Brown and Randy West join us to tell the story of a two-person operation to a 50+ person research powerhouse. Ray and Randy walk through the industry shift that made NCAT necessary and share major research breakthroughs that reshaped how state DOTs design and fund roads. Looking...

This week we talk to Dr. Marshall Thompson of the University of Illinois and Kevin Burke of the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association about the AASHO Road Test: a landmark research project that reshaped pavement design in America. Marshall shares firsthand memories from visiting the test as a university undergraduate, and both guests explain how the results influenced decades of...

As Route 66 celebrates its centennial, we welcome Dan Lewis, Executive Director of the New Mexico Asphalt Pavement Association, and Mike Skinner, Executive Director of the Asphalt Pavement Alliance, to explore the road's remarkable staying power. Dan and Mike share how the roadway drove economic growth in local towns, how it survived decommissioning in 1985, and why perpetual pa...

Long before interstates and highway funding debates, there was the National Road. Brian Reedy, Site Manager for the National Park Service at Fort Necessity National Battlefield and Friendship Hill National Historic Site, traces the road's origins and shares stories of Washington's earliest expeditions into the Ohio River Valley. Brian walks through the road's engineering evoluti...