FORT WORTH, Texas – As part of its ongoing commitment to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of cement and concrete to sustainable building solutions, the Portland Cement Association (PCA) honored the City of Fort Worth’s Najib Fares, P.E., with a 2008 PCA Sustainable Leadership Award. Fares, who is the infrastructure manager of the Fort Worth Transportation & Public Works Department, accepted the award at the North Central Texas Branch of the Texas Public Works Association’s annual Christmas luncheon on December 4, 2008.

The PCA Sustainable Leadership Awards honor public officials who utilize cement or cement based products to achieve sustainable benefits. Mr. Fares was recognized for implementing an innovative, cost-saving and sustainable annual roadway rebuilding program that incorporates full-depth reclamation (FDR) with portland cement. In addition to Fort Worth, PCA recognized winners in seven other cities across the nation who have enacted policies or completed projects that promote sustainable development.

Using FDR with cement means worn-out asphalt pavement can be rebuilt while recycling the existing roadway. The old asphalt and base materials are pulverized, mixed with cement and water, and compacted to produce strong, durable base for either an asphalt or concrete surface. By using the old asphalt and base material for the new road, there is no need to haul in aggregate or haul out old material for disposal, reducing the amount of fuel consumed and reducing the fuel emissions in the area.

As the City’s infrastructure manager, Mr. Fares refuses to be satisfied with the status quo. “At the Transportation & Public Works Department, we continuously evaluate our programs to ensure they provide the best value and performance,” said Fares. “We’ve tried several processes for street rehab, but found FDR with portland cement to be the best fit.”

Fort Worth’s street maintenance program has saved tax payers millions of dollars by recycling the city’s deteriorated and failed asphalt roadways with cement. FDR with portland cement for reconstruction of the roadways offers the city of Fort Worth an estimated $117,000 per lane mile over conventional methods or 42 percent of the total cost. This savings translates into more roads being properly maintained per budget year.

“Fares has created a superior street maintenance and improvement program by implementing techniques that save construction time, money and natural resources while providing long-term solutions,” said Matthew W. Singel, P.E., Cement Council of Texas. “FDR and the leadership of Mr. Fares have positively impacted the street and roadway infrastructure programs for the City of Fort Worth, Texas.”
                                                                       
Singel, who nominated Fares for this honor, presented the Award on behalf of the Portland Cement Association.

To learn more about the Award and sustainable development benefits made possible by concrete, visit http://www.cement.org/newsroom/SLA_2008_Awards.asp.

About PCA
The Portland Cement Association, based in Skokie, Ill., represents cement companies in the United States and Canada.  It conducts market development engineering, research, education, and public affairs programs.  Additional information is available at PCA’s Web site, www.cement.org.