InTrans / Oct 06, 2021

CP Tech Center’s founding director earns recognition

International Society for Concrete Pavements names Dale Harrington honorary member

CP Tech Center’s Gordon Smith, standing left, led the local ceremony for Dale Harrington, seated left

Dale Harrington’s more than 50 years in the transportation engineering industry received recognition in the form of an honorary membership in the International Society for Concrete Pavements (ISCP) during the organization’s quadrennial conference (held virtually this year).

Honorary membership is given to “individuals that have provided exemplary service to the Society and/or to the improvement of concrete pavement technology,” per the organization.

The award, which was presented by Jeff Roesler of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, recognized Harrington as the founding director of the center that is today known as the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center (CP Tech Center). Roesler noted Harrington’s broad range of experience that allowed him to have a unique impact in the profession.

Roesler said that Harrington’s experience combined with an ability to collaborate across the engineering and contracting industries allowed Harrington to be a part of many noted publications and guides that helped practitioners to better understand the state of the art in concrete pavement technology.

“I want to thank you for your award as an Honorary Member of the International Society for Concrete Pavements,” Harrington said. “I would also like to thank all the people of the international concrete industry for their ongoing efforts to promote concrete pavements across the world.”

Friends and colleagues from the CP Tech Center, Iowa Statewide Urban Design and Specifications (SUDAS) program, the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), Iowa Concrete Paving Association (ICPA), and the Institute for Transportation (InTrans) joined Harrington, his wife Linda, and daughter Krista and her husband Dave Womble to watch the virtual award and celebrate his accomplishments.

CP Tech Center friends and colleagues joined the celebration for Dale Harrington, seated front left

During the celebration, CP Tech Center Associate Director Gordon Smith said he met Harrington early in their careers when Harrington worked for Polk County—after a stint at the Iowa DOT and before Harrington joined Snyder & Associates.

“We’ve had a wonderful, wonderful 40-year career together,” Smith said.

The CP Tech Center was created in 2000 as the Center for Portland Cement Concrete Pavement Technology, and assumed its current name in 2005. The in-person celebration included all three people who’ve held the position of director since the center’s founding: Harrington, Tom Cackler, and current director Peter Taylor.

CP Tech Center directors past and current, from left, Tom Cackler, Dale Harrington, and Peter Taylor

Harrington was also the founding director of the Iowa SUDAS program. Both the CP Tech Center and SUDAS are housed under the InTrans umbrella.

The same week that Harrington received recognition from the ISCP he also was honored by the American Public Works Association (APWA) Iowa Chapter. The APWA Iowa Chapter presented Harrington with the Chapter Service Award to recognize his contribution to Iowa public works, particularly his work in creating the SUDAS program.

“In 2000, Dale began the adventure of expanding the central Iowa manuals to statewide manuals, which we now call the SUDAS manuals,” reads the APWA statement on Harrington’s award. “He worked tirelessly to convince cities and consultants to buy into the SUDAS program. The program provides tremendous efficiencies and cost savings for all public agencies of the state, and engages public agency engineers, consultants, contractors, and suppliers in this effort, and Dale was the program champion.”

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