The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is the winner of the 2025 James B. Sorenson Award for Excellence in Pavement Preservation, for its dedication to pavement preservation principles over the last two decades.

Recognizing exemplary agency pavement preservation practice, the Sorenson award is presented at the discretion of FP2 Inc., usually to municipal or county road agencies, or state departments of transportation.

As an agency, MassDOT is committed to delivering safe, reliable and sustainable pavement infrastructure. In the past two decades, MassDOT has adopted a preservation-first strategy centered on proactive, data-driven and equitable pavement management.

"By prioritizing preservation and embracing new approaches, we are making a real difference in communities across the state," said Phillip Eng, interim secretary of MassDOT.

"There are many ways that we, as FP2, can advocate for the advancement of pavement preservation and recycling," said Bobby Betsold, FP2 vice president, at the presentation of the award to MassDOT at the May 2026 Northeast Pavement Preservation Partnership (NEPPP) meeting in Springfield, Mass.

"One the most important and rewarding opportunities we have each year is to recognize the outstanding work of a local, county or state agency with the Sorenson Award," he said. "For over 20 years, MassDOT has proactively collaborated with local and state officials, academia and industry to continuously lead in the implementation of the latest pavement preservation and recycling processes and applications.".

Decades of Preservation

While MassDOT has been using pavement preservation and recycling treatments for decades, including early uses of micro surfacing and diamond grinding PCC pavements in 1990s and polymer-modified thin overlays and ultrathin bonded wearing overlays in the early 2000s, the commonwealth formally created its pavement preservation program in 2005 as part of the highway division's Pavement Management Section.

This group, under the direction of former pavement management engineer Matthew Turo and current pavement management engineer Edmund Naras, has developed into an integral part of the department's overall highway division maintenance plan.

From the start of the program until today, the agency has emphasized the importance of pavement preservation to extend budget dollars and keep good roads good by employing the philosophy of the right treatment, on the right road, at the right time.

Over the last 20 years, some of the highlights of MassDOT's pavement preservation program have included:

• implementation of a centralized pavement condition database and pavement management system since the early 2000s, providing the basis for informed preservation and maintenance planning;

• being a founding member of the Northeast Pavement Preservation Partnership (NEPPP), as well as hosting the first NEPPP meeting in 2006;

• legislative creation of the Performance and Asset Management Advisory Council (PAMAC) in 2013, helping increased preservation projects based cost-effectiveness and condition metrics;

• participation in SHRP2-R26 Guidelines for the Preservation of High-Traffic Volume Roads program in 2016 with a more than 1.4 million sq. yd. preservation project including more than 10 different treatments;

• participation in the FHWA Every Day Counts (EDC-4) preservation initiative in 2017, creating pavement preservation guidelines for increasing the implementation of pavement preservation treatments; and

• launch of the Municipal Paving Program in 2021, bringing much needed funding and resources to preserve and maintain state-numbered municipal roadways.

MassDOT continues to explore more ways to improve its pavement management program and efforts, with pavement preservation and recycling treatments serving as a cornerstone of the successes at the state and local levels.

For more information, visit fp2.org/fp2-awards-programs/sorenson-award/.