WASHINGTON, Oct. 24

Charles F. Potts, a 40-year transportation industry executive and one of the nation's foremost experts on hot mix asphalt pavement and materials, has been elected 2008-09 chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The election was announced during the association's national convention, held Oct. 21-24 in Chicago, Ill.

Potts, a registered professional engineer in three states, is currently chief executive officer of Heritage Construction and Materials, a privately held company headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., with operations in multiple states and China. The firm is involved in heavy highway construction, the production of aggregates at a number of quarries, and sand and gravel operations. It also produces various grades of asphalt materials for use in highway construction in addition to providing environmental services and materials technology research.

At the core of his agenda as ARTBA chairman, Potts will lead the charge to "reform, restructure, refocus and refinance" the federal surface transportation programs in 2009 when Congress will debate the next multi-year highway/transit bill. ARTBA is calling for a significant boost in federal highway, bridge and transit investment to protect past infrastructure investments, particularly on the Interstate Highway System. The association is also advocating for the creation of a federally-led national goods movement program, Critical Commerce Corridors, to more safely and efficiently handle the expected doubling of truck traffic over the next 25 years.

Before joining Heritage, Potts spent 18 years with Ashland, Inc. He became an executive officer of the corporation when he was elected president of APAC, Inc., and senior vice president of Ashland. APAC was Ashland's highway construction business contractor.

Potts also had a long and distinguished career in public service. He spent 16 years with the Florida Department of Transportation, holding positions of increasing responsibility, including the state materials and research engineer and director of construction. He was responsible for all of the state's research involving liquid asphalt materials, hot mix asphalt materials and mix design, and flexible pavement design. He was the principal investigator in the research work leading to the national guide specification for hot mix recycled asphalt.