THE LAST WORD

OAPC involvement a highlight of my long career

Ludomir Uzarowski

When I look back over my career here in Canada, one of the experiences that stands out the most is my involvement with OHMPA/OAPC. What a great experience I have had with this impressive organization. There’s no doubt in my mind that it brings the industry to the next level.

My involvement with OHMPA/OAPC goes back to the mid 90s and includes number of presentations at OHMPA/OAPC seminars. My most important experience was my involvement in the OHMPA Quality of Asphalt Pavement in Ontario Task Force which included representatives of MTO, municipalities, suppliers, contractors, consultants and academia. There were some issues observed with our pavements, and we gathered together to discuss the subject. Did we agree all the time? Not necessarily. But at the end we agreed on what had to be done and allowed the issues to be solved. That was a great experience and OHMPA/OAPC deserves great recognition for the initiative and action.

I have 47 years of experience in pavement and materials starting in 1975 in my home country, Poland. I worked there for 14 years and was directly involved in construction. This allowed me to better understand the issues that contractors typically face, including staff, materials, equipment, weather and so on. I still love being involved in construction, although now it’s on the consultant side. Over my career, I’ve been lucky enough to study and work all over the world. But I feel most fortunate about my move to Canada, doing my PhD here, and then establishing my career at Golder Associates. Last year I was elected to honorary membership of the Canadian Technical Asphalt Association (CTAA).

I have so many people to thank for having influenced my career including Professor Stephen Brown from the University of Nottingham and Professor Susan Tighe when she was with the University of Waterloo. Working for John Emery provided me with

a good experience, and then working for Golder Associates with my mentors and friends, Dr. Michael Maher and Andrew Balasundaram, and others. I also had the privilege of working with very knowledgeable people from the MTO and can think of Kai Tam, Becca Lane, Pamela Marks, and Tom Kazmierowski to name a few.

As for the future, I am very close to retirement and planning to do that in 2022. I will likely still be involved in consulting on a part-time basis. But it is definitely time to spend more time with my wife. And, of course, doing more fishing, kayaking, backcountry skiing, exercising, and spending more time in our favourite place — Algonquin Park.

I am very optimistic about the future of the asphalt industry and the way in which it is moving forward by implementing a number of new ideas and technologies while still maintaining good quality. Although some of my friends and colleagues are retiring, we have a fantastic young generation taking over who are knowledgeable, keen on new ideas, and doing a very good job.

It’s my opinion that the pavements in Ontario are some of the best in North America. And I am positive they will stay that way.

Ludomir Uzarowski is Principal and Senior Pavement and Materials Engineer with Golder Associates Ltd.