Dustin Hacker, a concrete materials engineer technician for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District, operates a compression machine to measure the strength of a concrete cylinder at a test lab in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, March 12, 2024. Pittsburgh District geotechnical and concrete material engineers team have worked with the Engineer Research & Development Center to develop a concrete method intended for cold-weather pouring and curing. The cold weather concrete technique is known as Additive Regulated Concrete for Thermally Extreme Conditions (ARCTEC). ARCTEC is a concept where concrete is self thermally regulating in extreme temperatures such as hot summers and frigid winters. The technology allows contractors to pour concrete in temperatures between 20 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit, which they would not be able to achieve unless they took additional costly and time-consuming precautions. The Pittsburgh District plans on assembling a concrete batch plant for the construction of a new lock at the Montgomery Locks and Dam on the Ohio River which may incorporate ARCTEC mixtures during winter months. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District photo by Michel Sauret)