Valentin J. Riva, president and chief executive officer of the American Concrete Pavement Association since 1997, died Sept. 13 of complications after heart surgery in August, the association said. Riva, known as Val, was 50.
Riva was well-known on Capitol Hill and in construction circles in Washington. Speakers at his funeral Sept. 20 in Potomac, Md., included Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta also was among the hundreds who attended the service, said an industry official who was there.