In the News

Oregon transportation officials worry about looming worker shortage

Across the state, work crews are tearing into highways and bridges in a massive effort to wrangle Oregon's transportation network into the modern era. A less obvious development is taking place beyond the reach of road crews and their brightly colored machinery. Behind the scenes, the Oregon Department of Transportation faces the equally gargantuan challenge of ensuring there are enough qualified workers to do the job. In Oregon alone, 15,000 new workers are needed to meet growing demand and to replace retirees by 2012.  Full Story

Oklahoma kicks off program targeting the state's worst county bridges and roads

In early June, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation approved a $350 million, five-year plan to begin replacing the worst county bridges and roads in the state. It represents the first expenditure of state dollars under the County Improvements for Roads and Bridges program that was enacted by the 2006 legislature.  Full Story

Illinois can't find $10 million grant 

About $10 million in federal funding that had been earmarked for a project to ease traffic congestion in McHenry County is missing from the state's inventory of road projects, triggering an outcry from local officials and the congressman who helped secure the money. In addition, up to $24 million in state funding for the long-awaited Algonquin western bypass has been yanked from the Illinois highway improvement program and diverted to other projects, prompting outrage from local, state and federal officials.  Full Story

Pennsylvania's East Brady Bridge blown to pieces

Blasters from Demtech, a Dubois, WY-based demolition company, used just under 66 pounds of RDX to burn through steel at key joints. In a bright flash, the 771-foot-long bridge was broken into 27 independent segments, which plunged into the Allegheny River below.

A forceful concussion rattled windows in the small town of East Brady as a massive plume of smoke rose into the sky. 

After more than a century of spanning the Allegheny, the bridge was brought down in less than a second.  Full Story

Former Kansas governor, American Trucking Associations chief named chairman of Highway Users

The American Highway Users Alliance has announced that former Kansas Governor Bill Graves would become chairman of the group's board of directors, effective immediately. Graves remains president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations.  Full Story

German court rules to build bridge despite UNESCO threat

Germany's highest court ruled in early June that a disputed bridge can be built across the Elbe River near the city of Dresden, despite UNESCO's warning that it would be grounds for removing the region from its World Heritage List. The Karlsruhe-based Constitutional Court ruled in favor of a local citizens' referendum to build a road bridge across the Elbe to ease traffic in the eastern German city of Dresden, often referred to as the Florence of the Elbe.  Full Story

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Funding

Louisiana House approves bill to boost road-repair spending

The House approved a plan in mid-June that lawmakers hope would pump another $450 million more each year into road and bridge repairs and construction - starting in July 2008 - if lawmakers agree to fund it. Lawmakers are trying to find a way to increase annual spending on road construction to chip away at a $14 billion backlog of highway repair and building plans. Spending plans up for debate in the House would use $650 million in surplus money for road repairs, but that would be a one-time infusion of cash.  Full Story

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Washington State's cross-base highway survives

After weeks of threats, days of bickering and long nights of negotiating, a road-building package that includes substantial funding for Pierce County's cross-base highway sailed through a regional transportation board June 8. Now comes the hard part: persuading voters to spend billions in new taxes to build roads and expand light rail in Pierce, King and Snohomish counties. By a vote of 19-2, the Regional Transportation Investment District board approved a $6.9 billion road construction plan that tackles big projects like replacing Seattle's 520 bridge and Pierce County's Highway 167 extension.  Full Story

Texas' Perry signs legislation to halt private toll roads

Texas governor Rick Perry signed a new transportation law June 11 that eases some of the fears over runaway toll roads and gives local authorities more control over road projects. The bill was a compromise hammered out in the final days of the legislative session between the governor, who has championed private toll roads as a way to quickly build highways without raising taxes, and lawmakers, who have felt the wrath of rural landowners and skeptical urban commuters. The bill has a partial moratorium in place, but the two-year freeze was dubbed the "Swiss cheese moratorium" because it's riddled with exemptions, including virtually all North Texas toll roads already in the works. Full Story

Big investors are lured to infrastructure funds

Pension funds think they have spotted the next big thing and it looks a lot like the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The search for steady returns is prompting U.S. pension funds and other big institutional investors to put money into infrastructure businesses such as toll roads, ports, pipelines and utilities. Indiana and Texas are among the states that already have done deals with private investors.  Full Story

Missouri Transportation Department using “Radical Cost Control” to deliver promised projects under budget and on schedule

Across the country, transportation departments are delaying or canceling highway improvements as rising fuel and materials costs bite big chunks out of construction budgets.  In Missouri, meanwhile, the state department of transportation is delivering record amounts of road improvements under budget and on schedule. Its Radical Cost Control program includes practical design, keeping bids low, road closings, contractor innovations and slashed administrative costs.  Full Story

New federal grant will help cut construction times, reduce gridlock

Arizona, Georgia, Maine, Missouri, Oregon, and Virginia will each receive up to $1 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation as part of a program designed to reduce traffic jams near construction zones. The program, known as "Highways for LIFE" is managed by the Federal Highway Administration and provides grant money to the states to build roads faster, while making them last longer and less costly to maintain. In addition to direct funding, the program may provide states relief from their state match requirements for the entire project. This saves millions in state transportation funds.  Full Story

Safety Issues

University of Missouri engineering researchers designing protective wall to shield bridges from terrorist attacks

Government officials have acknowledged the transportation system's vulnerability to terrorist attacks. Bridges are among the most vulnerable. For this reason, researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia are working with federal highway officials to develop a new technology that can protect bridges against such attacks.  Full Story

A cure for road rage: close road

It started last year when Caltrans began widening California 138, a main east-west route in Southern California's fast-growing high desert region. Motorists angry at construction delays threatened road workers and damaged equipment. Also, flagmen have been attacked in what officials describe as bizarre incidents of road rage. Two workers were hit by cars and a third was shot with a BB gun. Now, in an unprecedented response to ill will, Caltrans has announced it will close a portion of the highway to complete the project.  Full Story

OSHA partnership formed to protect employees during bridge restoration

Employees involved in the restoration of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge will be safer thanks to a new partnership formed between the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Corman Construction of Annapolis Junction, MD. OSHA and Corman formalized the partnership at an early-June ceremony. A major goal of the partnership is to develop, implement and maintain effective and comprehensive safety and health programs for the bridge rehabilitation contractors, including model safety programming for over-the-water operations.  Full Story

Innovations

Canadian firm's machine builds structures with less damage to environment

Bermingham Foundation Solutions designed and built a $650,000 prototype tilting pile pier builder capable of constructing bridges while hardly disturbing the water below. It's never been done before. "It's a big win for Hamilton [Ontario], and a big win for Canadian engineering," said Peter Smith, general manager and CEO of the 110-year-old Hamilton company. Bermingham partnered with Italian construction company Deal Rezzani Eichler on the machine.  Full Story

Holcim Awards competition is now open for entries

The Holcim Awards competition is now open for entries and will close on February 29, 2008. The competition celebrates innovative, future-oriented and tangible sustainable construction projects from around the globe and provides prize money of USD 2 million per three-year competition cycle.  Full Story

Lafarge launches two new concrete products: Extensia and Chronolia

Extensia and Chronolia are high-performance concrete products, with each designed to meet a specific challenge in the building sector. Initially, both will be rolled out in France, the United Kingdom and North America. Using Chronolia,  formwork can be removed just four hours after manufacture. With the same workability as a conventional ready-mix concrete, it can be used on all construction sites, as well as to repair road surfaces and civil engineering structures. Specially designed for concrete flooring applications, Extensia enables the construction of surface areas of up to 478.40 square yards without joints.  Full Story

UPDATE: Suicide barrier could withstand 100 mph winds on Golden Gate Bridge

In a small, bunkerlike room north of Monterey, Jon Raggett stands next to a suspended model representing a middle section of the Golden Gate Bridge with a suicide barrier attached to its sides. He switches on a red fan. Raggett, president of West Wind Laboratory, gives the model - 5 feet long and 2 feet wide - a soft push and it begins to rock slowly, then a little faster. It won't stop. He adds "winglets" - small, flat sheets - atop the barriers. The wind machine is turned on again and Raggett gives the model another tiny push. The model slows, then almost comes to a stop as the fan is cranked up to where it represents winds of 130 mph.  Full Story

New York county highway crew honored for bridge work

The Madison County Highway Department has been honored by the American Public Works Association for its replacement of a bridge and culvert on Rocks Road, just outside the hamlet of Pratts Hollow in Eaton. After initial estimates from outside contractors came in around $330,000, the project was done "in house" and resulted in a savings of $197,000.  Full Story

Canadian company develops environmentally friendly dust-control solution

Available in powder form, Dust Stop was designed specifically for ease of application, longevity of results and non-toxicity in unpaved-road applications. Dust Stop can store better and safer than liquid dust-control products. It has been formulated to be effective on a wide range of soil types and is also used for its soil stabilization/erosion control capabilities.  Full Story

Calendar

Digital highway measurement system

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is holding an information session July 10 on the digital highway measurement (DHM) system for those potentially interested in proposing on the Transportation Research Board’s Strategic Highway Research Program II Acquisition of Roadway Information (S03/S04) safety projects.The session takes place at the FHWA Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia, beginning at 9 a.m. For questions or to register, please contact Liz Simpson at FHWA’s Turner-Fairbank Research Center at Liz.Simpson@dot.gov or phone (202) 493-3260.

June 24-27, 2007— Orlando, FL - Safety 2007 Annual Conference, American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE).

June 26, 2007— Washington, DC - Summer Policy Seminar, American Hwy Users Alliance. 

July 9-13, 2007— Boston, MA -  Highway Capacity Workshop, Northwestern University Center for Public Safety (NUCPS)

July 13-17, 2007—  Richmond, VA - National Association of Counties (NACO)

July 20-22, 2007— Colchester, CT - 2007 International Convention and Old Equipment Expo

Sept. 9-12, 2007— San Antonio, TX - International Public Works Congress and Expo (APWA)

For our full events calendar, go to http://www.betterroads.com/calendar

Economic Indicators

Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales

U.S. total business sales for April were $1,100.4 billion, up 0.7% from last month. Month-end inventories were $1,399.4 billion, down 0.4% from last month. 6/13/07

Quarterly Financial Report - Manufacturing, Mining and Trade

Manufacturing corporations' seasonally adjusted after-tax profits averaged 8.1 cents per dollar of sales for the first quarter of 2007, up 0.3 (+/- 0.1) cents from the average of 7.8 cents of the fourth quarter of 2006. 6/11/07

Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders

New orders for manufactured goods in April increased $1.3 billion or 0.3 percent to $418.0 billion. 6/4/07

U.S. Economy at a glance: http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.us.htm

Compiled by Larry Green, news editor, Better Roads.  To contact Larry about the newsletter content, send e-mail to .

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