In the News

By 2050, Southern California needs decked freeways, tunnels, tolls, trains

Building the roads and transportation infrastructure needed to accommodate Southern California's surging population could cost more than $100 billion, according to planners, leaving the region's taxpayers with a tough choice ahead. Local transportation agencies said the Southland's freeways and mass transit need drastic changes to accommodate what state officials project as a 60% increase in the region's population by 2050.  Full Story

Sponsored by:

Bridge reunites hamlet after 3 years apart

The townsfolk of Glen Allan, Ontario are divided no longer. For the past three years, they've needed patience and a 10-kilometer (6-mile) detour to drive from one side to the other of their Wellington County hamlet, which sits about midway between Elmira and Drayton. It had been that way since July, 2004, ever since the old steel truss bridge spanning the Conestogo River was deemed unsafe by county engineers and the one-lane structure was closed to vehicles.   Full Story

Walk across replica Mackinac Bridge at Detroit Science Center

The Detroit Science Center unveiled an 80-foot-long, 19-foot-tall replica of the Mackinac Bridge on July 19. The exhibit is a part of the state's 50th anniversary celebration of the bridge that opened to traffic Nov. 1, 1957, and will become the primary pedestrian walkway over the second-level science stage. American Bridge, the Coraopolis, PA-based builder of the real suspension bridge, built the replica in collaboration with the center's exhibit staff.  Full Story

Made in America? Hardly...

It's probably not the smartest assertion to make next time you're hoisting a beer with a local ironworker, but the fact is, the new Tacoma Narrows bridge in Washington state wasn't built in America. True, local trades workers spent thousands of hours pouring concrete, tying rebar and spinning cable under dangerous and difficult conditions. But "Made in America" doesn't begin to describe this bridge.  Full Story

Dirt roads can be bouncy and beautiful in a rough sort of way, winding through the forest past stately old farms and dilapidated barns, curving around a bend into dense green darkness, leading - who knows where? They beckon to our spirit of adventure and connect us to our horse-and-buggy past. But they have their drawbacks.  Full Story

Better Roads eRoadPro
click here for your FREE subscription!

Funding Issues

Revised budget forecast shows potential for $16 billion in cuts to highway funding

The Bush administration's mid-session budget review increases the forecasted shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to more than $4 billion in Fiscal Year 2009, up from the February forecast of $700 million. Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), said, “The cuts in FY 2009 from the promised level of $43.4 billion to about $27 billion, would result in a 37 percent reduction in spending on our nation’s infrastructure." Full Story

One view: Virginia's bad-driver fees worth watching

New "civil remedial fees" took effect on July 1, as part of Virginia's first major transportation funding overhaul in two decades. On top of existing fines and penalties, they add, for example, $3,000 for driving-related felonies. The state's legislators believe the new fees will raise $62 million annually for highway maintenance.  Full Story

Edmonton, Alberta, is looking at spending an extra $34 million a year on road maintenance following an avalanche of complaints about snow-clogged streets and bone-jarring potholes. The move would boost the annual $70-million budget for this work by approximately 50 per cent, while an extra $68 million is needed to buy equipment, acquire three snow storage sites and build a new southeast garage and office building.  Full Story

The cost to meet all of Colorado's highway needs might be $60 billion over the next 25 years, and Governor Bill Ritter has appointed a 32-member blue-ribbon panel to assess the needs and recommend ways to pay for the solution. Carla Perez of the governor's office, setting the stage for the discussion, said the state hasn't invested enough in transportation for a long time. The gasoline tax hasn't increased for 17 years, so general fund money has been taken from other purposes to be used on highways, setting up endless debates in the legislature.  Full Story

Massachusetts state senator Michael W. Morrissey has a radical solution to a longstanding squabble between Quincy and Boston over Long Island: Demolish the aging bridge that connects the Boston Harbor island to the Quincy mainland, rather than sink $40 million into needed repairs. "It's essentially a road to nowhere," Morrissey said of the massive bridge built in 1951. "All it is is a burden to those of us in Quincy."  Full Story

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle announced in early July that quarterly checks totaling nearly $101 million for general transportation aids, connecting highway aids and expressway policing aids were conveyed to Wisconsin units of local government. The July payments from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation included $97.1 million in general transportation aids to 1,923 units of government; $3.2 million to 122 municipalities for connecting highway aids; and $272,700 to Milwaukee County for expressway policing aids.  Full Story

Michigan will soon see a very visible sign of the state's dismal economic condition - its roads will be rutted and crumbling. The state can't sustain spending on road construction projects with tax revenues declining. And federal funds are drying up. Construction employment in the state is down 25,000 workers from May 2003. And that's before the state loses $390 million in federal funds between now and 2011 for roads projects, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.  Full Story

In an effort supporters hope will prevent a $65 billion funding shortfall from getting worse, North Carolina's top elected officials agreed to allow the state to issue a new kind of bond for road construction projects. The Council of State approved $300 million in Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles, or GARVEE bonds, which will be repaid with federal transportation money rather than state tax revenues as in traditional bonds.  Full Story

Calling the recent budget agreement historic, Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell said, “With this agreement, there will about $950 million a year for transportation in Harrisburg, Erie, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre, Altoona and everywhere else for the next 10 years. It’s the most significant amount of funding devoted to transportation needs in the history of the commonwealth and it should put transportation systems in good shape for the next 15 to 20 years.”  Full Story

Safety Issues

Two-way traffic on burned Interstate bridge in Illinois 4-6 weeks away

It could be almost winter before traffic returns to normal on Interstate 74 near Downs, IL, but two-direction traffic could be return in a little more than one month if the eastbound bridge can support it. The westbound bridge over Kickapoo Creek has been closed since July 7 when a gasoline tanker rolled over and caught fire, damaging the span. The eastbound bridge has been restricted to a single lane.  Full Story

Quebec bridges, overpasses not up to code, expert says

Many of Quebec's and Canada's bridges and overpasses probably do not meet modern building codes and may be unsafe, an engineering expert told the commission investigating the collapse of the de la Concorde Blvd. overpass in Laval. Denis Mitchell, of McGill University, said that bridges and overpasses built prior to the 1980s throughout North America should be carefully examined for design and construction characteristics that don't meet the latest bridge-building codes dated 2006.  Full Story

The Quebec Transport Department has uncovered 135 highway overpasses and elevated ramps in the province that could be unsafe -- but it won't say exactly where they are. Jacques Gagnon, the department's Montreal regional manager, said that Transport Quebec is researching past inspection reports to find out if those 135 structures have developed cracks or other symptoms of possible distress. The structures in question do not have enough steel reinforcement to counter shear cracking, possibly making them unsafe.  Full Story

Kentucky motorists may enjoy the new 70 mph speed limit on sections of its interstates, but highway construction workers must use extra caution because work zone speed limits are going up too. A state law that prohibits speed limits from dropping more than 10 miles per hour means the recent increase will bump up the speed limit in construction zones from 55 mph to 60 mph.  Full Story

Environmental Issues

ARTBA urges Senate to oppose new ozone standard

The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) urged members of the U.S. Senate to oppose stricter federal ozone standards that could potentially jeopardize transportation funding for more than 500 counties. ARTBA instead recommended retaining current ozone standards, allowing the nation to continue to make progress towards cleaner air while at the same time pursuing desperately needed transportation improvements.  Full Story

Detroit report condemns Ambassador Bridge's environmental assessment

A sweeping environmental impact assessment must be conducted before the Ambassador Bridge is allowed to twin its span, according to a city administration report in Detroit. The city's Department of Environmental Affairs strongly condemns the ongoing environmental assessment findings provided to the City of Detroit in May by the bridge company. Full Story

Innovations

DOT, university-led research teams partner to reduce construction and maintenance costs through technology.

The research teams will develop congestion pricing technologies for urban freight management, streamline and reduce the cost of environmental impact assessments in critical transportation corridors, explore the use of remote imagery for monitoring rural road conditions, and develop cost-effective systems to monitor and test the structural integrity and life span of bridges and asphalt pavement.  Full Story

Calendar

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

AGC economic analysis, by Kenneth D. Simonson, Chief Economist

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released May data on seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment by state (www.bls.gov/sae). BLS reported that from April to May, total nonfarm employment increased in 38 states and decreased in 12 plus the District of Columbia. From May 2006 to May 2007, employment increased everywhere except in Ohio and Wisconsin, both -0.2%, and Michigan, -1.3%. The biggest year-over-year percentage gains were again in Utah, 4.6%; Arizona, 3.4%, Louisiana, 3.3%, and Wyoming and South Dakota, both 3%.

Nationally, employment rose by 157,000 in May. Year-over-year, national employment was up 1.4%; construction was down 0.4%.

Seasonally adjusted construction employment increased in May in only 21 states, fell in 21, and was unchanged (or within 100 of the April level) in eight plus DC. Year-over-year, construction employment climbed in 33 states, fell in 15 plus DC, and was unchanged in New Hampshire and West Virginia. The largest percentage gains in construction were again in Utah, 16%; Montana, 10%; Hawaii, Rhode Island and Tennessee, 6% each. The steepest drops was in Michigan, -9%, followed by eight states with -2%. Given the national totals (residential, -3.9%; nonresidential +2.4%), it is likely most of the declines are in residential construction, but this level of detail is not available at the state level. (Construction data is combined with the small natural resources and mining totals in Delaware, DC, Hawaii, Maryland and Nebraska.)

Detail by construction subsegment and metro area is available for some states at www.bls.gov/sae. State employment figures for June will be posted on July 20.

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

Interested in being a sponsor of our newsletter?  Contact your sales representative for more information.  Click here for list of contacts.

Better Roads eRoadPro click here for your FREE subscription!

Better Roads magazine - Click here for subscription form!

Go to BetterRoads.com

• The Case for Cape Seal Resurfacing

• Special Recycling Section (32-page supplement)

• Fast-Track Concrete Hits Its Stride

• Safety Ideas for the Work Zone

Visit www.BetterRoads.com for online
 coverage of our monthly print issues