Your 5-minute Guide to Industry News & Trends
Your 5-minute Guide to Industry News & Trends
Vol. 1, No. 7 ● August 5, 2007
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the News Funding Safety Issues
Innovations
Environment Calendar
Economy
eRoadPro Index
Global economic competition, metropolitan congestion, and global climate change are among the new dynamics that require new thinking in the nation's transportation system of the future. Those are among the findings of a major new report released by organizations representing the nation's major transportation builders, providers and users. Full Story Sponsored by: |
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Ingersoll-Rand to sell its Bobcat, Utility Equipment and Attachments business units Ingersoll-Rand announced that it has agreed to sell its Bobcat, Utility Equipment and Attachments business units to Doosan Infracore for cash proceeds of approximately $4.9 billion. The sale is subject to customary closing conditions and is targeted to close early in the 2007 fourth quarter. Full Story
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Bobcat to enter compact utility tractor market Bobcat announced that it has signed a long-term strategic agreement with Korean manufacturer, Daedong Industrial, to produce a line of Bobcat-branded compact utility tractors. Full Story
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Biggest bridge in the world - a Bin Laden venture A half-brother of Osama Bin Laden is lobbying investors to build a 17-mile bridge that would be the longest in the world, connecting the continents of Asia and Africa, in the hope that it will rehabilitate his family name. Known as "the bridge of the century," it would stretch between Yemen and Djibouti on the Horn of Africa. It would include a motorway and rail links, and two new luxury cities would be built on either side of the Red Sea. Full Story
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Bridges fill need for investment banker When Mark Filippell's wife urged him to throw away the battered model bridge he had purchased a decade earlier from a hobby shop, he decided instead to fix it up. In the process, he discovered a new obsession. "Some people find solitude on the golf course," Filippell says. "I get it from building bridges." Full Story
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The Ohio-West Virginia bridge gap; ODOT trails counterpart in cost, timeliness The Ohio Department of Transportation and its contractor need more than five years to build a pair of two-lane bridges of about 2,000 feet across the Ohio River. Ohio's counterpart in West Virginia can build a bridge twice the size in half the time. Full Story |
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Missouri Transportation Commission approves 5-year transportation construction program The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved a new five-year transportation construction program that shows spending for Missouri's roads and bridges will plummet in fiscal year 2010, which begins July 1, 2009. "We go from a construction program totaling $1.23 billion in 2008 to an annual program of $569 million beginning in 2010," Missouri Department of Transportation Director Pete Rahn said. Full Story
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Pennsylvania governor says Congressional interference could stop road, bridge repairs Sharply criticizing federal legislation proposed by two Pennsylvania congressmen, Governor Edward Rendell said the short-sighted measure would jeopardize the state’s bipartisan transportation funding plan signed earlier this month. The legislation would establish a federal excise tax to take any toll revenue from Pennsylvania interstates and give it to the federal Secretary of Labor to fund the trade adjustment assistance program. Full Story |
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At least five people were killed and an unknown number of others injured when the four-lane Interstate 35W bridge, which spanned the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and St. Paul, collapsed, sending cars, concrete and twisted metal into the river below. The bridge was under construction and had a Minnesota Department of Transportation crew working on it at the time of the collapse. Full Story
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Feds release more than $871 million in emergency funds to repair damaged roads More than $871 million in additional emergency relief funds is now available to pay for repairs to roads and bridges damaged by a variety of natural emergencies. The funds will go to 23 states and certain federal facilities, like parkways, to pay for damages caused by hurricanes, heavy rains and flooding, earthquakes, winter storms and other natural events. $675 million - more than two-thirds of the $871 million - was released yesterday to the states, with the rest awaiting formalized requests which are expected soon. Full Story
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Highway bridge under construction in N. California falls A highway bridge under construction near Oroville, California, collapsed July 31, trapping a delivery truck under the debris and injuring a construction worker. The collapsed material consisted of wood and steel beams that were being used as the forms to create one of the overpasses, said Shelly Chernicki, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation. She said officials had not identified a cause for the collapse. Full Story
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Suit: Sanibel bridge contractor ignored warnings The prime contractor on the Sanibel Causeway ignored warnings that the concrete pilings were defective and potentially unsafe, a bridge inspector said in a sworn statement for a Louisiana lawsuit. Neil Monkman, a former Jacobs Construction Services inspector, said he reported problems with the splicing on the concrete piles, but he was forced to remove the information from his daily reports and was threatened with his job for questioning the safety of the piles. Full Story |
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ARTBA-CNA seeking nominations for contractor safety award Submit your nomination for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and CNA “Contractor Safety Award”—an annual competition designed to recognize industry firms that have implemented outstanding employee health and safety programs. The ARTBA-CNA awards program was developed to promote the concept that worker safety and health is a core value of the transportation design and construction industry. Full Story
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Nation's top highway official awards $5.3 million to encourage bridge innovations Nearly $5.3 million in grants will be awarded to bridge projects in 25 states to help develop new technologies to speed bridge construction and make them safer, Federal Highway Administrator J. Richard Capka announced July 27. "Bridges are critical links in the highway system and lifelines for communities," Capka said. "These grants will help researchers to enhance the quality and durability of bridges, and even the speed with which they are built." Full Story
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Ornery parts throw wrench into bridge repair Engineers are rushing to redesign a complex jacking system that is essential for repairing the ailing Burnside Bridge in Oregon. The 81-year-old bridge was to have been closed to traffic for three weeks while repairs were made to a deteriorating hinge on the east end of the bridge's two-section lift span. On Friday, July 20, workers were trying to lift a 3.8 million-pound concrete counterweight under the bridge to gain access to the hinge when two 6-inch-diameter nuts on the jacking system seized, bringing the project to a shuddering halt. Full Story |
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Tunnel renovation problem baffles construction official John Lucci has been in the road construction business for 23 years, but he's never seen a problem like the one that's delayed the renovation of the Wheeling Tunnel in West Virginia. A latex bonding material used as a base for new tiles on the eastbound tunnel's walls won't stick. Full Story |
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EPA blasts plan for twin span to Canada Local, state and federal officials are blasting the $1 billion proposal for a new six-lane span adjacent to the Ambassador Bridge, claiming the private owners have not sufficiently studied air quality, traffic, noise, security and other potential problems. In a flurry of criticism, agencies ranging from the city of Detroit to the federal Environmental Protection Agency depict the plan as poorly researched and urge the U.S. Coast Guard to order a more rigorous study. The Coast Guard is the main U.S. decision maker because bridge construction can reduce clearances and affect the safety of navigation on waterways. Full Story |
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08/18/2007 - 08/22/2007 — Amelia Island, FL - Midyear and Board of Directors Meeting Sponsor: National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) 08/22/2007 - 08/25/2007 — Portland, OR - Annual Midyear MeetingSponsor: American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) 09/04/2007 - 09/06/2007 — Ventura Beach, CA - 39th Annual Conference & Equipment Show Sponsor: Maintenance Superintendents Association (MSA) 08/25/2007 - 08/30/2007
— Columbus, OH - Eastern Winter Road Maintenance
Symposium & Equipment Expo 09/09/2007 - 09/12/2007
— San Antonio, TX - International Public Works Congress
and Expo |
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For our full events calendar, go to http://www.betterroads.com/calendar |
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Construction Spending Total construction activity for June 2007 ($1,175.4 billion) was 0.3 percent below the revised May 2007 ($1,178.4 billion). For more details: http://www.census.gov/constructionspending 7/31/07 Consumer Price Index: +0.2% in June 2007 U.S. Economy at a Glance: http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.us.htm.
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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.
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July 2007 Issue Highlights:
Visit
www.BetterRoads.com for
online |
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Vision for the future of transportation: "New Dynamics Require New Strategies"
At least
