Your 5-minute Guide to Industry News & Trends
Your 5-minute Guide to Industry News & Trends
Vol. 2, No. 1 ● January 4, 2008
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Boston's $14.8 billion Big Dig officially complete When the clock runs out on 2007, Boston will quietly mark the end of one of the most tumultuous eras in the city's history: The Big Dig, the nation's most complex and costliest highway project, will officially come to an end. Don't expect any champagne toasts. After a history marked by engineering triumphs, tunnels leaks, epic traffic jams, last year's death of a motorist crushed by falling concrete panels and a price tag that soared from $2.6 billion to a staggering $14.8 billion, there's little appetite for celebration. Full Story Sponsored by: |
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Kentucky changes requirement for asphalt prequalification Beginning March 21, 2008, the requirements for work items C-1 Option "B" Bituminous Concrete Paving and C-2 Option "A" Bituminous Concrete Paving will change. Requirements to obtain these work items will include access to a qualified Asphalt Field Technician. Documentation is a signed, dated letter from a qualified Asphalt Field Technician indicating the individual will provide all field technician services for the named contractor. Full Story
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Tennessee DOT celebrates completion of first Type II Noise Wall project in the state The Tennessee Department of Transportation today joined residents of Nashville’s historic Woodland-in-Waverly neighborhood to mark the completion of the state’s first ever Type II Noise Wall project. The Type II Noise Wall program provides noise barrier walls in qualifying neighborhoods that were established before high volume roadways were built. Neighborhoods must meet specific criteria required by the federally funded Type II Program. The noise wall project along Interstate 65 was constructed at a cost of approximately $2.5 million. Full Story
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Washington State DOT bridge crews deliver a military bridge in record time Forty men used little more than their hands and some basic tools to erect a 180-foot bridge in six days. They were largely WSDOT bridge crew workers, and the bridge is a temporary Bailey style bridge over the Chehalis River in the Meskill-Dryad area, connecting Leudinghaus Road and River Road to SR 6, where a county bridge previously washed out during the December floods. They worked for 12 to 14 hours each day under near-freezing temperatures and pouring rain, sometimes with illumination to help work through the dark. They used mainly their hands, manual tools and two cranes to help with the project. Full Story
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Afghans, Canadian forces build bridge to future A causeway bridging the river separating Kandahar province's Zhari and Panjwaii districts is expected to open any day now, completing what officials say is one of Canada's largest and most important infrastructure projects in Afghanistan. Construction began in late October, described by military public affairs officials as "175 sections of concrete culvert laid side by side across three river channels and topped with a gravel road." The $700,000 project - designed by Canadian engineers "almost to North American standards" - is built to accommodate both heavy traffic and overflowing waters without eroding the land. Full Story |
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U.S. DOT approves nearly $1.2 billion in credit assistance to relieve congestion on I-495 Capital Beltway Nearly $1.2 billion from the U.S. Department of Transportation in the form of a direct loan and tax-exempt private-activity bonds will jump start the construction of high-technology express lanes on the Capital Beltway in Virginia. The 14-mile project, estimated to cost $1.9 billion, includes two new variably priced high-occupancy-toll (HOT) lanes added to the Capital Beltway between Georgetown Pike and the Springfield Interchange. Two private companies, Transurban and Fluor Enterprises, will finance and operate the facility. Full Story
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Arizona State Transportation Board awards contracts for projects The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) will fund $175 million in projects to improve the state’s transportation system. At its meeting in Oro Valley on December 21, the Arizona State Transportation Board approved projects in Graham, Maricopa, Navajo and Santa Cruz Counties. Full Story
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NJDOT establishes new online grant management system The New Jersey Department of Transportation's new online grant management system, SAGE (System for Administering Grants Electronically), is a new method of accepting, reviewing, approving and managing grants. Starting Fiscal Year 2008, the County Aid application process will be online and all counties will be required to submit their application online using SAGE. SAGE users can submit grant applications, communicate with Grant Program staff, request changes and manage grants. Full Story
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Pennsylvania seeks owners, new life for old bridges Pssst. Do you want to buy a bridge? The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has 14 of them listed on its Web site that it'll practically give away. "There are more where those came from," PennDOT cultural resources specialist Kara Russell said. Russell said the effort to save old bridges in Pennsylvania is one of the strings attached to federal highway money. Old bridges are on the market because they are considered unsuitable for carrying traffic, Russell said. Full Story
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Long-term funding needed for Maine's aging bridges
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Highway signs to get brighter, safer under new federal requirements In a continued effort to reduce roadway fatalities, Federal Highway Administrator J. Richard Capka has announced a new rule to make signs more visible. The new rule requires states to use higher performing reflective materials on all highway signs. The new rule also requires public agencies to adopt sign maintenance methods to ensure highway signs can be read from greater distances. Full Story
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U.S. DOT seeks technology solutions to improve safety and reduce congestion on nation's roadways The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) has issued a request for information to private industry, research organizations, and state and local governments seeking information about commercially available technology applications designed to fight congestion and improve the safety and performance of the nation’s transportation system. After receiving input and ideas, RITA will identify technology applications and stakeholders interested in partnering with the department on SafeTrip-21, a multi-application field test of safety and congestion-reducing technologies that will be launched at the 2008 Intelligent Transportation Systems World Congress in New York City and integrated into other test locations. Full Story
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Ohio DOT proposes new timeline for Cleveland's I-90 Innerbelt Bridge While the Ohio Department of Transportation continues its multi-year planning to modernize I-90 and the Central Viaduct through downtown Cleveland, the state's top bridge engineers are proposing a new timeline for the preservation of the current Innerbelt Bridge, including an expedited repair project and a major rehabilitation project of the bridge, totaling more than $142 million. Under original planning, construction of a new bridge would have begun no sooner than 2011, with the current bridge remaining in service and without major repair until 2014. Changes in the schedule for the new bridge lead to the logical decision to advance the planned rehabilitation of the existing bridge. Otherwise, unplanned repair projects could result in traffic restrictions and closures, which mean delays and congestion for motorists. Full Story |
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MoDOT keeps billions of pounds of waste from going to landfills In the past four years, the Missouri Department of Transportation has used more than 83,000 car tires - the amount from 20,750 cars - in its construction projects and enough recycled shingles to roof 305 houses. Over that time, the agency has recycled more than 3.6 billion pounds of waste material that otherwise would have wound up in landfills. The Missouri State Recycling Program recently recognized MoDOT's environmental contributions with its annual state Recycling Award. Full Story |
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South Carolina DOT receives national award for bridge project The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) was one of eight award winners nationwide in a federal recognition program for its exemplary work in replacing the US Highway 76 bridge over the scenic Chattooga River in Oconee County. SCDOT won the award as part of the Exemplary Human Environment Initiatives program for 2007 of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The Exemplary Human Environment Initiatives program is designed to support and measure FHWA’s environmental stewardship responsibilities. Full Story
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Cutting roadkill, saving humans "We don't like the slaughter of our wildlife," wildlife researcher Patricia Cramer said, giving a partial explanation for the pioneering work she and John Bissonette have done to increase awareness of how states can reduce the number of vehicle-animal collisions. "This is pervasive across the United States, and it's been under the radar screen." Bissonette and Cramer have completed the nation's most comprehensive survey to identify nearly 600 terrestrial wildlife crossings and 10,000 aquatic crossings. Their federally funded research is spurring state departments of transportation and wildlife to work together to attempt to reduce the collisions that annually take more than 200 human lives - the 220 deaths in 2006 were the highest ever - and injure thousands more. Full Story |
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Public involvement opportunities for I-69/Trans Texas Corridor announced During the next two months, Texans will be
able to shape the state’s future transportation system during an
unprecedented public comment period for Interstate 69. Beginning
January 15, the Texas Department of Transportation will hold 11 town
hall meetings followed by 46 public hearings beginning on February
4. World of Concrete |
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For our full events calendar, go to http://www.betterroads.com/calendar |
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Turnaround Management pros see housing crisis lasting through 2008 Still unfurling, the housing crisis of 2007 is the source of the top three picks by turnaround professionals predicting the most distressed industries in 2008. Sixty-two percent of respondents to the Turnaround Management Association's annual Trend Watch Poll said that homebuilders will face the "greatest financial and/or operational difficulties" next year. With fewer homes being sold and rising foreclosures, businesses that lend to homebuyers may take a hit in nearly equal measure. More than a third (35 percent) said that mortgage lenders will incur the most distress, while 32 percent said residential loan origination and servicing firms will. http://www.turnaround.org/news/newsReleases.asp?objectID=8425 New Home Sales Sales of new one-family houses in November 2007 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 647,000. This is 9.0% below the revised October 2007 figure of 711,000. 12/28/07 Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders New orders for manufactured durable goods in November 2007 increased $0.2 billion or 0.1 percent to $214.7 billion. 12/27/07 Housing Starts/Building Permits Privately-owned housing starts in November 2007 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,187,000. This is 3.7 percent below the revised October 2007 estimate of 1,232,000. 12/18/07 Economy At A Glance: http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.us.htm |
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In January Better Roads our exclusive road industry forecast sees a mixed year ahead, with good markets in the south and west and difficult business conditions in the northeast and north central regions. Other highlights:
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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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Two
state-funded reports and one privately financed study this year
point out Maine's need to replace its aging bridges before time runs
out. But where the money will come from to address problems cited in
the studies remains to be seen. A comprehensive
transportation-funding bill, LD 1790, "An Act To Secure Maine's
Transportation Future," approved by the Legislature, is on the
governor's desk. The bill, however, lacks a way to fund bridge
construction over an extended period.
