Your 5-minute Guide to Industry News & Trends
Your 5-minute Guide to Industry News & Trends
Vol. 2, No. 2 ● January 21, 2008
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National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission issues final report Congress created The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission in 2005 as a segment of SAFETEA-LU because “it is in the national interest to preserve and enhance the surface transportation system to meet the needs of the United States for the 21st century.” Its final report, "Transportation for Tomorrow," has been released and includes detailed recommendations for creating and sustaining a pre-eminent surface transportation system in the United States. Full Story Sponsored by: |
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Transportation Secretary Peters rejects call for massive gas tax increase and new federal transportation bureaucracy U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced that she and two other members of The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission will not endorse the group’s call for substantial state and federal gas tax hikes, a new federal bureaucracy to centralize transportation decision making, new limitations on states’ abilities to attract private sector investments and a first of its kind federal tax on all public transportation and intercity passenger rail tickets. The secretary said she was deeply troubled by the Commission’s call for an up to 40 cent per gallon federal gasoline tax increase over the next five years, rising to up to 91 cents in 20 years when indexed for inflation. Full Story
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AASHTO officials respond to the The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission report "The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission has put forth some bold and groundbreaking concepts to deliver on the promise of mobility for this and future generations," says Pete Rahn, president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Rahn said AASHTO supports the Commission's insistence that there must be a strong federal role and support for a national transportation system; there must be a significant increase in investment to preserve our system and modernize it for the future; and the user fee concept is an essential element in providing that revenue support. Full Story
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Minneapolis bridge project marks 100th day of construction
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Public meetings begin in gigantic Texas toll road project The biggest construction project ever attempted in Texas comes under public debate beginning January 15 in the first of a series of town hall meetings about a proposed 4,000-mile network of superhighway toll roads. The Trans-Texas Corridor, or TTC, as it has become known, was initiated six years ago by Gov. Rick Perry. It has rankled opponents who characterize it as the largest government grab of private property in the state's history and an unneeded and improper expansion of toll roads. Texas Department of Transportation officials, and Perry, have defended the project as necessary to address future traffic concerns in one of the nation's fastest-growing states. They also say the project is vital because of insufficient road revenues from the state gas tax and the federal government. Full Story
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Mississippi DOT awards final two contracts for U.S. Highway 90 reconstruction following Katrina Traffic flow along the vital U.S. Highway 90 corridor will improve when Hurricane Katrina reconstruction projects are completed. Two projects contracted to Superior Asphalt of Jackson, Mississippi, involve the rebuilding of U.S. Highway 90 beginning from Debuys Road to Rodenburg Avenue in Biloxi and Lewis Avenue to Debuys Road in Gulfport. Improvements will include replacement of curbs, repairs to the drainage systems and sidewalks, resurfacing, and the installation of synchronized state-of-the-art traffic signals. The two projects total cost is $43.9 million. Full Story |
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Virginia DOT selects firm to oversee mega projects and traffic management during construction The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has selected ATCS of Dulles to manage construction of several Northern Virginia mega projects, and to coordinate a regional traffic management program during construction of the projects. ATCS is in a joint venture with CH2M HILL as the managing partner. “VDOT is preparing to embark on several billion dollars in significant transportation improvements in Northern Virginia,” said VDOT Commissioner David S. Ekern. “We have developed this innovative approach to coordinate all of these efforts and to ensure motorists’ needs are met while not growing the size of government. We must also have a transportation management plan in place that keeps the region moving during construction." Full Story |
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New Orleans road construction moving into overdrive The convergence of three major funding sources - the Federal Highway Administration's South Louisiana Submerged Roads Program, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Damaged Roads Program and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development's 2007 surplus funds - will jump-start an array of road repairs and new construction beginning in the first quarter in 2008. "2008 is a big year," said New Orleans Public Works Director Robert Mendoza. "Between the Submerged Roads Program, (the Damaged Roads Program) and the state program, you're looking at around $360 million of road construction over the next five years - really squeezed in a tight period." Full Story |
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Massachusetts officials warn of toll increases on turnpike More toll increases up and down the Massachusetts Turnpike look inevitable, two agency board members said after the authority warned that its fiscal woes will delay more than $65 million in necessary construction and maintenance work this year. The comments were made just two weeks after the authority imposed 25-cent toll increases in Weston and Allston and a 50-cent jump at the Boston Harbor tunnels and as the Turnpike Authority's board unanimously approved what officials called a minimal, severely stripped-down 2008 program of maintenance for the 138-mile toll road and harbor tunnels. Full Story
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ODOT to partner with Ohio’s small cities to preserve roads and bridges As part of its continuing effort to assist local communities with important roadway and bridge preservation efforts, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is accepting funding applications for future Transportation Enhancement, Small City Transportation Program, and Municipal Bridge Program projects. These three programs provide federal funding for a variety of transportation infrastructure projects throughout the state and allow ODOT to partner with more of the state’s smaller cities - typically those cities in rural areas and with limited transportation dollars - in addressing the needs of aging local roads and bridges. Competition for these limited federal funds has increased. Last year, cities submitted 42 different projects. Full Story
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The silver lining in Texas DOT's cloudbank of costs Amid all the doom and gloom about money from the Texas Department of Transportation comes this glimmer of sunshine: Road-building costs are leveling off. That would be great, had TxDOT not gone into austerity mode. According to TxDOT's highway cost index (which is specific to Texas), the cost of road building inflated just 1.98 percent in fiscal 2007, which ended August 31. That follows three grinding fiscal years when costs jumped 9.2 percent (2004), 19.8 percent (2005) and 22.9 percent (2006). The net effect is that TxDOT's costs (including compounding and 2007's gentle rise) have increased by 93 percent in the past 10 years, 60 percent since 2002. By comparison, the consumer price index went up 29 percent since 1997. Full Story
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Washington State road repair backlog grows Washington's roads are decaying, the money isn't there to fix them and nobody knows how much work needs to be done, according to a report released January 10. Consecutive Democratic governors and legislatures have failed to keep up with basic road repairs and, as backlogs grow, the state doesn't have a system for tracking those, according to a performance audit. An outside firm hired by state Auditor Brian Sonntag found that state budgets have short-changed basic road maintenance by at least 50 percent to 75 percent and that the state Transportation Department has no comprehensive system for identifying maintenance backlogs and no plans to create one. Full Story
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Georgia toll road projects up in air The Georgia Department of Transportation's staff lacks the experience to lead multibillion-dollar negotiations with contractors on toll road projects, according to new DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham, and she might scrap the whole list of projects and start over. The program, which invites private companies to invest in public toll roads, includes the I-75 project to put truck toll lanes and HOV toll lanes on I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee counties, which is under a $38.5 million development contract with Bechtel Infrastructure and other companies. Other projects under consideration include expanding Ga. 400, I-285's western wall, and eastern I-20. Full Story |
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Poorly designed gusset plates connecting beams contributed to I-35W bridge collapse The fracture of poorly designed gusset plates connecting beams on the I-35W bridge that collapsed in August in Minneapolis contributed significantly to the deadly disaster, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said on January 15. NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker zeroed in on 16 gusset plates that he said investigators found to be fractured. These 16 were paired in eight "nodes" concentrated in the bridge's main center span. Full Story
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2007 traffic fatalities dive - more Missouri motorists arrive alive For the second year in a row, lives were saved from Missouri traffic crashes when compared to previous years. This year's decrease rang in the new year down by 11 percent, giving Missouri less than 1,000 traffic fatalities for the year, and allowing the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety to reach a monumental goal one year early. Fatalities from traffic crashes are down dramatically from 1,257 in 2005. The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety is a large group of safety advocates who banded together in 2004 to create Missouri's Blueprint for Safer Roadways. Full Story |
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Topcon GNSS first to add China's Compass signal
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I-40 in Tennessee ranked best road in nation for second year in a row For the second year in a row, the nation’s truck drivers have selected Interstate 40 in Tennessee as the best road in the nation. In addition, Tennessee’s roadways are again the third best in the nation according to the survey published in Overdrive Magazine. This is the ninth year in a row the Volunteer State’s roads ranked among the top five in the nation. Full Story
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TxDOT podcast program features transportation issues Texans have a new way to stay informed on statewide transportation issues: The Texas Department of Transportation Podcast Program. TxDOT, through its www.KeepTexasMoving.com Web site, is offering a weekly podcast covering a wide variety of statewide transportation-related topics. The statewide podcast is part of TxDOT’s efforts to find new ways to communicate transportation issues. Each statewide podcast episode is a weekly talk-radio-style audio program downloadable from the Internet. Statewide podcasts will be less than 10 minutes long and feature an interview with an expert in a transportation-related field. Full Story |
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World of Concrete National Asphalt Pavement Association 53rd
Annual Meeting International Society of Explosives
Engineers 34th Annual Conference on Explosives & Blasting Technique National Pavement Expo 2008 Canadian Public Works Association Annual
General Meeting Concrete Sawing & Drilling Association
Construction Safety Training National Precast Concrete Association
2008 Winter Conference Associated General Contractors Highway
and Utilities Contractors Issues Meeting American Traffic Safety Services
Association 38th Annual Convention & Traffic Expo |
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For our full events calendar, go to http://www.betterroads.com/calendar |
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Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales U.S. total business sales for November were $1,156.1 billion, up 1.6% from last month. Month-end inventories were $1,436.7 billion, up 0.4% from last month. 1/15/08 U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services The nation's international deficit in goods and services increased to $63.1 billion in November from $57.8 billion (revised) in October, as imports increased more than exports. 1/11/08 Monthly Wholesale Trade: Sales and Inventories November 2007 sales of merchant wholesalers were $380.4 billion, up 2.2 percent from last month. End-of-month inventories were $406.2 billion, up 0.6 percent from last month. 1/10/08 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:
Visit
www.BetterRoads.com for
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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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January
15 marks the 100th day since work began on the St. Anthony Falls
(I-35W) Bridge Project. Work is taking place on almost all areas of
the site as crews begin to build the foundations for the bridge and
prepare to cast the first of the pre-cast segments. As part of the
pre-cast work, crews have erected large heating sheds that will
provide a heated environment for the segments as the concrete cures.
The sheds will be moved along the casting beds as new segments are
poured. 
Topcon Positioning Systems has announced its
engineers and scientists successfully tracked signals from the
developing Chinese Compass satellite constellation. The new system
will be a constellation of 35 satellites, including five
geostationary orbits satellites and 30 medium Earth orbit satellites
that will offer complete coverage of the globe. Coupled with the
U.S. GPS system, Russia’s GLONASS and the European Union’s Galileo
system, Compass will dramatically increase the total number of
satellites available for positioning products. The use of
multi-constellation signals increases the productivity of the
systems by allowing operation in obstructed areas, virtually
eliminating job site downtime due to weak or obstructed satellite
reception.
