Your 5-minute Guide to Industry News & Trends
Your 5-minute Guide to Industry News & Trends
Vol. 2, No. 11 ● June 5, 2008
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Americans driving at historic lows Americans drove less in March 2008, continuing a trend that began last November, according to estimates released in late May from the Federal Highway Administration. The FHWA's "Traffic Volume Trends" report, produced monthly since 1942, shows that estimated vehicle miles traveled on all U.S. public roads for March 2008 fell 4.3 percent as compared to March 2007 travel. This is the first time estimated March travel on public roads has fallen since 1979. At 11 billion miles less in March 2008 than in the previous March, this is the sharpest yearly drop for any month in FHWA history. Full Story |
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Gridlock led 27% of drivers to abandon trips
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AGC continues opposition to California proposed standards change for existing fleets of diesel equipment The Associated General Contractors will continue to oppose California's effort to set new standards for the exhaust from existing fleets of off-road diesel equipment, persisting in its effort to bring reason to the long-running debate over this equipment. The new standards and related rules require California's construction contractors to retrofit, repower or replace their existing fleets of off-road diesel equipment at a cost expected to reach $13 billion. California cannot enforce its new standards until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also reviews and approves of them, and the courts have yet to address whether CARB has met the relevant legal standards, or even possesses the authority - as a matter of state law - to adopt them. Full Story
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Dan McKain dead at 76
Primer on Transportation and Climate Change issued by AASHTO AASHTO has published an information report titled Primer on Transportation and Climate Change, which serves as an introduction to the issue of climate change and its implications for transportation policy in the U.S. The report summarizes the current state of scientific knowledge concerning the causes and impacts of climate change; provides an introduction to climate change policy issues; discusses trends in greenhouse gas emissions from road transportation; reviews potential measures to reduce such emissions; and identifies issues for further research. Full Story
Illinois unveils $10.9 billion multi-year highway improvement program In Illinois DOT’s proposed plan for fiscal years 2009-2014, $7.79 billion will be for the state’s highway system while $3.08 billion will be for local roads. On the state system, $5.6 billion - or almost three-fourths - will be for roadway maintenance, safety and bridge repair. Funding for urban area congestion relief totals $1.54 billion, including $477 million for a new Mississippi River Bridge crossing and connecting roadways in the Metro East area. A total of $633 million is targeted to expand the system with new roads to increase access and promote economic development. Full Story
Kamehameha Highway improvements project launches website Hawaii's Department of Transportation and the City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services have launched an informational website for the upcoming Kamehameha Highway Improvements Project at www.kamehamehahighwayimprovements.org. Currently in the final stages of the design phase, this project will include improvements addressing safety, aesthetics and traffic flow along a 5.25-mile-long section of Kamehameha Highway. Full Story
SDDOT seeks nominations for Transportation Hall of Honor The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) is now accepting nominations for consideration to be inducted into the South Dakota Transportation Hall of Honor. The committee is looking for people who have made a lasting or valuable contribution to the state's air, highway or rail transportation. All nominees should have retired for at least one year from the job in which the contribution was made. The deadline for submitting names for consideration is June 15. Full Story
Texas Transportation Commission affirms toll road building principles The Texas Transportation Commission has adopted guiding principles and policies that will govern the development, construction and operation of toll road projects on the state highway system and the Trans-Texas Corridor. The commission reaffirmed its commitment to meet or exceed the requirements of state law on five key issues. Full Story
Under the watchful eye of the mother bird, WSDOT biologist, Michael MacDonald and Martin Muller from the Falcon Research Group successfully banded three 3-week-old peregrine falcon chicks on the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge. These bird-eating raptors help out the WSDOT bridge maintenance crew by hunting starlings and pigeons, the main source of bird droppings that corrode the bridge paint. Full Story
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34% cut in federal highway & bridge funding coming to all 50 states unless Congress acts: ad The Highway Trust Fund is facing a first-ever deficit, falling $3.7 billion short of being able to meet SAFETEA-LU's highway investment guarantees. Unless Congress acts, every state will suffer a 34 percent cut in its highway and bridge funding, beginning October 1, 2008. That's the message of a new print ad from the Transportation Construction Coalition, which directs members of Congress and their staffs to an Internet website, www.transportationconstructioncoalition.org, to learn more about each state's potential highway funding cut and job loss. Full Story
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NCDOT uses preservation techniques for longer lasting roads and major cost savings With the onset of warmer weather, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has started its pavement preservation work for this year on highways across the state. Crews are using cost-effective methods to repair slightly cracked or weathered pavements, which will extend the life of the roads, reduce future maintenance needs, and increase motorist comfort and mobility. The more highways NCDOT can keep in good condition through preservation, the more money it will ultimately save. Last year, NCDOT spent $276 million to resurface 2,033 road miles with hot-mixed asphalt and $65 million to surface treat and crack seal 4,795 road miles in North Carolina. Full Story
NDDOT seeks public comments for the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program The North Dakota Department of Transportation is now requesting public comments for the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The STIP is a four-year program of transportation improvements to be funded with federal highway and transit monies. Improvements include state and county highways, urban streets, roadway safety features, bikeways and busing programs. To develop the 2009-2012 STIP, NDDOT is estimating SAFETEA-LU funding for the department’s 2009 program and projecting the funding amount for its 2010-2012 program. The department anticipates that it will receive approximately $229 million in 2009, $235 million in 2010, $242 million in 2011 and $249 million in 2012. Full Story |
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Report: Money fears might have led to bridge collapse According to the Associated Press, transportation officials' concerns that fixing or replacing a Minneapolis bridge would be a "budget buster" may have led to bad maintenance decisions before its deadly collapse in August, a report released in mid-May concluded. The report, commissioned by the state legislature, also criticized the Minnesota Department of Transportation for bridge inspections that were mishandled or not acted upon over the years, even when they called for immediate repairs. The department has come under sharp criticism for its upkeep of the 40-year-old Interstate 35W bridge, even as an ongoing federal investigation has highlighted a design flaw and the weight of construction materials on the bridge, rather than maintenance, as critical factors in the collapse that killed 13 people. Full Story |
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Pervious concrete withstands New England winter A test section of pervious concrete poured on the campus of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) has successfully withstood the harsh New England winter, causing municipal officials throughout the region to ask for more information concerning the material. UNH researchers installed the pervious section - a 21,000-square-foot student parking lot - at the Durham campus as an experiment, hoping to find a construction material that would mitigate stormwater runoff while not deteriorating under an often-severe winter climate that at various times has rain, sleet and snow in rapid succession. Full Story |
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First Ceelite LEC-illuminated street signs in Pennsylvania installed in West Chester
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Arizona State Transportation Board to hold public hearings The State Transportation Board will host a series of four public hearings in June to invite public comments on a statewide transportation program developed by the Arizona Department of Transportation collaboratively with regional and local transportation partners from across the state. ADOT’s Statewide Transportation Investment Strategy outlines a transportation program that would be funded through a ballot initiative filed by the Transportation and Infrastructure Moving Arizona’s Economy Coalition. The public hearings will be held at various locations throughout the state. Full Story 64th Annual Conference - Canadian Association
of Equipment Distributors Safety 2008 - American Society of Safety
Engineers Annual Conference - American Society of Highway
Engineers 11th Annual Snow & Ice Symposium & Trade Show -
Snow & Ice Management Association |
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For our full events calendar, go to http://www.betterroads.com/calendar |
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Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders New orders for manufactured durable goods in April decreased $1.0 billion or 0.5 percent to $214.4 billion. 5/28 New Home Sales Sales of new one-family houses in April 2008 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000. This is 3.3% above the revised March 2008 figure of 509,000. 5/27 Housing Starts/Building Permits Privately-owned housing starts in April 2008 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,032,000. This is 8.2 percent above the revised March 2008 estimate of 954,000. 5/16 Economy At A Glance: http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.us.htm |
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June 2008 Issue 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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Traffic was so bad in 10 major U.S. cities that
27 percent of the drivers surveyed gave up and went home in the past
three years, according to a new IBM study that polled 4,091 drivers.
Some 91 percent said driving was their main form of transportation
for trips other than work or school. In addition, 68 percent get to
work or school by car. More than 75 percent of the motorists said
every wasted 15 minutes behind the wheel cost them $10 to $20, for
an average of $73.22 an hour, according to the survey. IBM said it
conducted the study to help it devise ways to cut gridlock,
including automated tolling, real-time traffic prediction,
congestion pricing and route planning.
Dan McKain died on South Padre Island, Texas,
on Saturday, May 17, doing what he loved to do. McKain, 76, and his
wife, Gini, also an accomplished photographer, were shooting
construction of the 31-story Ocean Towers condominiums when he
apparently suffered a heart attack. A civil engineer by profession,
McKain got hooked on photography covering a fire in Cincinnati for
the Associated Press some 50 years ago. He and Gini worked as
freelance photographers and writers covering heavy construction
projects, travel, boating, and the activities of the National
Sheriff’s Association.
Falcons band together under I-5 bridge in Washington State
The first installation of Light Emitting
Capacitor (LEC) illuminated signs in West Chester, Pennsylvania, are
at the intersections of High and Gay streets and High and Market
streets. The CeeLite LEC-illuminated street intersection signs are
less than a quarter-inch thick, lightweight and durable, according
to the company, and are not subject to failure from vibration or
water entry. Virginia DOT has a similar installation in Salem,
Virginia.
