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Better Roads Magazine |
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Concrete in San Antonio A concrete street placed in 1914, Belknap Place, is still performing well. In fact, the city plans to commemorate the performance in 2014. The street was placed on a lean concrete first course. The second course was a higher-strength wearing surface. A brass inlay near one of the intersections is imprinted Texas Granitoid Construction Company. Better Belt Laws Needed If every state had a primary belt law, it would save 700 lives a year, according to a study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Currently, 21 states and the District of Columbia have primary belt laws that allow law officers to stop drivers for not buckling up. In most states, belt use enforcement is secondary. Only New Hampshire has no adult belt use law. The study found that states moving from secondary to primary enforcement cut driver death rates by 7%. Belt-use rates averaged 84% in primary states compared to 73% in secondary states. For a look at the complete study, go to www.iihs.org. Educating Congressional Aides Top legislative assistants from almost 80 congressional offices attended an American Road & Transportation Builders Association seminar on federal highway and transit program financing held on Capitol Hill. The 90-minute seminar outlined how the federal highway and transit programs work, how they are financed, and how the federal transportation program budget is developed. Data about innovative financing techniques and public-private partnerships were covered, too. ARTBA Vice President of Congressional Relations Jim Kolb and Drs. Bill Buechner and Mike Martin of the ARTBA economics team presented the program. Astroturf Helps Control Skids Minnesota Department of Transportation officials are using Astroturf to create a skid-resistant and quiet concrete highway. Workers pull the wiry, plastic grass over a highway’s surface to rough it up, providing skid resistance. The texture that results is reportedly quieter to drive on than grooves, which were previously used. The new texture appears to be just as safe as grooving, according to Curt Turgeon, Minnesota DOT pavement engineer. Initial use of the technique was on Interstate 694 and Highway 100. Development of the technique was part of a three-year research project and included development of a method that would provide a skid-resistant, quieter surface that would withstand years of snow plowing. Cell Phones Add Years to Driving Talking on a cell phone while driving adds years to your driving performance, according to a report from the University of Utah. The report says that drivers 18 to 25 drove like elderly people, moving and reacting more slowly and increasing their risk of accidents, when they talked on a cell phone and drove. The study found that use of the cell phone left the driver more impaired than drunk drivers with blood alcohol levels of 0.08, according to David Strayer and Frank Drews, who conducted the research. Using a simulator, test subjects each drove four 10-mile freeway trips lasting about 10 minutes each, talking on a cell phone with a research assistant during half of the trip and driving without talking during the other half. Only hands-free phones, considered safer than handheld cell phones, were used. Drivers who talked on cell phones were 18% slower in braking and took 17% longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked. Interestingly, older drivers rated about the same as the 18- to 25-year olds when driving and using cell phones. Strayer and Drews suggest that more experience and a tendency to take fewer risks helped them negate additional danger. TRIP Rural Roads Report More than half - 52 percent - of traffic fatalities in the United States between 1999 and 2003 have occurred on rural, non-Interstate roads and highways, even though vehicle travel on these roads only accounted for 28 percent of travel during that period, according to a new report released today by TRIP, a national nonprofit transportation research group. TRIP's study, "Growing Traffic in Rural America: Safety, Mobility and Economic Challenges in America's Heartland," found that there has been an average of 22,127 traffic fatalities annually on the nation's rural, non-Interstate roads between 1999 and 2003; during the same period, there was an average of 42,301 people killed each year in traffic accidents on all roads in the U.S. "It is critical that we improve safety on the nation's rural roads, which are exposing rural residents and visitors to an unacceptable level of risk," said William M. Wilkins, TRIP's executive director. "We know how to make rural roads safer. What is missing is adequate funding for road safety projects that will save numerous lives." The TRIP report found that the five states with highest rate of traffic fatalities per 100 million miles of travel on rural, non-Interstate roads are: Arizona, Florida, South Carolina, Montana and Kentucky. The five states with the largest number of rural, non-Interstate traffic deaths between 1999 and 2003 are: Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Full report is available on the TRIP website. AED Authorized Construction Equipment Locator Website The Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) has opened a handy website to located dealers of construction equipment and heavy equipment. At AEDAuthorized.com, you can locate a factory authorized construction equipment and heavy machinery dealer that is a member of the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED). AED is a membership association of 600 factory authorized construction equipment and heavy machinery dealers. They account for over 70% of the heavy construction equipment and related machinery, supplies and services in the U.S. and Canada. Roughly 400 heavy machinery manufacturers, and other organizations involved in the distribution of construction equipment and related products and services also belong to AED. ARTBA 2005 “Globe” Environmental Awards Call for Nominations It’s not too early to start thinking about submitting your nominations for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation’s (ARTBA-TDF) 2005 “Globe Awards.” This annual competition honors U.S. transportation construction industry excellence in environmental protection and mitigation. Established by the ARTBA Board of Directors in 1998, the “Globe Awards” program recognizes:
Eligibility Requirements: Anyone may nominate candidates in either of two categories:
Awards Categories: The “Globe Awards” competition is structured into two categories – project awards and process awards. Project Awards. Nominations may be made for projects in the following seven categories: highways, local or secondary roads, bridges, public transit, airports, railroads, and waterways and ports. Process Awards. Nominations will also be accepted to recognize companies that have exhibited environmentally responsible manufacturing, production, resource extraction or other processes related to surface transportation construction. Such organizations may include:
Applications must be received at the ARTBA-TDF by July 15, 2005. To inquire about the awards program or obtain a copy of the application form, contact ARTBA’s Scholarship & Awards Program Manager Rhonda Haskins at 202-289-4434. The application is also available online at www.artba.org. Winning entries will be notified on or before August 30, 2005. The awards will be presented at a special ceremony at the 2005 ARTBA Annual Convention, held September 13-16 in Palm Beach, Fla. The “Globe Awards” program is a TDF project that complements ARTBA’s “PRIDE in Transportation Construction” campaign to focus public attention on the many positive contributions the transportation construction industry has made to the U.S. economy and quality of life. First-ever Intertraffic North America 2005 slated for September 27-29; two-thirds of exhibit space already taken Nearly 125 companies have already reserved exhibit space for the first-ever Intertraffic North America 2005, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association announced today. This represents two-thirds of the available space for the event, the association said. Intertraffic North America—the continent’s first comprehensive conference and exposition to bring together suppliers and customers for the transportation construction and traffic management industries—will be held September 27-29, at the Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland. ARTBA and Amsterdam RAI are organizing the event. Representatives from firms involved in transportation infrastructure, intelligent transportation systems, parking, traffic safety, control and management will be exhibiting at the event. RAI’s “Intertraffic Amsterdam” is the world’s largest international trade fair in the design, management and maintenance of traffic and transport infrastructures, drawing 700 exhibitors and 25,000 attendees biannually from both private and public industry sectors. RAI also has Intertraffic conferences in Mexico, Turkey, and Thailand. Amsterdam RAI started as the Bicycle Industry (De Rijwiel-Industrie) Association in 1893 and today is an international leading exhibition and congress organization. The present RAI Exhibition and Congress Centre is composed of 11 exhibition halls with a total covered exhibition area of some 87,000 square meters plus 22 conference rooms, seven restaurants, and an underground parking facility for over 3,000 cars. Approximately 1,000 events are held each year in the RAI complex, drawing more than 2 million visitors. To exhibit at Intertraffic North America, contact Yancey Dobson via phone at 202-463-7905 or via e-mail at intertraffic@dobsonchq.com. A complete list of conference exhibitors may be found online at www.intertraffic.com. No Lights, No Signs? In a radical break with traditional wisdom, several European countries are experimenting with doing away with traffic signs, lights, and lines in specific city and town areas. The movement started in the Netherlands and moved on to Scandinavia and Britain. For the past two years, experimental sites have been developed to make use of shared space, which gives motorists and pedestrians equal rights in the roadway. In the Netherlands, towns testing the method report fewer accidents and less severe accidents, as well as improved traffic flow. “Signs have very little influence on human behavior,” according to Urban Designer Ben Hamilton-Baillie. In England, several towns including Ipswich, Bath, Bristol, and Manchester have pilot programs underway. London recently voted to start a pilot project. In many cases, the projects consist of the old roadway with speed bumps and a sign indicating pedestrian priority. Traffic lights, lines, and traffic signs have been removed. Drivers in such zones are more likely to respect pedestrian and other vehicle rights, the developers report. With traffic lights, they concentrate on getting through a yellow warning light or even gunning it through as the light turns red. ARTBA News The American Road & Transportation Builders Association announced that the largest federal highway contractor is APAC, Incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia. The company won $508,875,400 worth of federal highway work in 2003, the most recent year for which figures are available. Peter Kiewit Sons, Incorporated, Omaha, ranked second with $393,478,891. Granite Construction Company, Watsonville, California, placed third with $344,247,786. Former ARTBA Chairman and Ohio construction executive, Richard R. Stander, Sr., was the recipient of the George S. Bartlett Award, given for making an outstanding contribution to highway progress. Stander helped develop a new type of floating bridge that was critically used in World War II and later headed the Mansfield Asphalt Paving Company. ARTBA also announced that it is accepting applications for 2005 Highway Worker Memorial Scholarships. The scholarships have a value up to $2,000. Eligibility requirements include being the son, daughter, or legally adopted child of a highway worker who has died or become permanently disabled in roadway construction zone projects. A transportation construction firm or public agency must have employed the applicant’s parent at the time of death or disabling injury. The award must be used to attend a post-secondary institution of learning. For more information, go to www.artba.org. Prefabbed Bridges Cut Costs A new report from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Technology Implementation Group looks at prefabbed bridges in many locations and backs up earlier studies, which show that prefabricated bridges deliver quality, safety, and savings. “Costs can particularly be reduced where sophisticated techniques would be needed to perform cast-in-place construction, such as for long water crossings or multi-level structures,” according to a Federal Highway Administration bulletin. “Prefabrication can also lower costs by eliminating the need to perform the construction in a restrictive sequence of operations. Instead, the work can be done ahead of time, reducing the risks posed by bad weather and other variables.” Getting the bridges in place faster cuts costs, too — with a range between $50,000 and $340,000 a day in time costs to drivers. The AASHTO report, Prefabricated Bridges 2004: Good Business — Best Practices, provides specific examples of the use of prefabbing and how to make the most of it. The report is online at www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/prefab. GPS for Drivers While several cities provide geographic positioning system data online for drivers to help them avoid traffic congestion, a new dashboard computer makes it possible for the driver to carry current data in the vehicle. The computer, developed by Pioneer, uses a GPS nav system, which feeds real-time traffic data. Streets highlighted in green are moving at 40 miles per hour or faster. Streets highlighted in red mean traffic is stuck or slowed to a crawl. The $2,000 system also tracks rate of vehicle acceleration, g-forces generated in turns, and an optional rearview camera to help the driver see what’s behind him. Plastic Roads New Delhi, India is starting a plastic roads movement, according to State Urban Development Minister A.K. Walia. The idea is to use waste plastics in asphalt production to help clean up the city, according to Chief Engineer K.K. Mutreja. “[Naturally,] you cannot construct a road all of waste plastics and will have to mix it with a good quantity of bitumen and polymer to construct a durable road,” Mutreja says. To read more about the project, go to the Aggregate Research Industries Web site, www.aggregateresearch.com. Cameras Cut Fatalities 50% A new report from the French Transportation Ministry says that the country’s network of 280 mobile and fixed photo radar units cut fatalities by 50% and crashes by 85% in areas targeted as dangerous roadways. The devices were installed early in 2004 at locations with high accident rates. What’s That Sound? While the debate continues about whether cameras help control red-light running and other intersection problems, Chicago is testing a listening device. Developed by Safety Dynamics, an Illinois company, the project consists of a network of sound detectors. Called the Smart Sensor-Enabled Neural Threat Recognition and Identification System, the devices let agencies listen for human presence, firearms being fired, and the sound of crashing vehicles. The system uses microphones and a time-phased acoustic pattern modeled on the human brain. It is set for specific sounds and automatically dials 911 when it hears them. The company expects to market consumer cell-phone-sized units that will report breaking glass or other noises during a car break-in or theft. Tight concrete supplies expected to continue in 2005 Contractors, exhibitors and attendees were cautiously upbeat during the annual World of Concrete exhibition held January 17-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Despite dramatic price hikes, a strong housing market coupled with a recovering commercial sector are expected to pump-up Portland cement sales by 2.9% this year, says Ed Sullivan, chief economist for the Skokie, Illinois-based Portland Cement Association. Higher interest rates have set the stage for more public and non-residential activity, says Sullivan, who anticipates $745 billion worth of construction spending in 2005. Public works spending accounts for roughly 50% of total cement consumption nationwide. And with delayed state revenue growth, PCA now expects a 3.8% increase in public construction in 2005. Construction in the Las Vegas Valley consumed about 5 million cubic yards worth of concrete in 2004, a figure that is expected to increase by up to 10% this year. City officials report $1.52 billion worth of building permit activity in 2004, including $920.2 million worth of new singe family residential construction. Southern Nevada's rampant growth has benefited firms such as All Star Transit Mix of North Las Vegas, which has about a 15% market share. The firm saw its largest growth in the residential sector which accounted for nearly half of its annual concrete sales, says Ennis Jordan, president, All Star Transit Mix. There were 28,773 new home sales in 2004, a 14.5% increase from the previous year, reports SalesTraq, a residential tracking firm. It marks a new sales record for the Las Vegas Valley, but a strong continued migration of new residents could top those figures this year. Clark County's population grew to 1.74 million last year, a 6.4% increase over 2003. And it's expected to grow by 4.1% in 2005, and another 3.7% 2006. "I believe those housing sale records are likely to be broken within the next 12 months," says Stephen G. Bottfeld, executive vice president of Marketing Solutions, a Las Vegas-based residential consulting firm. "In the last three months, we have seen housing inventory numbers diminished by nearly 2,800 units. At current sales rates, we could actually see excess inventory depleted as early as the second quarter of 2005." Southern Nevada and other fast growing regions experienced cement shortages in 2004 as a result of high housing market demands. Distribution difficulties compounded tight supplies due to a lack of available ships needed to bring in imported cement. Homebuilding accounts for nearly 26% of all Portland cement sales nationwide, the PCA reports. Portland cement consumption is expected to reach 112 million tons this year, a 4.4% increase from 2004. But if 30-year mortgage rates reach a 6.5% "tripping rate," it could exert enough pressure on home affordability to significantly reduce single -family construction activity, Sullivan says. Roughly 76 cubic yards of concrete is used to build a 2,347-square-foot average home, which translates into roughly $6,500 per home or slightly more than 4 percent of its overall construction cost. Las Vegas Valley median new home prices reached $300,780 in December, a 42.3 increase from a year ago. It marks the highest average new home price in Southern Nevada's history. "We expect concrete prices to increase in the spring, there have been some real shortages in different regions," says D. Thomas Ruttura, president of the American Society of Concrete Contractors, a St. Louis, Missouri-based national trade group. "But there still hasn't been the rampant price escalation that steel has seen." Many blame tight supply constraints on China's rapid industrialization. The country's economy grew 9.5% in 2004, the fastest rate in eight years. China consumed about 5 billion tons of concrete last year as compared to one billion tons in the U.S. "Year-to-date concrete rates have increased 17%, and every indication is that it will continue to rise through 2005," says Mike Sherwood, vice president of Nevada Materials Service, whose firm has a 28% local market share. "It's all supply-driven, fueled by residential, commercial and public works growth. And I expect it to stay strong through 2006." There were 348 active residential subdivisions in December, an 18% increase from a year ago, SalesTraq reports. There is also 352,000 square feet worth of convention space, 4,110 hotel rooms and 672 hotel-condominium units planned this year, totaling $2.5 billion worth of construction, says the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. (Source: Las Vegas Business Press) Caterpillar battles ruling against patent
Caterpillar
Inc. has asked the government to reverse an examiner's declaration
that its revolutionary diesel engine uses technology already invented by
a retired Alpharetta chemist. (Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
State and industry leaders call on
Congress to Saying highway and transit projects - and the tens of thousands of jobs they provide - are being held up across the nation by the lack of a federal surface-transportation act, leaders of state transportation departments and several industry groups today called on Congress to “Get It Done!” “The reauthorization measures should be introduced in January, marked up and passed by February, resolved by House and Senate conferees in March and on the President’s desk by April,” said John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The last six-year law that distributed federal Highway Trust Fund money and transit funds to the states expired Sept. 30, 2003, and Congress has enacted half a dozen temporary extensions to keep some funding flowing to the states. Horsley was joined by four chief executives of AASHTO member transportation departments, raising issues now looming for all states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Speaking were DOT chiefs Director Gordon Proctor of Ohio, Secretary Allen Biehler of Pennsylvania, Executive Director John Njord of Utah, and Commissioner Phil Shucet of Virginia. They stressed four points: 1. In northerly states further delay might cause the loss of a construction season; 2. Delay is stalling creation of tens of thousands of jobs; 3. States cannot prudently plan spending based on short-term extensions; and 4. Delay has exacerbated purchasing-power erosion - by millions of dollars - for state DOTs. “It’s been nearly 16 months since we’ve had a reauthorization bill in place - and time is up,” said Pennsylvania DOT Secretary Allen Biehler. “America can’t wait another day for the green light for reauthorization and progress to tackle our mobility problems.” Not only are commuters and other travelers facing slower relief, the CEOs said - but tens of thousands of jobs are going unfilled as projects are postponed, or scrapped. “The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that for every billion dollars in federal transportation funding spent, 47,500 direct and indirect jobs are created,” said Director Proctor of Ohio. “Based upon that figure, Ohio could expect between 75,000 and 150,000 new jobs with the passage of a long-term transportation authorization bill ... these are good-paying, stable jobs, the kind of jobs Ohio’s citizens want and need,” he said. Although the current Congressional extension runs through May, many states can't wait that long to plan their summer work. “Our construction schedule follows the timetable of Mother Nature,” said Utah DOT Executive Director John Njord. “In Utah, we are limited to constructing projects between mid-April and mid-October ... outside of that window it’s simply too cold and too wet to do any work.” And time is money, they agreed. “Every day this drags on, our transportation dollars are worth less,” said Virginia DOT Commissioner Phil Shucet. “By the end of May, the six extensions (by Congress) ... will reduce the purchasing power of additional transportation dollars in Virginia by nearly $50 million.” Also lending their support to speedy passage of new surface-transportation legislation were President Pete Ruane of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA); Chief Executive Officer Stephen Sandherr of the Associated General Contractors (AGC); President William Millar of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA); President Greg Cohen of the American Highway Users’' Alliance; and Tim James, Director of Federal Relations for the International Union of Operating Engineers. (Source: The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) World’s Tallest Road Bridge Opens Southern France’s new Millau Bridge holds the title of the world’s tallest road bridge, but it’s a lot more than that. The ultra-modern cable-stayed design includes seven pylons that often extend into the clouds or fog, leaving only the lower part of the design visible. The bridge crosses the valley of the Tam River, creating a direct route between Paris and the southern coast of France. The concrete and steel bridge was also a privately built project, with Eiffage, a French group, financing the $500-million structure. Revenue will be returned to the group via tolls. The design, which is more than twice as tall as London’s Big Ben, allows for give in the pylons to provide added stability in high winds. Using 36,000 tons of steel and 206,000 tons of concrete, sensors installed in the bridge record stresses from the forecast traffic of 28,000 vehicles a day and from climatic conditions. Extensive testing using a convoy of 28 heavy trucks added to safety studies. British architect Norman Foster created the design for Eiffage. ACPA’s Promotion Awards The American Concrete Pavement Association presented three promotion awards to public works officials and other industry representatives. The Downtown Galena, Illinois Redevelopment Project Team won the Outstanding Promotional Project Award for their work in achieving a quality pavement system. The team included local government and businesses, as well as materials suppliers. The Outstanding Chapter/State Promoter award went to Dan DeGraff, P.E., Director of Engineering, West Michigan for the Michigan Concrete Paving Association for creating a local roads and streets market, moving paving of local concrete roads in the area from less than 10,000 square yards per year to about 250,000 square yards last year. The Outstanding Industry Promoter Award went to Lori Tiefenthaler, executive director of the Southeast Cement Association. The Big Dig Drips According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, Boston’s Big Dig has sprung a lot of leaks. The $14.6-million series of tunnels under downtown, aimed at relieving traffic congestion, began leaking in September with a major leak that closed lanes and stopped traffic. This leak was patched temporarily. A permanent repair will cost about $500,000, which will be paid by Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff and their contractors. Upon investigation, inspectors for Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, which managed the project, called the tunnel wall flawed as early as 1999. In addition, the tunnel roof had nearly 500 leaks as of last November. These are patched, but new leaks keep springing up. Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff says that all tunnels leak to one degree or another and that the tunnels are not quite finished and that once done, the tunnel will be drier. Highway Quality Awards Given The National Partnership for Highway Quality recently announced its awards recognizing innovative state that take calculated and beneficial risks in practices that raise the bar for roadway performance, safety, and environmental stewardship. Breaking the Mold Awards went to Texas (gold), Maryland (silver), and Colorado (bronze). Partnering Awards went to Maryland (gold), Texas (silver), Georgia (bronze), Kansas (bronze), and North Carolina (bronze). Risk Taking Awards went to Maryland (gold), Colorado (gold), and Connecticut (bronze). State Quality Initiative Awards went to Virginia (gold) and Texas (silver).
ARTBA foundation accepting applications
for The American Road & Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF) is now accepting nominations for the “Highway Worker Memorial Scholarship Program” for the 2005 academic year. The program provides financial assistance to help the children of highway construction workers killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty pursue post-high school education. The scholarship program was launched in Oct. 1999 through a generous $100,000 gift from the families of past ARTBA Chairmen Jack and Stan Lanford of Roanoke, Va. The scholarships have a value up to $2,000 and are supported by contributions from highway construction industry executives, firms and labor groups nationwide. Eligibility Requirements: Applicants must be the sons, daughters or legally adopted children of highway workers who have died or become permanently disabled in roadway construction zone accidents; An applicant’s parent must have been employed by a transportation construction firm or a transportation public agency at the time of his or her death or disabling injury; The scholarship award must be used to attend a post-secondary institution of learning that requires a high school diploma or Graduate Equivalent Degree (G.E.D.). Scholarship Selection Criteria: There are several criteria considered for selection of scholarship recipients: Past academic performance record— high school grades for new college entrants or cumulative college grade point average and academic performance for applicants already attending an institution of higher learning. A minimum cumulative academic performance of at least a “C” grade is required. A typewritten statement of no more than 200 words that explains his or her reasons for wanting to continue their education. Demonstrated need for financial assistance to attend school. Letters of recommendation—in addition to those required by two teachers—that are offered in support of the applicant’s nomination. Scholarship Program/2 Applications must be postmarked by April 15, 2005. To obtain a copy of the application form, contact ARTBA’s Rhonda Britton at 202-289-4434 or go online to the association’s Internet website at www.artba.org. Scholarship winners will be announced on or before July 15, 2005. Over the past five years, more than 25 students have been selected as scholarship recipients. The association created the Transportation Development Foundation in 1985 to support research and education activities. Controlling Costs Need more money for maintenance? A new study of cost versus effectiveness of 349 major highway projects in North Carolina in the past 14 years provides guidance to the most cost-effective projects and recommends that the money saved by dumping some cost-ineffective projects could close the gap on maintenance funding. Dr. David T. Hartgen, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, carried out the study including all major urban and rural arterial and freeway widenings, new four-lane and some two-lane facilities, new exits, new major bridges, and climbing lanes. Costs were adjusted to 2000 dollars for comparison. Effectiveness was measured as total vehicle-miles served over the project life, adjusted for congestion. The study found that projects cost about $7.3 billion, about one-third of the $20.5 billion spent on state-owned highways over the past 14 years. On average the projects cost about $0.0267 per vehicle-mile served, or about 5% of the cost of driving. The projects varied widely in cost effectiveness, Hartgen says. Costs ran from as little as $0.003 per vehicle-mile to over $1.00 per vehicle-mile. Cost-effective projects were generally urban arterial widenings, urban freeway widenings, and climbing lanes. Cost-ineffective projects were generally new exits on rural freeways, rural arterial widenings with traffic volumes of less than 6,200 vehicles per day, new two-lane arterials, and some new freeways. If projects costing more than $0.053 per vehicle-mile (twice the state average) had been delayed or deleted, about $2.5 billion would have been saved, about the same amount as the state’s maintenance shortfall. Project traffic shortly after construction, along with volume-to-capacity ratio, were found to be the primary determinants of the cost-effectiveness. The study concludes that project selection should be based on project worthiness rather than on geographic criteria presently used, and that increased highway maintenance funding should be obtained from deferred or deleted projects with weak justification, rather than through tax increases. To check out the 95-page study, go to http://johnlocke.org/press_releases/2004100669.html. Aransas Pass Cuts Potholes With Better Drainage The small Texas town about 25 miles northeast of Corpus Christi had a street that was constantly riddled with potholes. Deberry Street was a major street for draining storm water with typical reinforced concrete pipe. The material did not perform well in the native sandy soil and high groundwater table. Bell-and-spigot joints began to fail. The solution put in place by J.J. Fox Construction was to replace the RPC with 1,300 feet of 60-inch corrugated high-density polyethylene pipe, 1,300 feet of 48-inch HDPE, and 2,000 feet of 36-inch HDPE. They used watertight ceramic/polymer composite joints. The composite is fused to the outside wall of the built-in bell, improving the joint’s integrity and tolerance control. No other couplers, grout, or sealants were needed. Winter Tips Caterpillar’s Rental Stores provided these tips for machines used in cold-weather work:
Design Guide Available A National Cooperative Highway Research Program project has produced a new pavement design guide that can be tested by agencies. The guide, which replaces the 1993 AASHTO guide, provides a uniform basis for the design of flexible, rigid, and composite pavements, using mechanistic-empirical approaches that more realistically characterize in-service pavements and improve the reliability of the designs, according to Katherine Petros of the Federal Highway Administration. The guide’s use of M-E numerical models to analyze input data for traffic, climate, materials, and proposed structure to estimate damage accumulation over the pavement’s service life provide a primary benefit. The guide also allows for consideration of special loadings, with multiple tires or axles, and provides a means for evaluating design variability and reliability. AASHTO’s Joint Task Force on Pavements will continue evaluating the guide to refine it. The guide and software are available at www.trb.org/mepdg.ARTBA Predicts 4.5% Growth in Highway Construction Market But Higher Costs Could Absorb the Gain Spurred by continued increases in federal funding and renewed economic growth, the U.S. highway construction market should grow 4.5 percent in 2005, according to the chief economist for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. The real question, however, ARTBA Vice President of Economics & Research William Buechner says, is how much of the growth will be absorbed by rising construction costs. The value of construction work performed on highway and bridge projects should be a record $69 billion in fiscal year 2005, up from $66 billion in fiscal year 2004, according to ARTBA. Dr. Buechner, a Harvard-trained economist who served the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress for nearly two decades before joining ARTBA, released his report November 10 at a seminar in New York City, New York for Wall Street analysts.He says several factors should help support market growth next year: General state tax revenues are rebounding. Economic growth is the best indicator of state and local funding for highway and bridge construction, Buechner says. The Bush Administration’s August budget update predicts the economy will grow about 5.5 percent annually in current dollars between now and 2009.That should provide a solid base for more state and local government investment in highway construction in 2005 and beyond. Congress has signaled its intention to appropriate a record $34.6 billion for federal highway investment in fiscal year 2005. On September 30, Congress also voted to shift $1.9 billion of fiscal year 2004 highway funding into fiscal year 2005. he result was to reduce fiscal year funding of $33.6 billion to $31.7 billion and increase fiscal year 2005 to $36.5 billion. The effective year-to-year increase would thus be $4.8 billion, ARTBA says. TEA-21—the law that funds highway and transit programs—was extended eight months through May 31, 2005, and should give state and local Departments of Transportation more predictability and firmer footing for highway design and letting programs in 2005, Buechner says. A new law reforming the tax treatment for the sale of ethanol motor fuels should also yield an additional $4 billion in Highway Trust Fund revenues annually. Buechner cautioned higher construction costs caused by dramatic increases in steel, cement and petroleum prices could impact the overall level of growth in 2005. The factors that generated strong cost increases this year, such as the weakening dollar and growing demand for construction materials in China, were unanticipated and are likely here to stay. If steel, cement, and other materials stabilize at their current levels, the cost of highway construction in 2005 would be about 2% higher than in 2004, which Buechner says, would absorb about half of the investment increase. If prices continue to rise at their current rate, they will likely consume most of the projected increase in the value of highway construction market next year. The following is an outlook for airports and public transit: · The value of construction work performed on airport runways, taxiways and related projects is up 12.5 percent so far in 2004 and should end the year up 7%. A $100 million boost in federal investment through the Airport Improvement Program should help spur continued growth in the airport construction market in fiscal year 2005. · Transit and light rail construction has peaked, Buechner says, and will likely experience little new growth for the next several years. The value of construction work performed on subways and light rail projects in 2004 is down 1% more than 2003 levels. The complete ARTBA 2005 forecast can be accessed online on at www.artba.org. (Source: American Road & Transportation Builders Association)
Voters Support Over $28 Billion For
Transportation Funding Most voters asked at the ballot box November 2 whether they would support increasing their tax burden to fund transportation improvements said “yes.” In total, the revenue measures would generate at least $28 billion in new revenue for transportation infrastructure work, an American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) review finds. Reflecting growing transportation infrastructure demands across the nation, Americans in 21 states voted on at least 55 transportation funding-related ballot initiatives in this year’s election. This was a nearly 40 percent increase over the number of such ballot questions decided in 2002, ARTBA says. Of the 55 ballot measures, 46—more than 80 percent—asked voters to initiate, extend, or increase taxes to fund transportation improvements. Thirty-six—78 percent of the bond and tax measures—were approved. This included all 12 bond measures proposed to raise capital for transportation projects. Voters in eight states approved 10 of 17 ballot measures that will levy a new tax dedicated to transportation programs. Approval to increase existing transportation-related taxes was given in five of seven ballot measures. Nine of 10 measures to increase existing transportation funding mechanisms were also approved. And large majorities in two states—Missouri (79 percent) and California (84 percent)—told the state government to stop using highway user revenue to fund non-transportation programs or services, the association says. A summary of these and other transportation measures decided November 2 can be accessed online at www.artba.org or click here for direct link to pdf file Established in 1902, ARTBA is the consensus voice of the U.S. transportation construction industry in the Nation’s Capital. With one of the most hotly-contested elections in generations completed and all but a handful of results in, President Bush has won a second term in office and Republicans have expanded their majorities in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. While there will undoubtedly be a number of personnel moves in the second term of the Bush Administration, the real changes flowing from Tuesday’s elections are anticipated to occur on Capitol Hill. Surprising many analysts, Republicans will add to their majority in the U.S. Senate by four new seats in the 109th Congress that begins in 2005. No Senate Republican incumbent was defeated and Republican Senate candidates won six of the eight races that became open due to the current office holder not seeking re-election—Democrats won the other two. The lone Senate incumbent to lose was Democratic Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) who was defeated by former Representative John Thune (R-S.D.). On the other side of Capitol Hill, House Republicans also have padded their majority by at least four, and possibly seven, seats. While a handful of incumbents from both parties were defeated, most House members who sought re-election will be returning to Washington, D.C. House Republicans will have, at least, a 231-200-1 majority in the 109th Congress. As we distribute this analysis, three House races are undecided. Click Here for Full Report on ARTBA's website
Caterpillar
Expands, Enhances Govbidspec.com Caterpillar has launched an expanded and enhanced version of Govbidspec.com to help governmental buyers build well-defined Requests for Proposal quickly and accurately, with minimal editing. Caterpillar introduced the online business tool for North American governmental entities in 2002. The new Govbidspec.com is said to allow fast access to current information on 12 product families and 108 models. The site presents technical specifications and downloadable brochures for all of those products, with more models on the way. All information can be downloaded, stored or printed. An expanded financing section includes information on eligibility, purchasing options and governmental-specific finance plans. A redesigned newsletter and in-depth “Help” features provide the user with tutorials, tips and solutions to common problems facing governmental agencies. The new site also offers intuitive navigation: the most popular bid specs can be accessed from the homepage, and multiple paths allow the user to navigate quickly, according to Caterpillar. As users click through the site, they create a “crumb trail” of links at the top of the page, which is said to make it easy for them to find their way back through the site. Govbidspec.com incorporates easy-to-follow navigational tools and a guide through the RFP-writing process, plus a glossary of technical terms, according to the company. General information about all product families is available from the home page. Detailed technical content for each model is presented in a logical hierarchy that includes both standard and optional features. All technical specifications are written in bid-language format, which is said to reduce the time and effort required for developing a custom bid request. Quick access to product and financing information also quickens the proposal development process. The site enables a governmental entity to view or download Cat machine specifications in PDF format, locate the nearest Cat dealer, or request a quote from the appropriate dealer. These features, combined with the comprehensive technical information and easy-to-use format, make the site a valuable tool for North American governmental buyers at the city, township, county, state, or provincial level, according to Caterpillar. For more information about Govbidspec.com, visit the Web site or talk with a Caterpillar dealer. Concrete Bridge Award Winners Announced Nine winning projects were recognized for excellence in design and construction during the Portland Cement Association’s Biennial Bridge Awards. These are:
Plants Continue to Invade Most agencies know that invasive plants tend to take over roadsides, causing various vegetation management problems. A recent Federal Highway Administration report states that the high annual impact of invasive plants costs $34.7 billion a year in the United States. According to Nelroy Jackson, 23 states have created state and regional plant organizations to define detrimental weeds above and beyond existing agriculture lists. These help with early detection and response, Jackson says. A Global Invasive Species Program has also gone into effect, using databases for early warnings. An interagency committee in Idaho put its Strategic Plan for Managing Noxious Weeds into a CWMA Cookbook. This sets out management measures, including how to develop a plan and an accurate map, how to inventory and map known noxious weed infestations, how to determine management responsibilities, how to establish criteria for prioritization of management activities, and how to identify integrated management techniques and resources available. For a copy of the cookbook, contact Idaho DOT’s Cathy Ford at 208-334-8416. Salt Storage Awards Given Nineteen transportation facilities in the U.S. and Canada recently won the Excellence in Storage Award from the Salt Institute. Another 39 were recognized for continuing excellence. New winners were:
Bridge Award from ARTBA The American Road & Transportation Builders Association named the Woodrow Wilson Bridge project winner of the 2004 Globe Award, given for conquering major environmental challenges while completing the first major phase of construction. The bridge will consist of twin parallel draw spans over the Potomac River connecting Maryland and Virginia. Using innovative solutions and management practices that protected and enhanced the natural environment, the $125-million foundations contract was completed on-time and on-budget in a manner that met and exceeded stringent permit conditions. Longer Life for Low-Volume Roads Accelerated pavement testing at the Louisiana Transportation Research Center confirmed that a stone interlayer design reduces reflection cracking in flexible pavements on low-volume roads. For such roads, the initial cost of the stone interlayer pavement is more than that of an in-place soil cement base course. A flexible pavement with 3.5 inches of asphalt concrete and a stone interlayer base course of 4 inches of limestone over 8.5 inches of soil cement costs about $118,000 per lane-mile. A lane-mile of the same pavement with 8.5 inches of stabilized soil cement costs $86,000. But, when a 30-year life-cycle cost analysis was performed using data from the accelerated loading facility testing, the soil-cement section would require reconstruction at the end of years 10 and 20, while the stone interlayer section would require a one-time milling and overlay in year 15. At a 4% inflation rate and no salvage value, the annual life-cycle cost for the stone interlayer would be $11,000 per lane-mile compared with $15,000 per lane-mile for the soil-cement base course. Congestion Still Reigns This year’s Annual Urban Mobility Report shows that road congestion levels continue to climb in most cities — and in towns as well. The Texas Transportation Institute report compares data from 1982 to 2002 for 85 urban areas. How bad is it? Annual delay per peak period, ironically called the rush hour, has grown from 16 hours to 46 hours since 1982. Annual financial costs of traffic congestion has ballooned from $14 million to more than $63 billion, expressed in 2002 dollars, says Mary Clearley at TTI. Wasted fuel now totals 5.6 billion gallons a year — lost to engines idling in traffic jams. The worst congestion levels increased from 12 to 40% during peak period travel. Free-flowing travel is less than half the amount in 1982. As might be expected, congestion is generally worst in larger metropolitan areas. But the range of congestion values is somewhat surprising, with medium, large, and very large areas all having extensive congestion ranges. The 11 very large areas, for instance, had a congestion range of about 40 hours delay per year per driver ranging to about 92 hours delay per driver per year. The average was 61 hours delay per driver per year. In the 17 smallest areas measured, the lowest was about 5 hours of delay per year, with the highest being about 22 hours per year per driver. Along with the study came suggestions for improvements, but we shouldn’t hold our collective breaths. Major improvements can take from 10 to 15 years. Recommended suggestions include: * More capacity with new roads and expansions of current systems. * Greater efficiency using information technology to help drivers find alternate routes and avoid congested areas. * Management of demand by encouraging traveling during off-peak hours, substituting telephone and internet use for some trips, use of public transportation, carpooling, and tolls or other pricing incentives for drivers who do use congested roads during peak times. While tolls are only occasionally used to avoid congestion in the United States, London managed to cut their central city congestion by 32% by charging a fee of about $9 to enter central London. At the same time, use of public transportation rose by 30% according to Dave Wetzel, vice chair of Transport for London. The fee went into effect in 2003. * Development patterns that change the way commercial, office, and residential development occur so that they take traffic patterns and capacities into consideration before the structures are built. * Realistic expectations about changing congestion.ACPA CEO Passes Away After Heart Surgery Valentin “Val” Riva, CEO and president of Skokie, Illinois-based American Concrete Pavement Association, died September 13 following complications following heart surgery. He was 50 years old. During his seven-year tenure at ACPA, the concrete association broadened its scope of industry outreach, perhaps best evidenced by ACPA’s joining with the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association and Portland Cement Association to form the Concrete Alliance, since expanded into the North American Concrete Alliance, according to the ACPA. Before joining ACPA in 1997, Riva, a native of Havana, Cuba, had held senior positions with American Road and Transportation Builders Association, the National Stone Association, which is now the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, and the Associated General Contractors, according to the ACPA. “From the moment Val became ACPA chief executive in August 1997, we know that he truly enjoyed working with our members and staff. His leadership, hard work, and dedication brought our organization and industry successes and recognition that we earlier would have not thought possible Val will long be remembered for his accomplishments and sorely missed for his unique style, commitment, warmth, humor, and faith in others,” the ACPA says in its Web site memorial to Riva. Riva is survived by his wife Martha “Marti” Collier Riva; children Clare, Michael, and David; parents Valentin and Elvira Riva; sisters Margarita Riva-Geoghegan and Cristina Riva-Chevez; and 10 nieces and nephews. Cement Shortage Worsens Agencies and contractors alike are moaning about rising cement costs. The reason, according to an article in The Christian Science Monitor, is the massive construction of roads, dams, and Olympic venues in China. Rebuilding in Iraq has gobbled up cement, too. With about 25% of U.S. cement imported, shortages moved into the United States last year. The 114 U.S. production facilities are working at 100% capacity making cement, but it’s not enough to meet demands. Ash Grove Cement has a $250-million cement plant that will be built in Nevada on the drawing table, but the operation probably won’t go online until 2008. One possible solution lies in lifting a ban on cement imported from Mexico. The ban started more than a decade ago when U.S. producers accused Mexican firms of selling in the U.S. below cost. Another possible way around this problem is stretching the cement we have by using chemical admixtures such as those made by Degussa Admixtures. The materials, when used according to manufacturer instructions, allow higher cement replacement levels and cement reduction. Timber Bridge Entries Wanted The American Institute of Timber Construction recently issued a call for entries in their annual timber bridge contest, sponsored by the association, APA-The Engineered Wood Association, and the U.S. Forest Service. The deadline for entries is April 30, 2005. You can find an entry blank on the AITC Web page at www.aitc-glulam.orgOnline Job Board The American Road & Transportation Builders Association and JobTarget, an Internet-based job board management company, recently joined forces to develop a new transportation construction industry online job board specifically designed to match job seekers and employers. It can be accessed on the associations Web site at http://careercenter.artba.org. The job board lets ARTBA members and site users post their resumes free of charge. Along with the resume bank, the site offers listings of career opportunities in transportation construction and other related fields. It is available for all job seekers to search. The service offers several advanced features including a job-alert system, which notifies job seekers by e-mail of opportunities that match their search criteria. There is an anonymous resume feature that lets job seekers list their experience and qualifications in a protected environment. Annual study shows cities losing the race against traffic gridlock growth In the effort to catch up with the effects of traffic congestion, American cities are falling farther behind with each passing year, according to 20-year trends announced on Tuesday. The 2004 Urban Mobility Report, published by the Texas Transportation Institute, shows traffic congestion growing across the nation in cities of all sizes, consuming more hours of the day, and affecting more travelers and shipments of goods than ever before. We can only expect more of the same, say the study’s authors. Click here for the full report. Also, be sure to read the related editorial - The Politics of The Highway Bill. Transportation Library Online A new library catalog, formed by bringing together resources from leading transportation libraries, offers a single, subject-focused group of records for finding information related to transportation. The Transportation Libraries Catalog was created from catalog records and holdings information in WorldCat, a comprehensive database of bibliographic information contributed by 15 participating transportation libraries with special collections that feature rare and often unique items. The customized union catalog of bibliographic records is searchable through the OCLC FirstSearch service. Participants in the catalog are libraries widely dispersed across the United States, with specialized, sometimes no-circulating collections that hold important items of interest. The catalog can be viewed through a link on the National Transportation Libraries Web site at http://ntl.bts.gov/. The Midwestern Transportation Knowledge Network, which was instrumental in forming the Transportation Libraries Catalog, also offers a view of the catalog at www.mtkn.org/index.htm. The 15 charter libraries contributing to the catalog include the Illinois DOT, Iowa DOT, Kansas DOT, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Michigan DOT, Minnesota DOT, Missouri DOT, Northwestern University’s Transportation Library, Ohio DOT, South Dakota DOT, Transportation Research Board, University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute, University of California’s (Berkeley) Transportation Library, Virginia Transportation Research Council, and the Wisconsin DOT. The Connecticut DOT, Montana DOT, National Transportation Library, State Transportation Library of Massachusetts, and the Washington DOT have also agreed to participate and will be contributing records soon. What a Snowstorm Costs A snowstorm costs more than the maintenance of roads. In fact, the economic toll is as much as $597.57 million a day, including lost wages and salaries, state and local taxes lost, federal taxes lost, and retail sales lost according to an updated study from the Salt Institute. Agencies can use the figures from the report to show city councils, legislatures, and others how much quick and efficient snow removal from streets and roads can mean to their economies, the Salt Institute suggests. The study updates a six-year-old survey of 12 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. In addition to these economic costs, United States transportation agencies spend about $2 billion a year clearing snow and keeping roads passable. For complete details of the study, go to www.saltinstitute.org/30.html.
New ARTBA & CNA Group Health & Life Insurance (Washington, D.C.)—The availability of medical insurance is important in any successful industry employee recruitment and retention strategy and to helping boost a company’s productivity. With that goal in mind, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is providing its 5,000 members with a new program that provides certain accident and sickness medical plans and dental, term life or short-term disability benefits to hourly and seasonal employees. The program, offered by CNA in conjunction with Patterson Smith Associates and Strategic Resource Company, offers fully-insured group health and life plans. It includes two medical plan options featuring inpatient and outpatient benefits, discounts on prescription drugs and eyewear purchases and covers unexpected trips to the doctor or emergency room. There is no direct cost to the employer to put the program in place. For further information, look for the CNA Benefits link at the ARTBA website or call Bruce Christiansen at Patterson Smith Associates toll-free at 800-792-9800, ext. 713. ARTBA and CNA have worked together for more than 10 years to develop business programs that benefit the transportation construction industry. In 1992, CNA began offering road and bridge contractors an ARTBA-endorsed property and casualty insurance product custom designed to address their unique insurance risks and needs. A task force of ARTBA contractor members working with CNA safety specialists developed the first-of-its-kind product. The partnership has also produced a special safety management manual for transportation contractors and the “OSHA 10-Hour Training Course Exclusively for the Roadway Construction Industry.” Established in 1902, ARTBA is the consensus voice of the U.S. transportation improvement industry before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, news media and general public. Tollway Better Utilizing Technology To Share Construction Plans New Process Easier for Contractors to View and Purchase Needed Documents DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – The Illinois Tollway is making it as easy as possible for contractors to get the information they need to bid on Tollway construction projects. Contractors planning to purchase construction plans and bid documents no longer need to travel to the Illinois Tollway’s headquarters building in Downers Grove. The Tollway has made these documents available to view and purchase in an Online Plan Room, with the hope of soliciting more competitive bids for its construction and design projects. The Online Plan Room can be found at the Tollway’s Web site - www.illinoistollway.com. “Offering plan sales online is consistent with Governor Blagojevich’s efforts to utilize technology to make people’s lives easier,” said Tollway Executive Director Jack Hartman. “Online plan sales not only make life easier for prospective contractors on Tollway projects, it also provides the opportunity for more competition in the bid process to save the Tollway and its customers money on improvements to the system.” In the past, the Tollway would print a number of plan documents based on the expected number of plans to be sold, and contractors would travel to the Tollway headquarters to view or purchase a set of plans. The new, more efficient and economical way of doing business has all plan sales going directly through B&H Industries, the Tollway’s partner in developing the Online Plan Room. Interested parties can now peruse Tollway document plans online before purchasing. Those wishing to bid on a project must purchase the plans, as they cannot be printed online. Plan prices are based on the number of pages to be printed and can either be picked up at one of B&H’s locations or can be delivered for an additional shipping charge. Offering plan sales online also opens up the bidding process to contractors from other states. National exposure could potentially result in an increase in the number of bids received and the competitiveness of the bids, which would result in savings for the Illinois Tollway. To find the Online Bid Room at www.illinoistollway.com, go to the “Construction” section and then click on the “Bid Opportunities” link. From there, contractors can click on the Online Plan Room offered by B& H Industries. There are two Tollway projects currently being advertised in the Online Plan Room, including plaza modifications at the DeKalb and Dixon toll plazas on the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) and a project to repair a cracked wall at the 163rd Street toll plaza on the Tri-State Tollway (I-294). Recycled Concrete Practices Reviewed The Federal Highway Administration recently released a report on a year-long review of recycled concrete aggregate state-of-the-art practices used by state transportation departments in Texas, Michigan, Virginia, Minnesota, and California. In Texas, RCA is used in Portland cement concrete highways and streets as a base material. It is generated and used within the same urban areas, cutting aggregate hauling time and costs. Initial mix workability problems were overcome by using a process control program that heightened awareness of the need to water RCA stockpiles and by conducting more frequent testing of the aggregate for moisture content. Training and information sessions helped educate contractors and others about the viability of the material. In Michigan, RCA has been used as a base material both on highways and on two projects in the Detroit area. Use of the material on US-41 saved $114,000, the DOT reports. Quality control and quality assurance procedures are critical in the department’s program. In Virginia, RCA was used in one application in the subbase aggregate of a $140-million reconstruction project on a section of Interstate 66. Portable crushing equipment at the work zone eliminated the need to truck aggregate to the site. The Minnesota DOT uses almost 100% of the concrete removed from its pavements as dense-graded aggregate base, the report shows. Statewide use of RCA is permitted by the Mn/DOT Standard Specification for Construction. RCA in base and subbase material performs similarly to virgin aggregate, the state reports. In California, specs allow use of RCA in pavement supporting layers. Although initial production cost of RCA may be higher than new aggregate, reduced hauling and overhead costs cut total costs when RCA is used, the DOT reports. Better Roads' Most Active Suppliers Rollouts of new highway equipment have been especially brisk through the first quarter of 2004. Among the most active brands: Cat Paving introduces an electric heating system for its paving scrfeeds and adds 5 new utility-size models to its asphalt compactor line. LeeBoy adds a new 74-horsepower, 7.5-ton paver, a new top-of-the-line 130-horsepower motor grader, and concrete curb and gutter machine. Wirtgen adds a mid-size, 400-horsepower stabilizer/reclaimer, upgrades its rumble-strip cutting attachment to Rumbler III status, and adds two new compacts to its line of cold milling machines, the W 50 and the W 50 DC. Ingersoll-Rand adds two new commercial pavers to its line, the 74-horsepower 3020 and the 87-horsepower 3120, and rolls out a new ABG Titan model, the hi-tech, 218-horsepower 326 EPM Grader Wars, Continued The upgrades and improvements just keep on coming. After John Deere, Volvo and Cat took turns introducing new systems for front-wheel drive over the past two years, we thought motor grader announcements would die down for awhile. Not so. In recent days, Cat has introduced an automotive-style cruise control system and new, more powerful electronic engines for its 143H and 163H models, along with service and maintenance enhancements. And John Deere has upgraded the power and efficiency of its 670CH and 672CH Series II graders with a higher-horsepower electronic engine, an electronically controlled high-pressure fuel system, and severe-cold ignition enhancements. Safety Tools for Local Agencies TRB has announced another new book in the NCHRP Synthesis Report series, Roadway Safety Tools for Local Agencies. The 180-page publication examines practical safety tools and procedures that can be used by agencies with limited financial and personnel resources. The book can be downloaded as a PDF file, or purchased as a print product. http://gulliver.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=2393 Moisture Sensitivity of Asphalt Pavements The Transportation Research Board has released a new publication. Moisture Sensitivity of Asphalt Pavements documents thework accomplished during the national seminar held in San Diego, California, on February 4-6, 2003. The proceedings cover problem identification, fundamental concepts (binder and aggregate consideration, failure mechanisms), test methods, remediation field performances, and specifications. The print version costs $57, the CD is $35; a print/CD package set is $69. Order at the TRB web site. http://gulliver.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=2419 Old Swill for Road Fill? ABCNEWS.com published a story about new devices that use heat and pressure to break down garbage into solids and energy-producing gases. One featured device uses molten hot plasma to super-heat trash to convert it to a stone like material that reportedly can be used in pavement. http://abcnews.go.com/sections/SciTech/Future/garbage_zappers_040329.html Industry Awards Michael Baker, Jr. Incorporated, was the Grand Award winner in the 2004 Engineering Excellence Award competition sponsored by the American Council of Engineering Companies of New Jersey. The company was honored for its design of the Route 21 viaduct replacement project located in Newark. The Asphalt Pavement Alliance announced winners of its annual Perpetual Pavement Awards for asphalt pavements at least 35 years old which have never had a failure. The winners are:
The Asphalt Recycling and Reclaiming Association gave two Awards of Excellence. Frank S. Bland, Jr. P.E., district engineering administrator, District 4, South Carolina DOT, won for excellence in full-depth reclamation. David A. Eller, Region 3 materials engineer with the Colorado DOT won the Charles R. Valentine Award for Excellence in Cold In-Place Recycling. The ARRA also announced presentation of the Richard E. Lowell President’s Award to John Huffman, P.E., recently retired from Brown & Brown Incorporated in Salina, Kansas. Higher Steel Prices and Contracts The Federal Highway Administration recently refused to grant retroactive price adjustments on existing contracts to cover the higher cost of steel. States willing to do so could lose their federal share of funding. The retroactive increases had been sought by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association and would have covered contracts awarded before March 1st of this year and steel purchased on those contracts after January 1st of this year. The association plans to push ahead to encourage legislative relief. Prices will definitely climb in the future. For example, Contech Construction Products recently raised prices 10% for its corrugated steel projects. The increase was necessary to cover steel cost increases of 25 to 30% since January, the company reports. Hancor prices steady during resin price speculation Hancor announced its plan for managing the rising and fluctuating crude oil costs and commented on the recently announced resin increase. Steve Anderson, President and CEO commented that, “Unfortunately, there are uncertainties that continue about crude oil pricing. Our industry has been feeling that impact and delivery costs have increased significantly.” As a result, Hancor plans to initiate a fuel surcharge. One of the nation’s largest suppliers of stormwater management systems, Hancor manufactures a wide variety of plastic drainage products for the commercial, residential, construction and agricultural markets. Tolls Free Road Space With financing taking an ever-greater place on the list of road construction and maintenance problems, the use of toll lanes are being used to deal with congestion in many areas. According to a USA Today report, about a dozen states are using toll lanes as a solution. The lanes serve much as high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, separating payees from those who want to use the road for free. Specially built express lanes on California’s State Route 91 are a good example of the use of toll lanes. The $130-million lanes were built nine years ago. Under terms of the project, builders got to collect tolls for 35 years. As revenues climbed, the Orange County Transportation Authority ended up buying the lanes for $207.5 million. New Jersey leads the country in tolls collected, pocketing $2.6 billion a year according to Federal Highway Administration statistics. Florida follows with $915 million a year. New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas also collect good-sized amounts. Some states, including Minnesota, plan to charge tolls for single-occupant cars using their HOV lanes as a way to provide financing. Other states are looking at turning current roads into toll roads. Georgia is considering a conversion of 40 miles of State Highway 316, for example. Electronic toll devices are required for the use of toll lanes in many locations, especially where HOV lanes have been converted. Indiana’s Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority has entered the toll scene by trying to buy rights to the Chicago Skyway. It formed a consortium with an Australian toll road operator, a Canadian pension fund, and a Wall Street financial firm to make an offer for a 50-year franchise to operate the road and collect the tools. Eight other consortiums plan to bid on the rights as well, with a total price of as much as $500 million expected to go into the Chicago general fund to cover non-highway needs. Drivers Say Spend for Highway Safety A recent survey conducted by the State Highway Safety Alliance and the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company reports that 87% of Americans support increased funding for highway safety improvements. Members of the SHSA believe that figure underscores the urgent need for Congress to agree on, and pass, the six-year transportation bill with deliberate speed. One real surprise found in survey results was that drivers perceive themselves to be safe drivers, even though there is evidence of a growing number of unsafe driving behaviors. Results showed that 77% consider themselves to be always safe drivers, yet 85% of those same motorists admit to sometimes or frequently exceeding the speed limit by more than five miles per hour. A good percentage of these self-described safe drivers indicate they fail to properly manage distractions, with 69% saying the radio distracts them and 44% using cell phones while driving. Most respondents were aware that stopping distances for trucks are greater than cars, but close to 50% were not aware of how much room to leave when attempting to pass in front of a truck. Highway Performance David Hartgen at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte recently released his 13th annual report, The Annual Review of the Performance of the 50 State Highway Systems. The full report is available at www.johnlocke.org. The study compares performance of the 50 state highway systems from 1984 to 2002 (the latest year for which federal statistics are available) on seven key indicators of relative condition and five key indicators of relative funding. The report finds that U.S. road conditions have dipped downward for the first time since the mid-1990s, suggesting that the peak of system performance may have been reached with current funding and policies. Five of the seven key condition indicators turned down or held steady from 2001 to 2002, even though disbursements increased 10%. This finding underlines the urgency of dealing with highway investment to continue improving system performance and economic health, Hartgen says. The report also ranks the 50 states in order of cost-effectiveness of their highway systems, with separate ratings for funding and condition provided. North Dakota ranked first, followed by Wyoming, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon, and South Dakota. The least cost-effective was New Jersey, followed by Massachusetts, Hawaii, New York, California, and Arkansas the Hartgen report states. Tolls the Answer? An international Transportation Finance Summit meeting, hosted by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, called for greater use of tolls for transportation funding. Patrick Jones, executive director of IBTTA, said that there is an estimated $28-billion annual gap between highway funds and basic maintenance requirements. If needed improvements and new construction are included, the annual gap jumps to $60 billion. Highway congestion is up more than 40% in the past decade, according to the American Highway Users Alliance, Jones said. “Tolling should be considered as a real solution to America’s traffic jam.” Jones reports that tolling, which generates more than $6 billion in annual revenue, can be used to create and improve mobility while supplementing the inadequate federal funding states now receive. Presenters from the United States and other countries shared examples of demonstrated success in using tolling and technology to increase capacity and reduce congestion from both an operational and financial perspective. For more information, go to www.ibtta.org. Guardrail Performs Well Recent improvements to Interstate 81 in the Roanoke, Virginia and New River valleys are protecting drivers and increasing safety on the busy highway. New guardrail installed along the inside lanes of I-81 in Botetourt, Montgomery, and Pulaski Counties has been struck by vehicles more than 100 times since installation was completed in late 2002 and has prevented countless crossover crashes and possible serious injuries. Also, the number of crashes reported on I-81 along a 15-mile section designated as a Safety Enforcement Zone has decreased by 20%, as compared to last year. “Although there is a lot of talk about how I-81 may look in the future, we’re busy today working to keep people safe,” says Fred Altizer, I-81 program manager and assistant to the chief engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation. “The new guardrail is crumpled and banged up and looks like it’s been in a war zone, and that proves our investment of nearly $7 million is paying off in saving lives.” Many of the damaged spots are on the back of the opposite lane’s guardrail, showing that a vehicle left one side of the highway, crossed the median, struck the rail on the other side of the highway, and was prevented from entering the opposite lane. “Some of these vehicles could have been involved in head-on crashes, if they had not been stopped by the new guardrail,” said Altizer. “These hits are dramatic evidence that the guardrail is doing its job.” Guardrail was installed on sections of I-81 where the median is narrow. In Montgomery and Pulaski Counties, narrow-median guardrail on southbound sections of I-81 has been struck at least 17 times, and northbound guardrail has been hit 26 times. In Botetourt County, there are 39 southbound hits and 21 northbound. The guardrail was installed from March to November 2002 at a total cost of $6.6 million. More guardrail was installed along medians in Roanoke County and Salem starting this past spring. Estimated cost of the additional railing is $1.8 million. Bridge Melt-Down A tanker truck crashed into a car and exploded, melting a Connecticut bridge and closing a mile-long section of Interstate 95 between Boston and New York. The 12,000 gallons of fuel oil caused the fire that damaged an overpass. The heat from the fire virtually melted steel support beams used on both sides of the bridge. The bridge sagged once the beams were melted. That section of interstate normally carries about 120,000 vehicles per day. Repair and reconstruction took about two weeks and cost an estimated $4 million. ACPA Posts Smoothness Study Results The American Concrete Pavement Association posted a report of the final results of the ACPA and Michigan Concrete Pavement Association smoothness study in Michigan. The study shows that all high-speed and lightweight profilers evaluated were sufficiently repeatable on dense-graded hot-mix asphalt surface and un-textured concrete pavement, but only some profilers were repeatable on concrete with transverse tining. None of the profilers were repeatable on concrete with longitudinal tining. Conducted by Steve Karamihas, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, the study also shows that high speed and lightweight profilers are not able to reproduce profiles sufficiently on any surface types, concrete or asphalt, with the poorest reproducibility observed on both longitudinally or transversely tined concrete. The study helps demonstrate the problem with non-contact surface profilers and calls attention to the need for improvements, Karamihas says. For more information, go to www.pavement.com. NJDOT Wins Bridge Award The National Partnership for Highway Quality presented its 2003 National Achievement Award to the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The award was given to the DOT for achieving highway quality on its construction of the U.S. Route 9 bridge over Nacote Creek in Galloway Township, Atlantic County. The project involved replacing a deteriorating drawbridge built in 1922 with a 500-foot fixed-span bridge. Innovative design features included the use of load-and-resistance-factor design; high-performance concrete for beams and for prestressed cylinder piles used to support the pier caps; non-toxic, man-made materials for the fender system; and Vibro concrete columns installed to support the embankment walls. The engineering firm was Parsons Brinckerhoff of Princeton, New Jersey. The general contractor was J.H. Reid of South Plainfield, New Jersey. Nebraska Announces New Program The Nebraska Department of Roads’ Director John Craig recently released the fiscal 2004 surface transportation program publication. The program is slated to cost $629 million, with state highway work costing $380 million and local work costing $249 million. A total of 175 new projects will be let on contract on the state highway system. Pavement Preservation Center Opens Michigan State University recently dedicated the new National Center for Pavement Preservation. The center, located in the MSU engineering research facility, was founded by MSU, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Foundation for Pavement Preservation. The center will be used to advance and improve pavement preservation practices through education, research, and outreach, according to Bill Ballou, president of FP2. Taking part in the ribbon cutting (below) were (left to right) Center Advisory Board member Jim Moulthrop; King W. Gee, P.E., associate administrator for infrastructure, FHWA; Lou Ann K. Simon, provost and vice president of academic affairs, MSU; David Porteous, chair, MSU Board of Trustees; Bill Ballou, president, Foundation for Pavement Preservation; Representative Rick Johnson, NCPP Advisory Board member; Dr. Ronald Harischandran, P.E., chair, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MSU; and Dr. Janie Fouke, dean, College of Engineering, MSU. Award-winning Bridges Two of the Post-Tensioning Institute’s Structure Awards went to bridges this year. In the strengthening/rehabilitation category, the award went to the SR520 Evergreen Point Floating Bridge Rehabilitation in Seattle. The bridge carries 125,000 daily commuters. It was damaged by a storm in 1993 and the Washington Department of Transportation began a long-term preservation program for the structure. An innovative post-tensioning approach was the selected rehab method. The system uses continuous tendons 3,600-feet long with fewer lightweight anchors than other designs would have required. The solution allowed the bridge to remain open to traffic and to be completed $12 million under the original budget. The engineering firm was KPFF Consulting Engineers, Seattle. Mowat Construction, Seattle, was the contractor. AVAR Construction Systems, Campbell, California, was the post-tensioning supplier and contractor. In the bridge category, the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Route 895 Connector/Pocahontas Parkway won. The bridge crosses the James River and carries 24,000 vehicles a day. The project was constructed under a single $324-million design/build contract. Over 2,600 tons of post-tensioned strand were used on the project. Completed at $10 million under budget, the post-tensioning work included design support, manufacturing, and installation of post-tensioning systems and components. Project erection methods were cast-in-place segmental using form travelers, pre-cast segmental using balanced cantilevers with overhead gantries and with a crane, and span-by-span erection using an underslung truss. The engineering firm was Parsons Brinkerhoff and Site Blauvelt Engineering. The design/build contractor was Fluor Daniel & Morrison Knudsen. The post-tensioning supplier was VSL, Hanover, Maryland. Semmens: Take to the Roads John Semmens of the Laissez Faire Institute in Chandler, Arizona, recently analyzed a local $8-billion transportation plan that includes highways and transits. “The contrast in value per dollar of expenditure is stunning,” Semmens says. “The cost to move one person one mile via freeways costs about $0.06 in taxes. The cost to provide this same service via transit costs $1.59 by bus and $2.75 by light rail. This confirms in stark terms the contrast between excellent value from road investments and the waste represented by transit investment.” The case study covere |
