441
59
75
GEORGIA STATE EDITION
Cornella 19
A Supplement to:
Rome 85 27
Athens 441
Atlanta
20
Madison Augusta
85
20
Griffin 1
129
Milledgeville
75
La Grange
Macon
301
185 19
16
Dublin
Swainsboro Oak Park
Columbus
Statesboro
341 441 16
Lyons Americus
May 15 2013
Dorchester
341
Cuthbert
75
Albany
84
Douglas Tifton
82
95
82
Blakely
Pearson
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.”
301
1
82
Vol. XV • No. 10
Savannah
McRae Cordele
27
27 84
Moultrie
19 319
Bainbridge
84
Valdosta Thomasville
Waycross Brunswick 82
1 441
Your Georgia Connection: Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479
Ditch Witch Acquires Albany, Ga., Location By Brenda Ruggiero CEG CORRESPONDENT
Ditch Witch of Georgia recently acquired its third location, adding Ditch Witch of Albany to the existing facilities in Savannah and Atlanta (Forest Park). The company, owned by the Ditch Witch factory, is Charles Machine Works Inc., located in Perry, Okla. Wade Bailey, general manager of Ditch Witch of Georgia, started with the company 33 years ago. Over the years, Bailey worked his way up through four different owners and various positions, including salesman, sales manager and assistant general manager. He explained that back in the 1970’s, all three stores had the same owner, Clarence Merritt. When his two daughters married, he split the state, giving each of them separate dealerships, one in Savannah, see ALBANY page 6
(L-R): Mike Holton, parts sales; Ricky McCrary, operations manager; and Ed Oliver, service manager, head up sales and product support functions of Ditch Witch of Albany, Ga.
The versatile Ditch Witch RT80 Quad heavy-duty trencher and vibratory plow is ready for immediate delivery.
Sen. Isakson Pushes Funding to Deepen Shipping Channel By Russ Bynum ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) While acknowledging it’s a bad time to seek money from Washington, U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson said April 3 he’s pushing hard to get federal funding to begin deepening the shipping channel to the Port of Savannah by the end of 2013. The Georgia Republican told reporters during a visit to the bustling seaport that the harbor deepening is his top issue to discuss with President Barack Obama when the president joins Isakson and other GOP senators for dinner. They’ll be dining the same day Obama plans to release his proposed budget, which Georgia port officials hope will include money to start construction on the $652 million project. “We’re still working diligently in
Washington to close the deal,’’ Isakson said. “And we’re very, very close.’’ Savannah and other East Coast ports are scrambling to deepen their shipping channels to make room for supersized cargo ships expected to begin arriving after the Panama Canal finishes a major expansion. That work is expected to be finished in 2015. Even before the Panama Canal project added urgency to the issue, the Georgia Ports Authority had been working since the 1990s to deepen more than 30 mi. (48 km) of the Savannah River between its docks and the Atlantic Ocean. The federal government, which spent $41 million studying the project, gave final approval last October to deepen the harbor from 42 to 47 ft. (12.8 to 14 m). Now the major hurdle is money, though a federal lawsuit filed in South Carolina by
environmental groups opposed to the project remains unresolved as well. The federal government is on the hook for 70 percent of the cost. Getting any sizable funding from Washington at a time when lawmakers are focused on painful budget cuts won’t be easy. “You’re talking about a lot of money,’’ Isakson said. “And we’re having a lot of problems in Washington with money.’’ The Army Corps of Engineers said last fall it hoped to begin dredging by this summer. Asked when realistically the corps might get funding to start that work, Isakson declined to give a specific timetable but said “this is the year that we have to get the job done.’’ Obama has called for expediting improvements at U.S. ports to help spur the economy and has included a line item for the Savannah project in past budgets. Last year
the president’s budget included $2.8 million for the Savannah harbor project — enough to keep it on Washington’s radar but far less than the $105 million Georgia officials wanted to put toward the start of construction. If Obama doesn’t come up with the money in his upcoming budget, Georgia officials are looking at other options. Steve Green, vice chairman of the Georgia Ports Authority board, said $231 million the state has already appropriated for its share of the cost could be tapped to cover the federal share of the first phase of dredging if no money comes from Washington. But he said the move would need approval from the federal government, which has authority over maintaining navigable waters. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)