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February 14, 2015 • Vol. IXX • No. 4 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910
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Inside
Ohio I-475 Work to Reset Pavement’s Life Cycle
CAM Celebrates 129 Years of Tradeshows...12
One project involves a 32-mi. (51 km) stretch of widening two lanes to three. It’s been divided into four separate projects to make it easier for contractors to manage. For the first time, the Ohio Department of Transportation will continue working through the winter months as they progress on a series of a major highway improvement projects on Interstates 75 and 475.
By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT
MITA Conference Takes ‘The Road to Success...18
Dit ch Witc h to Launc h New Serv ices. .. 28
Table of Contents ................4 Excavator Section.................. ......................................41-75 Paving Section ............79-90 Auction Section ........95-105 Business Calendar ..........101 Advertisers Index............106
For the first time, the Ohio Department of Transportation will continue working through the winter months as they progress on a series of a major highway improvement projects on Interstates 75 and 475. “Going through the
winter is unprecedented for this region,” said Theresa Pollick, ODOT spokeswoman. “Working in the winter involves setting bridge beams, pile driving and a lot of drainage work, but no paving. Any advantage we can get on these projects, whatever bridge work we can do, will give us an edge when we come back
next season. Working over the winter just makes sense.” The work involves four major contracts in northwest Ohio that including widening, repaving, bridge replacement and one ramp reconfiguration. Most are long overdue. Had it not been for legislation passed at the state capital allowing see ODOT page 102
Construction Costs Fall in January, IHS, PEG Report Construction costs fell in January, bringing a halt to three years of rising prices, according to IHS and the Procurement Executives Group (PEG). The headline current IHS PEG Engineering and Construction Cost Index (ECCI) dropped to 48.8 percent in January, down from 52.7 percent in December, the lowest level since January 2012. The current materials/equipment price index registered 47.2 percent in January, the softest reading on record, and down from 50.2 percent in December. Nine of
the 12 individual components registered falling prices in January, led by copperbased wire and cable, carbon steel pipe and freight rates. January’s plunge into negative territory was a particularly notable reversal for fabricated structural steel and alloy steel pipe — both of which had seen rising prices over all of 2014. Of the remaining subcomponents, only ready-mix concrete, turbines and pumps and compressors tallied rising prices. “After three years of rising prices, North American construction costs see COSTS page 104
New Build America Investments Plan Will Boost Economy The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in response to Jan. 16 announcement of new Build America Investment Initiatives By President Obama: “The new Build America Investment initiatives outlined by the Obama administration today will help boost our economy and help rebuild aging infrastructure. The steps being taken by the administration should make it easier for state and local officials to finance a wide variety of projects designed to upgrade aging clean water systems, improve power transmission networks and keep our roads and bridges safe. “While these measures will help, taken on their own they will not solve the growing challenge we face as a nation of maintaining and upgrading our aging water, energy and transportation infrastructure. That is why we will continue to work with the Congress and the Obama administration to identify and enact long-term measures that establish the sufficient and stable funding needed to rebuild and improve our aging infrastructure.” For more information, call 703/548-3118 or visit www.agc.org. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)