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April 9, 2016 • Vol. XX • No. 8 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910
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Inside
19th Century Dwellings Come Down in St. Paul By Dick Rohland CEG CORRESPONDENT
General Equipment & Supplies Hosts Ag Expo…10
Record Numbers Attend World of Asphalt, AGG1 Shows…16
Cat Demonstrates New Products in Peoria, Ill. …20
Table of Contents ........4 Skid Steer Section .............................. 41-67
With roots dating back to the late 19th century, the bluff dwellings of St. Paul, Minn., overlooking the Mississippi River are now being demolished. Constructed at the face of a 100 ft. (30 m) bluff, they descended 10 stories to the river from the downtown business, commercial and entertainment district of the city. Unique to St. Paul, seven separate structures totaling 750,000 sq. ft. (69,700 sq m), framed and tacked together over time, made up the dwellings. When the buildings are gone and with a newly constructed
50,000 sq. ft. (4,600 sq m) 18 in. (46 cm) to 24 in. (61 cm) thick reinforced cast-in-place concrete wall anchored to the bluff, the 3.88 acre property will be put on the market ready for development. Owned by Ramsey County, the original six buildings eventually became the Ramsey County Government Center West, offices for county government employees. The seventh structure, completed in 1979, was the former county Adult Detention Center (ADC). Ramsey County awarded the $13.1 million contract to Rachel Contracting located in St. Michael, Minn. With 150 see RAMSEY page 72
Indiana Begins $200M Toll Road Rehab Project PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) An Indiana Toll Road official said the privately operated highway has begun a two-year, $200 million rehabilitation project that will be its largest single project since its construction in 1954. Zach Hurst of ITR Concession Co. told a Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission committee that the first lane closures are scheduled to begin April 4 on the 73-mi. project from Lake Station to Elkhart. The (Munster) Times reported the project involves removing existing asphalt, treating the concrete base to hinder future cracking, and pavement with 5 in. of new asphalt. Ramps and some shoulders will be repaved and bridges will be rehabilitated and, in some cases, widened. The project also includes installing fiber optic cable that will enable administrators to monitor road conditions and communicate them to drivers. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)
With roots dating back to the late 19th century, the bluff dwellings of St. Paul, Minn., overlooking the Mississippi River are now being demolished.
Paving Section ......83-97 Auction Section .............. ..........................102-111 Business Calendar ......98 Advertisers Index ....110
Construction Firms Add 37,000 Jobs in March Construction employment rose sharply in March by 37,000 for the month and 301,000 for the year, while construction spending in February logged a solid year-over-year increase despite a dip compared with January, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of
America. Association officials said the new jobs and spending indicate that the industry is steadily expanding to meet growing demand. “These two reports confirm that demand for construction is robust and well-balanced among residential, private nonresidential and public
segments," said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. "Compared with the same month a year ago, the industry is adding workers at more than double the rate of the overall economy, and construction spending continsee AGC page 78