Published Nationally
$3.00
Midwest Edition
®
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.”
www.constructionequipmentguide.com
August 15, 2015 • Vol. IXX • No. 17 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910
4
Inside
NSSGA Pres. Says EPA Exceeded Its Statutory Authority
LICA Hosts Annual Expo, Field Days...12
By Giles Lambertson CEG CORRESPONDENT
A Cat 330D hammers away during demolition of the existing bridge.
Roland, Komatsu Thank Customers...14
Bridge Over Busy RR Tracks Nearly Complete By Dick Rohland CEG CORRESPONDENT
Will & Grundy Throws Annual Steak Fry...30
Table of Contents ..............4 Attachments Section ............ .................................... 39-43 Recycling Section ......57-73 Truck & Trailer Section ........ ....................................81-89 Auction Section ........94-105 Business Calendar ............99 Advertisers Index ..........106
Though relatively short in length, a county bridge project in St. Paul, Minn., is long in duration because bridge crews worked above an average of 110 trains a day rolling beneath the bridge deck. Spanning nine sets of tracks, work stoppages on the bridge were part of the daily work schedule for work crews when trains rumbled through.
Further complicating the construction schedule, the tracks, owned by three separate railroad companies, fan out to a huge switching yard. Many times, bridge crews paused again during track switching operations. What typically would be completed in nine months or less was stretched out to a two year project because the timeline was dependent on the railroad schedules, said Erin Laberee, Ramsey County project engineer. see BRIDGE page 80
Industry Leader Demands Highway Bill Timetable Roy Romer, a former three-term Colorado governor and owner of construction and farm equipment dealerships in Colorado and Virginia urged congressional leaders to lay out a clear timetable for reauthorizing the federal highway program. Romer’s call to action came during a Capitol Hill press conference at which leading Democratic senators including Minority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), Richard Durbin (Ill.), Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Barbara Boxer (Calif.) joined with senior business and labor representatives to protest the uncertainty surrounding road, bridge and transit investment. see TIMETABLE page 103
Michael W. Johnson, president and CEO of the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association, interrupted his advocacy efforts recently to talk about the DRIVE Act and the need for a long-term, stably funded surface transportation bill. The DRIVE Act is the reauthorization bill approved July 21 at the committee level for full Senate consideration. CEG: A release by your association says that the NSSGA knows “exactly what it will take to get America’s economy and infrastructure back to what it needs to be.” Is the association’s answer, by any chance, “money”? Or is there more to it than that? Johnson: It certainly starts with money. For every dollar in infrastructure spending, you generate additional spending — I believe the multiplier is three or four. When you are constructing roads and other transportation arteries, you are growing the GDP and creating jobs. CEG: The NSSGA supports the DRIVE Act. Why is it preferable to other proffered transportation funding proposals? Johnson: The DRIVE Act was reported out of committee unanimously, which to my mind makes it politically viable. CEG: In the DRIVE Act, per-annum highway funding would change little. It moves from approximately $41 billion in the current two-year MAP-21 authorization to about $44 billion in fiscal year 2015, systematically rising during the six years of the DRIVE Act to $49 billion in 2021. You believe that funding level is sufficient? Johnson: No, I frankly don’t believe the bill’s level of funding is sufficient to meet the needs of our country. We have neglected infrastructure for way too long and we have an aging system that is well past its life cycle. Our roads no longer are the envy of the world. Some 60,000 of our bridges are structurally deficient. So is it enough? No, it isn’t. We need to do much more as we build the economy and continue to create jobs. see NSSGA page 76