Published Nationally
$3.00
®
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” 4
Midwest Edition
www.constructionequipmentguide.com
November 5, 2016 • Vol. XX • No. 23 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910
Inside
MnDOT Opens Mississippi River Crossing By Dick Rohland CEG COrrESPONDENT
S.D. Solar Farm Powers 200 Homes…10
Contractor Paves With Intelligent Compaction…14
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) opened a new Mississippi river crossing on schedule to the eager residents of a southern, Minnesota community using for the first time a new construction procurement process to speed up design and construction on a new bridge— the Winona Bridge, Highway 43 Mississippi river Crossing. Located in Winona, 115 mi. (185 km) from the Twin Cities bordering Wisconsin in the southeastern bluff country of the state, the bridge recently opened to traffic. MnDOT awarded the $78 million contract to Ames Construction, based out of Burnsville, Minn., with offices in the Midwest and western part of the country and Alberta, Canada. see BRIDGE page 56
Ind usrt y Profe ssion als Att end Expo…16
Table of Contents ................4
The through truss of the existing bridge, which opened in 1942 and is a historic landmark for the city of Winona, looms above the construction activity on the new bridge piers.
Mammoth Tusk Found by Crews Moved to Lab CUNNINGHAM, Kan. (AP) An 8-ft.-long tusk of a mam-
Attachment & Parts Section moth uncovered earlier this year by a southern Kansas con......................................41-43 struction company has been moved to a Wichita State Snow & Ice Section ......45-51 Recycling Section ........63-79 Truck & Trailer Section ........ ....................................95-105 Business Calendar ..........106 Auction Section ......110-119 Advertisers Index ............118
University lab. The tusk will be cleaned and prepped for display in the Kingman County city of Cunningham, according to the Wichita Eagle. The tusk was longer when first discovered by workers who were running a sewer line across a grain elevator’s property, but part of it broke off during the project. David Hughes, Wichita State associate anthropology professor, who worked at the tusk’s excavation site with his students, said the tusk belonged to a mammoth that was probably about 15 to 20 years old and about 12 ft. (3.6 m) tall. “Anything to do with mammoths is pretty exciting,” Emily Jones, anthropology graduate student said. “I always see MAMMOTH page 88
Construction Employment Improves From Sept. 2015 Thirty-five states added construction jobs between September 2015 and September 2016 while construction employment increased in only 21 states and the District of Columbia between August and September, according to analysis of Labor Department data released Oct. 21 by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said contractors still report difficulty filling construction jobs, and they urged Congress to complete action on a bill that would help more students gain the skills to qualify for good-paying careers in construction. “The list of states that are adding construction jobs has been shrinking, yet contractors generally report they
are busy now and optimistic about the workload ahead,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist of the association. “Therefore, the lack of employment increases in many states may reflect the difficulty contractors say they are having in finding qualified workers.” California added the most construction jobs (30,900 jobs, 4.2 percent) between September 2015 and September 2016. Other states adding a high number of new construction jobs for the past 12 months include Florida (22,800 jobs, 5.2 percent), Colorado (19,400 jobs, 13.0 percent), Washington (15,300 jobs, 8.9 percent) and Iowa (13,700 jobs, 17.7 persee EMPLOYMENT page 92