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Midwest Edition
March 23 2019 Vol. XX • No. 6
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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
Wisconsin Eyes Fuel Tax Reform
IAAP Hosts Annual Convention, Expo…12
Work on the modernization of Interstate 75 in Oakland County, Mich., has been divided into three segments. Segment 1 was completed in 2017. Completion of Segment 2 is scheduled for fall 2020.
LeeBoy Culture Goes Beyond Family Roots…66
Crews Bring Michigan’s Old I-75 Into 21st Century By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT
Machinery Moves at Lyon’s Ohio Auction…100
Table of Contents ................4 Asphalt, Concrete, Paving, Compaction & Milling Section ..........................65-93 Business Calendar ............96 Auction Section..........98-101 Advertisers Index ............102
Work is set to begin in March on Segment 2 of the $1.6 billion I-75 modernization project in Oakland County, Mich., part of the Detroit metropolitan area. The roadway is the most heavily used commuter route in the county, with 174,000 vehicles traveling it daily. It is the gateway to tourist destinations in the north and the largest north-south freeway in Michigan. It also is outdated and badly in need of maintenance and upgrades, said Robert Morosi, communications specialist of Michigan Department of Transportation. “I-75 was designed in the ’60s, built in the ’70s, and never rebuilt or updated,” Morosi said. “That’s what the modernization is about. The project is 18 miles from the Detroit border at Eight Mile Road up to South Boulevard, just south of the M59 connector. “Three miles east and west of 1-75 supports over 20,000 businesses and 330,000 jobs in Oakland County alone. Sixty-five percent of major auto providers have head-
quarters or offices there. We have a very valuable asset in terms of the economic engine of Michigan when you are talking about that many businesses and jobs. The highway has been resurfaced. Some bridges have had general maintenance, but it’s never had that facelift to bring it up to modern standards.” The project was originally divided into nine segments with a timeline spanning 18 years, or two years per segment. Then MDOT joined forces with Oakland Corridor Partners, a group of contractors and equity partners, resulting in a creative financing plan that allowed MDOT to reduce the original nine segments to three, knocking 10 years off the original schedule. Segment 1 of the project, completed two years ago, involved redesigning 3.3 mi. of roadway and realigning the interchange at Square Lake Road, removing outdated leftlane exits and replaced them with rightlane exits. “Outside of revamping that interchange, it was pretty straightforward construction,” Morosi said. see HIGHWAY page 56
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers wants to generate $600 million in new revenues to “fix Wisconsin’s roads, bridges, and highways” through additional registration fees on personal vehicles and commercial trucks as well as through adjustments to the state’s fuel tax formula. The governor explained in his first state budget address Feb. 28 that “everyone is going to have to give a little to make this work.” “That’s compromise,” he said. “We’re all going to have to share the burden so this is feasible for everyone, and to make sure we’re not passing the buck to the next generation.” As a result, his administration plans to increase fees for vehicle titles and heavy trucks, while instituting a state gas tax increase of 8 cents per gallon that he said will be offset by repealing a “hidden tax” that costs motorists 14 cents per gallon. “That means our plan actually makes it possible for you to pay less at Wisconsin Gov. the pump than you do Tony Evers right now,” Evers noted. The governor added that his administration also is going to make sure local governments “don’t have to rely on things like wheel taxes” to make ends meet. “So we’re going to increase general transit and transportation aid to counties and local governments by 10 percent to repair local roads and local bridges,” he said. “And we’re going to do all of this without having to raid our general funds and without jeopardizing other budget priorities like expanding broadband, fully funding our public schools, and reforming our criminal justice system. “Because of our long-term solution to this issue, Wisconsin’s highway bonding in our budget is the lowest it’s been in over 20 years. It’s time we pay our bills and stop kicking the can down the road.” At the end of the day, Evers stressed that “the people of Wisconsin expect and deserve for us to get to work on these pressing issues.” “From broadband to health care, education to justice reform, and roads to redistricting, these are the priorities of the people of our state,” he said. “Their plight must be our purpose, their crises our cause, and their desires our demands.”