Published Nationally
$3.00
®
Midwest Edition
August 3 2024 Vol. XXX • No. 16
“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
Metra’s $332M Project Replaces 22 Bridges By Lori Tobias
Metra’s 2024 construction budget includes $332.4 million allocated for a variety of projects ranging from major infrastructure improvements to smaller tasks across Metra’s 11 lines. Topping the list for Chicago’s commuter rail system is a plan to replace 11 120-year-old bridges on the Union Pacific (UP) North Line. “It’s work we’ve known we needed to do for a long time,” said Michael Gillis, director of Metra Communications. “We’ve been attacking it as funding becomes available. It’s completely replacing the bridges with new spans. Metra was formed 40 years ago. Our system is made up of, sort of a patchwork of systems. Some lines we inherited from lines that went out of business. Some we started ourselves, some we started from others. “We’re replacing a total of 22 bridges and have already completed 11 bridges north of this work zone. Now, we’ll do 11 more to the south.” The big challenge to the job is working in a tight space, only about 66-ft.-wide, with all the work taking place in that space, Gillis said. The bridges have bays, not unlike lanes on a highway. During replacement, only two of the three bays are in use.
Metra photo
CEG CORRESPONDENT
Fabick Cat Hosts Cookout Lunch in Madison, Wis. ...16
Alta Hosts Fifth Annual Golf Tournament in Wheaton, Ill. ...34
TriStar Announces Two-Day Virtual Summer Auction in August...100
Metra’s 2024 construction budget includes $332.4 million allocated for a variety of projects ranging from major infrastructure improvements to smaller tasks across Metra’s 11 lines.
see METRA page 80
Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Paving Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55-71 Backhoes & Attachments Section . . . . . . . . . . .81-89 Auction Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95-101 Business Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97 Advertisers Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
Powering Domestic EV Production Energy Department Funding Will Bring Manufacturing Plants Online By Lucy Perry
In July, the Biden administration announced it would fund $1.7 billion for electric vehicle component production at 11 manufacturing plants across the country. In doing so, the fed made progress toward both ending the nation’s dependence on China for batteries and meeting its 2030 goal of making 50 percent of all new U.S. vehicle sales electric or hybrid models. Eight plants currently shuttered or at-risk of closing are located in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Adobe Stock photo Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. One goal of funding manufacturing plants in The investments, reported CBS Detroit, are intended eight states was to break America’s dependence CEG CORRESPONDENT
see BATTERY page 98
on China for batteries.