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September 22 2018 Vol. XX • No. 19
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Inside
Gordie Howe Bridge Gets Power Line Assist…10
Ind. Unveils $1B Infrastructure Investment Gov. Eric J. Holcomb announced his infrastructure agenda plan for 2019, including a new $1 billion investment in infrastructure projects. The Next Level Connections program will expand broadband services in rural Indiana, grow the state’s systems of trails, create more non-
stop international flights and move up the completion of major highway projects. The state also will continue to pursue building a new fourth water port at Lawrenceburg and expansion of rail projects in northwest Indiana. “Today we’re sending a big message to the world that Indiana
is making a huge investment in our quality of life and for those who aspire to join us,” said Holcomb. “We are linking Hoosiers to each other and to the world.” Through the Next Level Connections program, Gov. Holcomb will:
• Commit $100 million to bridge the digital divide in rural areas of the state. The state will create a grant program to bring high speed, affordable broadband access to unserved and underserved areas of the state. • Utilize $90 million to link see PROGRAM page 29
Mo. City Builds Its Own Asphalt Mixing Plant By Giles Lambertson First Steel Girders Set on I-74 Bridge…18
Firm Harnesses Energy Using Gravity…26
Table of Contents ................4 Attachment & Parts Section ......................................33-36 Snow & Ice Section ......47-53
When his street supervisor first broached the idea that the city build its own asphalt mixing plant, Kirksville (Mo.) Public Works Director Glenn Balliew was skeptical. “You’ll have to show me that,” he said in the best Show-Me State tradition. Two years later, the plant is operational, turning out a premium quality paving material, and Kirksville finds itself in a leadership position among rural cities that are investing in themselves to maintain their infrastructure. The city’s decision to become more self-sufficient in its street repair capability was rooted in both economic and practical considerations, Balliew said. Getting asphalt paving material when the city wanted it was one problem. Paying too much for less-than-satisfactory pavement was the other. A city-owned asphalt mixing plant addressed both concerns and, in operation, has proven to be a cost-effective solution. More Traffic, More Pressure
Truck & Trailer Section ........ Kirksville is a northeast Missouri community ......................................61-69 of nearly 20,000 people. It is enjoying a spurt of economic growth. A Kraft Heinz food plant is
Recycling Section ........77-95 completing a $250 million expansion and chain stores like Menards and Hobby Lobby are open-
Auction Section..........99-107 ing. In other words, more traffic is coming and Business Calendar ..........105 Advertisers Index ............106
In 2017, on five acres in Kirksville’s industrial park, the city erected its asphalt mixing plant. It cost $1.3 million, which was significantly less than the cost of contracting out the entire job.
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more pressure on the city’s street system. The city is situated in farm country more than a hundred miles from any major metropolitan area in the state, unless you count Mark Twain’s river town of Hannibal (96 miles).
An old asphalt batch plant is located in Kirksville, but seldom operates. In fact, when the company that owns it has a local job, it brings in a portable plant. This relative isolation from asphalt mixing facilities was a big factor in Kirksville deciding to become an asphalt producer. “We did everything we could to keep from buying a plant,” Balliew said. Making the Asphalt Plant Decision The decision point came when the city had a street torn up, inconveniencing a neighborhood, and the local asphalt supplier that said it would deliver paving material, didn’t. That was the moment the public works director and his street supervisor, Ray Sandstrom, began to seriously
crunch numbers and explore the idea of building a plant. “We studied where we get our paving material,” Balliew said. “We went to a World of Asphalt conference. It was something you couldn’t talk to a lot of people about because not a lot of cities have their own plant. We really did an in-depth study to see if building one really was what we wanted to do. Eventually we put it in our budget for the next year and, step by step, justified it.” Kirksville has 105 miles of paved streets for which it, rather than the state, is responsible. Generally speaking, the streets were in deplorable condition. An inspection using a Pavement Condition Index developed by the see PLANT page 76