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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” www.constructionequipmentguide.com Published 470 Maryland Drive • Ft.13, W2013 ashington, PA• No. 19034 • 215/885-2900 • To ll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215/885-2910 • www.ConstructionEquipmentGuide.com March • Vol. LIV 6 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910 Nationally
Inside
Route 52 Causeway Almost Seaport Remains Deserted Months Complete After Sandy Hit By Meghan Barr
Pipe Company Keeps Things Flowing in Pa. …14
ASSOCIATED PRESS
which began in October 2006. One of NJDOT’s largest projects to date, the Route 52 Causeway job was regarded as of critical importance since it forms the emergency evacuation route for residents of Ocean City. In recognition of this fact, in the event of an emergency requiring evacuation during the construction period, an alternative plan to move residents to safety was developed.
NEW YORK (AP) The historic cobblestone streets and 19th-century mercantile buildings near the water’s edge in lower Manhattan are eerily deserted, a neighborhood silenced by Superstorm Sandy. Just blocks from the tall-masted ships that rise above South Street Seaport, the windows of narrow brick apartment buildings are still crisscrossed with masking tape left by their owners before the storm. Store interiors are stripped down to plywood and wiring. Restaurants are chained shut, frozen in time, saddled with electrical systems that were ruined by several feet of salt water that raced up from the East River and through their front doors. “People have no clue that this corner of Manhattan has been hit so badly,’’ said Adam Weprin, manager of the Bridge Cafe, one of the city’s oldest bars that sits on a quiet street near the seaport. “Right now, it’s a ghost town and a construction site.’’ Nearly four months after the storm, roughly 85 percent of small businesses near the South Street Seaport are still boarded up. It could be months before some reopen, while others may never return. On Fulton Street, the wide tourist-friendly pedestrian walkway that comprises the seaport’s main shopping district, not a single one of the major chain stores — which include Coach, Ann
see CAUSEWAY page 32
see SEAPORT page 106
UTCA’s Bob Briant Sr. Dies…28
One of NJDOT’s largest projects to date, the Route 52 Causeway job was regarded as of critical importance since it forms the emergency evacuation route for residents of Ocean City.
By Mary Reed CEG CORRESPONDENT
FA E Holds Sales Meet ing, Training Demo…42
Table of Contents ............4 Asphalt, Concrete, Paving, Compaction & Milling Section ......................75-99 Parts Section ..............122 Auction Section ..128-144 Business Calendar ......134 Advertisers Index ........142
The final stages of work are currently winding down on the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) $400 million Route 52 Causeway Replacement project. The job forms part of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) $400 million Route 52 Causeway Replacement project,
Va. Approves $880M Highway Funding Reform By Bob Lewis AP POLITICAL WRITER
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) The state Senate passed a sweeping, long-term overhaul to Virginia’s system for funding repairs and upkeep of its highways on Feb. 23, giving Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell a signature legislative triumph on an initiative that had eluded several of his predecessors. The 25-15 vote ended a fractious 46-day General Assembly session, making McDonnell
— who had vowed since his candidacy not to raise taxes — the owner of the largest tax increase bill to clear Virginia’s tax-averse legislature since 2004. And it was the first overhaul of transportation funding since 1986. It came on the final day of the 2013 session, the last over which McDonnell will hold office during the single, four-year term Virginia uniquely allows its governors. It was possible only with support from Democrats in both the Senate and House. In the Senate, 12 of the 20 Republicans
opposed the bill, while the support of 17 Senate Democrats assured passage in that chamber. In the House, Republicans were almost evenly split — 34 in support, 33 opposed — while 25 of the 32 House Democrats voted for it. “This is a compromise bill. It had to be. Neither party controls Richmond outright,’’ McDonnell said, acknowledging the bizarre partisan alignment in a celebratory statement after the Senate vote. The measure of the reversed partisan polarity see FUNDING page 129