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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” 470 Maryland Ft. W ashington, PA 19034 • To ll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215/885-2910 • www.ConstructionEquipmentGuide.com September 12, 2012Drive • Vol.•XLIX • No. 19 • 470 Maryland Drive• •215/885-2900 Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
Lawn Stars
Empire Crane Hosts Rodeo Qualifier Event…8
H.O. Penn Showcases New Product Lines…14
Contractors, Equipment Shine on National Mall Makeover see story on page 46
Moratorium Clouds Picture for School Projects East ern Oil & Gas Conf ab Held i n Pa. …18
By Mark Scolforo ASSOCIATED PRESS
Table of Contents ....................4 Truck & Trailer Section ..67-75 Recycling Section ..........79-107
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) A $300-milliona-year state program that helps school districts pay to construct or renovate buildings will soon be closed to new projects, at least temporarily, as state officials decide if it needs to be changed
or eliminated. Some districts are rushing to get their plans into the pipeline before the October start of a nine-month moratorium that was quietly enacted along with the state budget earlier this summer. School districts already under financial pressure from growing pension obligations and
Attachment Section ....117-121 Snow & Ice Section ....122-123
state funding cuts are eyeing the moratorium warily, concerned that it could be the first step toward eventual elimination of the so-called PlanCon reimbursement. PlanCon refers to the Education Department’s “Planning and Construction Workbook,” a complicated review that runs see SCHOOLS page 131
States Review Projects for Earmark Funds
Parts Section ................124-125 Business Calendar ..............125 Auction Section ..........130-152 Advertisers Index ................150
By Lori Lovely CEG CORRESPONDENT
In August, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood released $473 million in unspent highway earmarked funds from appropriations acts
in fiscal years 2003-2006. Those acts contain provisions that authorize LaHood to make the unused funds available for eligible surface transportation projects. The move allows state departments of transportation to use their unspent funds, some of
which are nearly 10 years old, on any eligible highway, transit, passenger rail or port project. In addition to improving aging infrastructure, the funds should help create jobs at a time when hundreds of thousands of construction workers see EARMARK page 42