90 80
OHIO STATE EDITION
6
A Supplement to:
422
6 80 24
6
4
71
76
199 30 30 75
68
30 77
71 23 22 68
4
70 70
70
22 71
75
77
27
April 25 2012
22 74
50
50 25
Vol. XVII • No. 9
35
52
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Ohio Connection: Ed Bryden, Strongsville, OH • 1-800-810-7640
Southeastern Equipment Co. Unveils New Facility With Event Southeastern Equipment Company held an open house at its Burlington, Ky., branch to celebrate the opening of its newly constructed facility. Southeastern Equipment’s Burlington, branch is located just south of the Cincinnati Airport at 1982 Florence Pike. The new structure replaces a building originally constructed in 1932 and nearly doubles the amount of indoor service space at the previous location. The 7,200 sq. ft. building situated on 7 acres, features a 14 ft. ceiling, six service bays and a 5-ton overhead crane spanning the entire service area. According to Branch Manager Jerry Rice, Southeaster Equipment is now equipped to service virtually any machine within the structure. Rice added that the new building suits the company’s needs extremely well and will allow them to offer their customers even faster service. In addition to Case construction equipment, the branch offers a full range of equipment for the construction, agriculture, utility and municipal marketplace including Bomag compaction and rolling equipment, Carlton Stump cutters and wood chippers, Eager Beaver trailers, Eagle Crushers, Gradall telescopic boom excavators, Hyundai
machines and Terex Road Building equipment along with other related equipment. Key contacts at the Burlington Kentucky location are Branch Manager Jerry Rice, Sales Representative Jason Browning, Parts & Service Manager Larry Beach and Parts Assistant Ruth Fox. Founded in 1957, Southeastern Equipment Company has 18 locations throughout Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Indiana. For more information, call the Burlington location at 859/586-6133 or visit www.southeasternequip.com. see SOUTHEASTERN page 5
Southeastern Equipment Branch Manager Jerry Rice (C) gets a chance to catch up with Mike Dickey (L) and Jeff Collier of Dickey Excavating.
ODOT Officially Kicks Off 2012 Road Construction Season Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Director Jerry Wray officially launched the 2012 road construction season on April 10 and announced approximately 800 transportation preservation projects throughout the Buckeye State. Total cost: $1.8 billion. However, the state still needs more than $1.6 billion to finish additional phases of 35 major new expansion projects in communities throughout Ohio. “We sometimes forget how a well-maintained transportation system supports the state’s overall economy,” Wray said. “With more than $438 billion in goods shipped annually by trucks — the third largest of any
state — a reliable transportation system is not only the lifeblood of Ohio businesses but also the catalyst for future expansion and job creation.” The 800 preservation projects include resurfacing 3,700 mi. (5,954 km) of interstate and state routes as well as repairs, upgrades, improvements and maintenance to hundreds of bridges, culverts, guardrails, interchanges and hillsides. Currently, ODOT maintains and preserves nearly 50,000 lane mi. (80,467 km) of interstates and highways — enough to make two trips around Earth. ODOT is funded by state and federal motor fuel taxes. The agency’s first priority
is the preservation and maintenance of its current transportation system. Any money left over goes toward constructing major new transportation projects approved by the state’s Transportation Review and Advisory Council (TRAC), a bi-partisan group responsible for approving funding for the State’s largest transportation projects. In January, ODOT announced a $1.6 billion shortfall needed to complete future phases of 35 major new expansion projects through 2018. However, ODOT anticipates having only $100 million per year to spend on new construction after all preservation needs are met. In 2011, the TRAC received
72 applications for new transportation projects totaling an additional $10 billion. Since then, the agency has announced plans to seek innovative and alternative funding sources to help ease the financial crunch. On top of reducing agency costs and improving efficiency, ODOT plans to pursue the commercialization of non-interstate rest areas and seek sponsorship and naming rights for certain infrastructure projects saving $100 to 200 million annually. Billions more could be generated or saved by leveraging state-owned assets — like the Ohio Turnpike — and exploring public, private partnerships.