Published Nationally
Southeast Edition
® February 14 2018 Vol. XXXI • No. 4
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Gilchrist Works on Its Portion of DOTD’s I-10 By Irwin Rapoport
Crews from Gilchrist Construction Company LLC have been working steadily on the $54.7 million Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) project along 2.7 mi. of Interstate I-10 to reconstruct and widen the four-lane (two lanes in each direction) section of highway. The FASTLANE (Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies) project is part of the DOTD’s multi-million dollar infrastructure investment along the I-10 corridor in the Acadiana region. In July 2016 the DOTD stressed the $60 million it received in FASTLANE grant funding from the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) for the overall I-10 project, which is based on three projects. “Given the competitive nature of the FASTLANE grant, DOTD was thrilled to be selected as a recipient of the fourth highest award amount in the country,” said DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson. “The FASTLANE grant has allowed our state to expedite projects that would have otherwise stayed stagnant for years to come due to inadequate funding. This grant gives Louisiana’s infrastructure an opportunity to be more competitive on the national level.” Gilchrist Construction secured its contract with a $54.7 million bid. The work in St. Martin Parish is replacing the pavement on the existing lanes for 2.7 mi. along I-10 from La. 347 to the base of the Atchafalaya
CEG CORRESPONDENT
World of Concrete Sees Solid Showing…8
H&E Equipment Services Hosts Grand Opening…24
see DOTD page 92
Crews from Gilchrist Construction Company LLC have been working steadily on the $54.7 million Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) project along 2.7 mi. of Interstate I-10 to reconstruct and widen the four-lane (two lanes in each direction) section of highway.
State of the Union’s Infrastructure A Look Back at Excavators…50
Table of Contents............ 4 Paving Section........ 31-43 Parts Section............ 44-45 Excavators & Attachments Section...................... 46-82 Auction Section...... 88-92 Business Calendar........ 90 Advertisers Index.......... 94
Giles Lambertson CEG CORRESPONDENT
During a State of the Union speech Jan. 30, President Trump formally began his administration’s push to build and rebuild the nation’s infrastructure — that is, to make our roads and other civil engineered structures “great again.” Easier said than done. The president is calling for expenditure of $1.5 trillion on infrastructure like highways, bridges, waterway structures, airport tarmac, and rail and seaport terminals. These are the engineered structures that move people, commodities and manufactured goods. Upgrading infrastructure is an always popular idea because it holds real promise of alleviating urban congestion and spurring commerce from coast to coast.
Three Challenges Yet any undertaking of this magnitude immediately faces three challenges. The immediate challenge in 2018 is for Congress to come together to pass enabling legislation. That’s square one for President Trump and his congressional allies and, in some respects, is the most difficult task facing them. Democratic critics of President Trump at this point seem genetically opposed to anything he wants. Such gamesmanship is not unheard of on Capitol Hill, of course, but this is an historic moment of hyper-partisanship. Bridging the political divide is a daunting task in the best of times. Sad to say, these are not such times. So bringing lawmakers together on even something as pragmatic and nonideological as smoother roadways and safer bridges may be difficult for the Trump team. The last time a president proposed a big-
dollar infrastructure program was in 2009 when President Barack Obama pushed an $840 billion stimulus package in hopes of kick-starting a bludgeoned economy. President Obama won approval of the package, though without the support of any House Republicans (and 11 Democrats). Only three Senate Republicans backed the bill. Those who opposed the measure did so because the funding seemed too diffused among special interest groups to really spur economic activity. That certainly proved to be true in respect to construction. Though signs went up on construction sites around the country touting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, in the end most of the stimulus money was earmarked for Pell grants and AmeriCorps programs, the Smithsonian see INFRASTRUCTURE page 44