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June 25, 2014 • Vol. XXVI • No. 13 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910
Inside
Repeated Requests Pay Off With 1-75 Project By Cece Lentini CEG CORRESPONDENT
Coogler Construction Takes on Tough Jobs…8
Turtle Benefits From Telematics System…12
A long-awaited construction project on Interstate 75 intended to greatly improve traffic flow through a fast-growing area of eastern Tennessee is finally underway, with completion anticipated by Nov. 15, 2015. The $12.8 million project includes replacement of an antiquated, two-lane bridge and realignment of all four ramps at exit 20 on Interstate 75 in Bradley County, Tenn. The project area is about 30 mi. north of Chattanooga, Tenn., and near the southern edge of the city of Cleveland, Tenn. The contract for the project, which also includes grading, drainage, paving and widening of roadway that leads to the interchange, was awarded to Simpson Construction Company of Cleveland in May, 2013. Construction began on July 1. “This project is desperately needed,” said Jennifer Flynn, a community relations officer with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). “Local people have been asking for it for a long time. The existing two-lane bridge over I-75 at that exit was constructed when the area was more rural. Now, that part of eastern Tennessee is developing rapidly, and traffic routinely backs up because the bridge can’t handle it.” Flynn said that another TDOT project currently under development should help improve the traffic situation. This involves building a new interchange on APD40, which is the bypass around Cleveland and the roadway that leads to the exit 20 interchange, and the addition of an auxiliary lane on each side of APD40 between the two interchanges. In addition, the city of Cleveland is see INTERSTATE page 70
Ritchason Celebrates 25 Years…80
Table of Contents ............4 Attachment & Parts Section ......................33-37
Work Locked Down…
$30M Jail Takes Shape in Miss.
Truck & Trailer Section ...... ..................................38-40 By Cindy Riley
CEG CORRESPONDENT
Recycling Section ....45-61 Business Calendar ........66 Auction Section ........76-80 Advertisers Index ..........82
After years of discussions and a shuffling of architectural firms, work is finally under way on the nearly $30 million Jackson County Adult Detention Center in Pascagoula, Miss. Total capacity for the 104,105 sq. ft. (9,671.6 sq m) jail will be 776 beds, compared to 427 beds in the current 30,611 sq. ft. (2,843.8 sq m) facility. “The site is fairly compact, and there are a lot of activities see JAIL page 24
A long-awaited construction project on Interstate 75 intended to greatly improve traffic flow through a fast-growing area of eastern Tennessee is finally underway, with completion anticipated by Nov. 15, 2015.
Industry Adds 6,000 Jobs, Unemployment Rate Drops Construction employers added 6,000 workers to payrolls in May as the industry’s unemployment rate dropped to 8.6 percent, its lowest May level in six years, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. However, association officials cautioned that gains remain spotty and that thousands of highway construction jobs are at risk because of a pending halt in federal transportation funding later this summer. “Even with five straight months of
construction employment gains, the industry remains vulnerable to sudden shifts in demand,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Should Washington allow federal highway funding to come to a halt as predicted later this summer, the sudden loss of billions of dollars worth of demand would cost many construction workers, as well as workers from other segments of the economy, their jobs.” Construction employment totaled six see JOBS page 66