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August 21, 2013 • Vol. XXV • No. 17 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910
Inside
Work Progresses on $30.8M Interchange Brenda Ruggiero CEG CORRESPONDENT
A new interchange is being constructed in Jacksonville, Fla., at SR 115, or Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Parkway and 21st Street. The full dollar amount of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) project is $30.8 million and the contract went to Archer Western Contractors based in Chicago, Ill. The project manager is Heath Bunn. Work began in February of 2012, and is currently on schedule for completion at the end of 2013. The scope of work is to
Purple Heart Homes Builds for Veterans…8
see INTERCHANGE page 84
Mississippi Bridge Restoration Job Timetable Revised
ASC Teams Up With Sennebogen…22
By Nathan Gregory Crews place 10.5 in. (26.7 cm) PCCP on ramp A.
Sin khole De stroy s Fla. Resor t…37
Construction Unemployment: Lowest July Rate Since 2008
Table of Contents ............4 Recycling Section ....47-57 Trucks & Trailers Section ..................................65-68 Attachment Section .......... ..................................69-74 Business Calendar ........78 Auction Section ......77-85 Advertisers Index ..........86
The unemployment rate for construction workers fell to the lowest July level in five years last month, even though employment has stagnated in the past four months, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials urged Washington leaders to act on stalled infrastructure funding measures to help jump start construction hiring. “Although the unemployment rate for experienced construction workers came down to 9.1 percent in July, many of those workers have left the industry for other jobs, school or training pro-
grams, or retirement,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “While the industry has added workers in the past year, employment growth has been negligible recently.” The unemployment rate for workers who last worked in construction declined to 9.1 percent from 12.3 percent in July 2012, not seasonally adjusted, and the number of unemployed construction workers dropped by 227,000 to 767,000. The number of unemployed workers with prior construction experience was the lowest July total since July 2007, while the unemployment rate see UNEMPLOYMENT page 84
THE COMMERCIAL DISPATCH
COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) It will likely be the end of September before the city can officially close out the Old Highway 82 bridge restoration project due to two factors — issues with the primer used in the painting process and a flock of protected migratory barn swallows who have made the construction site their temporary home. City engineer Kevin Stafford said the primer to be used for the steel portion of the bridge did not adhere to the steel structure in some places. The Mississippi Department of Transportation, which provided a $2.5 million restoration grant, has a list of approved paints that can be used for certain structures. True Grit, the sub-contractor Malouf Construction selected to paint the bridge, picked a primer coating provided by Sherwin Williams. After workers applied the first coat to a small portion of the bridge, representatives with Neelsee BRIDGE page 36
ConExpo Retro
See page 24 for the first of an ongoing series of highlights from past ConExpos as they were reported in the pages of CEG.