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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” November 2, 2011 • Vol. XXIV • No. 22 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
Aging Bridges Test Priorities in Virginia By Bob Lewis
Briggs Equipment Sponsors 2011 Warrior Open… 8
AP POLITICAL WRITER
ing structures, Williams said. But once an agreement on how construction would affect railroad operation was worked out between the other railroad — Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway — and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ local partner, the state of Louisiana, the contract for that crossing was broken out so that work could proceed while the Union Pacific agreement was negotiated, he said.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Virginia has about 1,400 bridges listed as structurally deficient. It has nearly 2,000 that were built before World War II. So why is it so tough to find money to improve them? As with the federal government and other states across the country, it hasn’t been a priority people are willing pay more for. President Barack Obama renewed the issue by appealing for infrastructure spending as part of his jobs bill. Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine twice asked the General Assembly during his term to boost taxes to cope with a growing backlog of highway needs, and twice, legislative Republicans rejected new taxes for roads and bridges. His GOP successor, Gov. Bob McDonnell, won’t raise taxes, instead proposing tolls, debt, selling state-owned liquor stores and more than $1 billion in savings a transportation department audit uncovered. While even fellow Republicans rebuffed his liquor-privatization idea, he marshaled enough cash this year to free up more than $3 billion for road construction and maintenance. Recently, McDonnell gained conditional federal approval of his proposal to place tolls on Interstate 95 in Virginia. But McDonnell and legislative leaders of the GOP-ruled House and the Democratic Senate
see LEVEE page 54
see BRIDGES page 76
Photo Courtesy of Team New Orleans, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Work progressing on the $28.95 million contract, awarded to Tetra Tech, to build the closure structure across Bayou Verret. Work is about 60 percent complete, with an estimated January 2012 finish.
Yancey Bros. COO Announces Ret irement Plans…12
Western Tie-In Begins in La. By Kerry Lynn Kirby CEG CORRESPONDENT
Arro w Eq uipment Fire d Up About Ba gela…27
Table of Contents ............4 Paving Section ........27-43
Construction of a closing structure at the Union Pacific railroad crossing in St. Charles Parish is the last piece of a large-scale project under way in southeast Louisiana to complete a loop of levees, floodgates and other floodmitigation structures around the Mississippi River. Dubbed the Western Tie-In because it ties in a previously unprotected area on the river’s
western bank in the western portion of Jefferson Parish and the eastern portion of St. Charles Parish, the project has been broken into eight different contracts to facilitate construction, said Project Manager Jeff Williams, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Team New Orleans. The $8.37 million Union Pacific crossing contract was originally designed to be let as part of a single contract that included both of the Western Tie-In project’s railroad clos-
Crawler Loaders, Dozers, Undercarriages & Parts Section ......................47-53
AGC Reports Materials Prices Flatten in Sept.
Parts Section ................75
The amount contractors pay for a range of key construction materials held steady in September but climbed 8.1 percent from the year-earlier level, according to an analysis of producer price index figures released Oct. 18 by the Associated General Contractors of America. Meanwhile, the price contractors charge for new nonresidential building con-
Auction Section ......80-87 Business Calendar ........81 Advertisers Index ..........86
struction edged up only 2 to 3 percent over 12 months, depending on building type. “Feeble demand for construction is forcing contractors to absorb the bulk of materials price hikes, instead of passing them along to owners,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “This pattern has persisted for more than two years, and many con-
tractors are increasingly at risk of going under.” Simonson noted that key materials showed divergent price trends in September but all posted double-digit year-over-year increases. Those materials include diesel fuel, which was up 3.3 percent for the month and 39.4 percent see PRICES page 84