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Western Edition
June 21 2020 Vol. IX • No. 13
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
RASL Project Fixes Troublesome Road Issues By Ruksana Hussain CEG CORRESPONDENT
Crude Oil Prices Could Surge More Than 90 Percent...6
‘Best in Colorado’ Project Nears Its Completion...10
Luxury Hotel Coming to Scottsdale, Ariz...12
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 2 is addressing a troublesome issue that has plagued its highways for years with the Redding To Anderson Six Lane (RASL) Project on Interstate 5 (I-5) in Shasta County. Work is already in progress on an additional northbound and southbound lane from the Deschutes Road interchange to just south of the Bonnyview/Churn Creek Road interchange, in order to transform it to a continuous, sixlane highway along an 8-mi. stretch. Construction began in 2018 on the project, estimated to cost approximately $132 million, and will continue through 2021. While the bulk of personnel are from the prime contractor J.F. Shea Construction Inc., other subcontractors involved include RNR for bridgework, Studebaker Brown for electrical, Mitchell Engineering for
Two construction crew members are installing an extension collar on an existing utility vault, utilizing a Cat 980M loader.
drainage, AGL Landscape for irrigation, Highway Specialty for guardrail and signs, and Apply A Line for striping. Materials for this project includ-
Recylcing Section.........17-23 Attachments Section ..29-33 Truck & Trailer Section ........ ......................................37-39 Business Calendar.............40 Auction Section............42-45 Advertisers Index ..............46
build a job of this size just boggles your mind,” said Sean Shepard, project manager, Caltrans District 2, who also is a resident of see RASL page 34
Retraining Vs. Recruiting in Times of COVID-19 By Lucy Perry
Table of Contents ................4
ed 237,500 tons of hot mix asphalt, 3,849,456 lbs. of steel reinforcement bar and 130,000 cu. yds. of roadway excavation. “The number of things it takes to
CEG CORRESPONDENT
Employing skilled labor is a process: Identifying potential workers, recruiting them and training them. The industry has dedicated resources to attracting junior-high and high-school students for careers in construction. But there are whole groups of adult workers whose career fields have changed or jobs have disappeared. The recruiting focus for some construction contractors is now on retraining people with skills that transfer well to construction work. Displaced workers in fields such as farming and mining, as well as industries negatively affected by the COVID-19 virus, are looking
for new career tracks. They may not realize the skills they’ve learned in their respective fields can help them land a long-term job in construction and fill construction labor gaps at the same time. Most of the people who come to Carrolton, Ga.-based Crane Industry Services (CIS) for retraining have some type of craft skill or construction background, said trainer and inspector Noel Whelchel. “They want to be able to operate the equipment, so they’re not necessarily coming from an entirely different industry,” he said. There also are people who for one reason or another are transitioning to a dramatically different lifestyle. Returning members of the military are looking for new careers. Likewise,
those coming out of the criminal justice system need opportunities to get their lives back on track. If construction contractors want to fill positions on their job crews, they’ll have to look to labor pools they might not have considered before. Many of these workers have skills that work well for the construction industry. “Don’t reject these candidates straight away just because they lack direct work experience in your industry,” advises recruiter.com, a platform that connects recruiters and employers. It’s also important to realize that job experience alone is not the best predictor of on-thejob performance. “Instead, evaluate candidates’ transferable skills and capabilities.” see WORKERS page 26