Published Nationally
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Western Edition January 15 2011 Vol. VII • No. 2
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215/885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215/885-2910 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
I-5/SR-14 HOV Connector Project Nears Completion
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CEG CORRESPONDENT
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A four-year-long, $156.6 million project aimed at improving traffic operations at the Interstate 5/State Route 14 connector in northern Los Angeles County is 70 percent complete entering 2011. The primary aspects of the project — dubbed the I-5/SR-14 Direct HOV Connector Project — are the construction of an elevated, two-lane direct HOV connector at the I-5/SR-14 interchange; and construction of HOV lanes in the northbound and southbound directions of I-5 at the same interchange. Upon completion, the elevated HOV connector will be a 19-span, 2,821-ft. (859.8 m) HOV structure that will connect the I-5 HOV lanes in both directions to SR-14, according to Kelly Markham, public information officer of Caltrans District 7. The current I-5/SR-14 connector serves as the gateway to Los Angeles for motorists traveling from the high desert cities of Palmdale and Lancaster, and has for years been the site of increased traffic congestion — the result of population growth within Photos Courtesy of Thomas Ritter, Caltrans
A view of HOV connector falsework that spans over the truck route.
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Table of Contents..............4 ConExpo Section........11-13 California Supplement ........ ..................................17-19 Paving Section ..........27-31 Auction Section ........35-43 Business Calendar ..........36 Advertisers Index............42
Construction Spending Rises in November Construction spending increased by 0.4 percent in November, the third straight rise in the total, the Associated General Contractors of America noted Jan. 3 in an analysis of new Census Bureau data. Private residential and public construction each gained 0.7 percent compared with October’s totals, while private nonresidential construction edged down 0.1 percent. “It is heartening to see three increases in a row for the total,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But most categories showed more of a seesaw pattern over the past three months, indicating that construction spending remains fragile at best.” Simonson noted that the strongest category appears to be power construction, which has
climbed for four consecutive months from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $75.7 billion in July to $85.7 billion in November. He added that power construction will be helped in 2011 by extension of tax credits for building wind and other renewable power facilities. Residential improvements appear to have rebounded for the past three months also, up $15 billion since August. Simonson cautioned, however, that the Census Bureau often makes large revisions — down or up — to this estimate. Public construction reached a 16-month high of $318.5 billion, but is likely to decrease in 2011, Simonson observed. Major federal funding for military base realignment, Gulf Coast hurricane work and stimulus projects is expect-
ed to taper off in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, the new Congress and many governors have signaled that they intend to hold down spending on infrastructure among other categories, the economist noted. Association officials urged leaders of the 112th Congress to maintain a commitment to transportation and water infrastructure. Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer, noted that proposed rule changes being considered by the incoming Congress jeopardize highway, bridge and transit investments. “Deferring needed improvements to our aging transportation network will undermine business activity today while saddling future taxpayers with ever-larger maintenance and repair costs,” Sandherr said.