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February 21, 2016 • Vol. IX • No. 4 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215/885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215/885-2910
Inside
Crews Work to Fill Interstate Famous Los Gap Between Vegas, Phoenix Angeles Bridge Demolished NDOT photo
More Money Eyed for Port of Anchorage Project…6
RDO Equipment Hosts Event in Sacat on…46
The Phase I project utilizes heavy off-road earthmoving trucks, an onsite crushing plant to produce manufactured aggregates for the project and an onsite concrete batch plant for the concrete paving of the freeway.
By Chuck Harvey CEG CORRESPONDENT
Firm Makes Bad Situation Right for Vet…58
Table of Contents ................4 Excavator Section.................. ......................................12-43 California Section ........47-55 Paving Section ............65-72 Business Calendar ............74 Auction Section ..........77-87 Advertisers Index ..............86
Las Vegas and Phoenix are the only U.S. cities of 1 million or more residents not linked by an interstate freeway. So the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada and Nevada Department of Transportation took the lead in individual phases of a $318 million Nevada Interstate 11 project to connect a gap in existing interstate routes.
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada leads the project to span Interstate 11 with four lanes from U.S.-95 to U.S.-93 near the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge, a length of about 12.5 mi. (20 km). It is Phase II of the interstate project and will cost about $235 million. Phase I, headed by the Nevada Department of Transportation, includes a portion of I-11 from Railroad Pass to U.S.-95, a length of 2.5 mi. (4 km). Both phases are being built simultaneously.
LOS ANGELES (AP) Demolition crews brought down a portion of a famed downtown Los Angeles bridge sooner than expected, allowing for the early reopening of a section of U.S. 101 that was closed for much of the weekend of Feb. 5 to 7. Traffic began flowing again on the freeway shortly after 10 a.m. Feb. 7 — about four hours ahead of schedule, said Mary Nemick of the city Public Works Department. “Everything just went extremely well,” she said about the weekend’s work. “Great weather, no unforeseen problems, no problems with equipment.” A 2.5-mi. (4 km) section of the freeway was closed so crews could bring down 220 ft. (67 m) of the 6th Street Bridge. No major traffic tie-ups were reported. The 84-year-old bridge, which soars over the concrete-lined Los Angeles River, has appeared in countless Hollywood movies, including “Grease” and “Terminator 2.” Think rival gang members Danny and Leo racing in “Grease” or big chases in “Terminator 2” and “Gone in 60 Seconds.” The freeway closure was dubbed the “#101 slowjam” on Twitter, and city officials
see NEVADA page 64
see BRIDGE page 50
Construction Firms Add 18,000 Workers in Jan. Construction firms added 18,000 workers in January, as the industry’s unemployment rate declined to a 17-year low of 8.5 percent, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that the number of construction jobs added in January was
down compared to the last three months of 2015 and could reflect either a slowdown in nonresidential construction activity or an inability of contractors to find qualified workers. “While the construction industry continues to add jobs, the January figures mark a significant decline in the rate of growth compared to the
end of last year,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “It will take a few months to evaluate whether firms are running out of people to hire or if broader economic uncertainty is leading to a decline in demand for many types of construction services.” Construction employment totaled 6.6 million in January, the
most since December 2008, and is up by 264,000 jobs compared to a year ago, a 4.2 percent increase. Residential construction increased by 20,100 in January and by 149,500, or 6.2 percent, compared to a year ago. Nonresidential construction employment declined by 2,300 jobs for the month but was see AGC page 62