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April 19, 2014 • Vol. IX • No. 8 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215/885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215/885-2910
Inside
Texas Water Utility Awards Facility Job.. .6
No Margin for Error...
NDOT Oversees Long-Awaited Road Work F Street Connection Reopening Study Spells Safety Issues Now with almost 1,200 employees, to date it has placed about 30 million tons (27 million t) — the equivalent of some 40,000 mi. (64,374 km) — of asphalt.
NDOT’s work on the I-15 North Design-Build project, which widened the freeway from Lake Mead to Craig Road. A coalition of concerned residents worked through legal and political channels to
Forty-five percent of highway contractors had motor vehicles crash into their construction work zones during the past year, according to the results of a new highway work zone study conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials added that the study found work zone crashes are more likely to kill vehicle operators and passengers than construction workers. “There is little margin for error when you work within a few inches of thousands of fast-moving vehicles,” said Tom Case, the chair of the association’s national highway and transportation division and senior vice president of Watsonville, Calif.-based Granite Construction. “As the data makes clear, not enough drivers are slowing down and staying alert near work sites.” Case said that 43 percent of contractors reported that motor vehicle operators or passengers were injured during work
see NDOT page 52
see STUDY page 53
Sennebogen 880 Brings Contractor Success...12
F Street was closed during NDOT’s work on the I-15 North Design-Build project, which widened the freeway from Lake Mead to Craig Road.
By Mary Reed CEG CORRESPONDENT
CEG Names New Director of Web Services...24
Table of Contents ................4 Paving Section ..............15-21 Skid Steers, Compact Track Loaders & Attachments Section ..........................35-46 Business Calendar ............47 Auction Section ............49-55 Advertisers Index ..............54
The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is currently overseeing the longawaited reopening of F Street in Las Vegas.
Now in full swing, the F Street Connection project has its roots in 2006. That year the Las Vegas City Council voted to close the street, city officials expressing concern about cement truck traffic using it. F Street was closed during
Jobs in March Hit Highest Level Since June 2009 Construction employers added 19,000 workers to payrolls in March, bringing industry employment to the highest level since June 2009, while the industry’s unemployment rate dropped to the lowest March level in seven years, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials warned that the pool of available workers is
declining rapidly, raising the prospects for significant labor shortages if demand continues to expand. “The rate of construction hiring continues to outrun job growth in the overall economy for the past year,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “Furthermore, the pickup has been well balanced, as both nonresidential and residential construction
segments added workers last month and over the past 12 months.” Construction employment totaled 5.9 million in March, a gain of 151,000 or 2.6 percent from a year earlier, compared with a rise in total nonfarm employment of 1.7 percent over that period, Simonson noted. Residential building and specialty trade contractors added a combined total of 9,100 workers in
March and 103,000 (4.8 percent) over 12 months. Nonresidential construction — building, specialty trades and heavy and civil engineering contractors — grew by 9,900 employees last month and 48,800 (1.3 percent) since March 2013. “Although most construction employers who need workers have been able to find them so far, see JOBS page 53