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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” October 22, 2011 • Vol. VII • 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
10 Years After...
D.H. Griffin Looks Back at 9/11 Efforts
Auction Company Hosts Oct ober Sales Event...33
Alex Lyon & Son Holds Auction in Ft. Worth...50
Table of Contents ..............4 Crawler Loaders, Dozers Section ........................17-19 Paving Section ............39-46 Auction Section ..........50-59 Business Calendar............51 Advertisers Index ............58
see ANALYSIS page 12
see BRIDGE page 12
Not every day does a visitor to an unprecedented public disaster show up to volunteer with recovery efforts and almost immediately become de facto manager of the project. But the eleventh day of September 2001 was not just any day in New York City. That day the city became the target of coordinated terrorist attacks that quickly spread to Washington, D.C. After an airliner was intentionally crashed into each of the World Trade City towers in New York City — with a third flown into the Pentagon in Washington and a fourth into the ground before it could hit another Washington target — the world in general, and America in particular, was stunned. David H. Griffin Jr. wasn’t stunned for long. Two days after the towers fell, with concrete dust still covering lower Manhattan and authorities scrambling to ward off feared additional attacks, Griffin drove with his wife and children to New York from his home in Piles of debris stood 50 ft. (15 m) high Greensboro, N.C. His mission was to help. see GRIFFIN page 38
Demands From Private Sector Boost Industry Employment Construction employment increased in 146 out of 337 metropolitan areas between August 2010 and August 2011, declined in 145 and stayed level in 46, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released Sept. 26 by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association offi-
FAIRBANKS DAILY NEWS-MINER
cials noted that the local employment data remains relatively split as private sector demand increased and public sector activity declined more rapidly during the past year. “The construction market is caught between increases in private sector demand
CEG CORRESPONDENT
when Griffin arrived at the scene.
By Jeff Richardson FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) Twenty-one ceremonial shovels were wielded at the groundbreaking for the Tanana River bridge, which said something about both the profile of the project and the anticipation behind the Sept. 28 event. After nearly a decade of planning, regulatory hurdles and funding headaches, more than 100 dignitaries and spectators arrived to formally celebrate the arrival of the $190 million bridge along a secluded stretch of the river in Salcha. “This is a great day,” Rep. Don Young said. “We’re finally going to build a bridge to somewhere.” The new bridge will span a 3,300-ft. (1,006 m) section of the Tanana River, marking the first phase of a four-phase project that planners hope will eventually bring a new rail line to Delta Junction. Planning for the project began in 2002, and federal funding for environmental studies of the site began in 2004. Funding challenges and lengthy environmental reviews kept it on hold until this year, when the state supplied $44 million needed to fully fund the project. The bridge is scheduled for completion in August 2014. That slow pace was reflected in some of the politicians, past and present, who were on hand. Former Gov. Frank Murkowski started lobbying for the bridge project during his term, which ended more than five years ago. The late Sen. Ted Stevens, who was credited by several speakers for generating early funding for the project, didn’t live to see its groundbreaking. “We all know that good things don’t come easy, but sometimes we wish they’d come a little bit easier,” said U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Once it’s completed — along with a stillunfunded 80-mi. (129 km) rail line to Delta — the bridge will give various military forces year-round access to some of the most remote training areas available in the country.
By Giles Lambertson
Dynapac Names New West Regional Manager...16
Fairbanks Bridge Groundbreaking Gets Celebration