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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” December 3, 2011 • Vol. VII • No. 25 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215/885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215/885-2910 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
Construction Employment Rises in Oct.
Mack Delivers D.C. Christmas Tree...24
Construction projects like this one on U.S. Route 93 near Wickenburg, Ariz., will be on the rise as the state considers its Long Range Transportation Plan. Long Joins Construction Hall of Fame...30
WC A Holds A uction in Perris, C alif. ...44
Arizona Weighs Long Range Construction Plans For more than two years, the Arizona Department of Transportation has worked towards developing the state’s Long Range Transportation Plan, a blueprint that looks 25 years into the future to determine how to plan for and fund trans-
portation projects that keep up with Arizona’s growth. The State Transportation Board formally approved the Long Range Transportation Plan Nov. 16, which allows ADOT planners to move ahead with their work to develop a transportation sys-
tem that will carry us into the future. “Transportation is fundamental to our state’s economy, prosperity and quality of life,” said ADOT Director John Halikowski. “The Long Range Transportation Plan is see PLANNING page 14
Construction employment rose in half the states and decreased in half in October and during the past year, closely matching the stable national employment picture, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data. The even split between gains and losses reflects the accelerating improvement in apartment and private nonresidential construction, offset by a declining public market and stalled single-family sector. “Construction employment gains are likely to remain spotty for months to come,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Local factors, rather than regional or industry trends, seem to dictate whether a state has rising or falling construction employment in a given month.” North Dakota ranked first among 24 states and the District of Columbia that recorded construction employment gains from October 2010 to October 2011. The state added 19 percent (4,100 jobs). Oklahoma ranked second (8.1 percent, 5,500 jobs), followed by D.C. (4.8 percent, 500 jobs). Texas added the largest number of jobs (17,500, 3.1 percent), closely followed by California (17,100, 3.1 percent). see EMPLOYMENT page 14
Table of Contents ................4 Crushing, Screening & Recycling Section ........15-22
Highway Overhaul Gaining Bipartisan Momentum By Joan Lowy
Attachment Section ....31-35
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Truck & Trailer Section37-40
WASHINGTON (AP) A Senate panel cleared legislation Nov. 9 overhauling federal highway programs, prompting lawmakers to talk of a looming bipartisan consensus that would end years of stalemate on repairing and expanding an aging transportation network. In a rare show of bipartisanship, the 18 members of the Senate Environment and Public
Auction Section ..........43-50 Business Calendar ............48 Advertisers Index ..............50
Works Committee pushed the legislation forward for further action, even withholding, for now, amendments that hadn’t been agreed to in advance by both parties. The two-year transportation plan was drafted by the committee’s Democratic chairwoman, Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, and its senior Republican, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma. The bill’s co-sponsors include the Senate Finance Committee’s Democratic chairman, Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, and its senior Republican, Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana,
who are trying to find the money to pay for the plan. “I don’t think there is any question, if you look at the four of us, that this is the definition of bipartisan work,” Vitter said. “This is a jobs bill, this is an infrastructure bill that is designed to succeed, that can succeed.” Despite the Senate’s defeat of President Barack Obama’s $50 billion infrastructure jobs bill, momentum is building for congressional passage of a long-term transportation plan to see PLAN page 14