West #9,2013

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Western Edition

www.constructionequipmentguide.com

May 4, 2013 • Vol. IX • No. 9 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215/885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215/885-2910

Inside

AZDOT Widens I-10 to Combat Rising Traffic By Mary Reed CEG CORRESPONDENT

Stretching from Santa Monica, Calif., to I-95 in Jacksonville, Fla., Interstate 10 (I-10) is the fourth-longest interstate in the country. In Arizona it is known as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway and the Arizona Department of Transportation (AZDOT) is currently overseeing a $76.4 million project to widen 2.33 mi. (3.7 km) of I-10 to four lanes in each direction between Ruthrauff Road and Prince Road in Tucson, to accommodate increasing traffic volumes and match the downtown Tucson stretch of I-10 recently widened to the same four-lane configuration. “Major improvements that are planned as part of this Interstate 10 project also include reconstructing the Prince Road traffic interchange so Prince Road will pass over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and I-10, as well as updating the

Hawthorne CAT Hosts HEATWURX Demo... 8

Pirtek Keeps Theme Park Rides in Motion...14

see AZDOT page 36

Pulice Construction Inc., of Phoenix, Ariz., is prime general contractor for the job, which also involves three bridges, six box culverts, and numerous castin-place retaining walls.

WC A Attacts Hundreds to Perris Auction...48

Table of Contents ....................4 Attachment Section ..........11-13 Recycling Section..............15-25 Business Calendar ..................32 Truck & Trailer Section ....37-39 Auction Section ................42-51 Advertisers Index ..................50

Employment Numbers on Keystone XL Gains Rise, 18,000 Jobs Added Industry Approval Seventeen national construction associations joined Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) in comments supporting the U.S. State Department’s Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Keystone XL pipeline permit application and urging swift approval of the project. The State Department issued the EIS in response to TransCanada’s May 2012 application to complete the proposed pipeline segment from Canada to Nebraska. In addition to the environmental findings, the report concludes the project would support more than 42,000 jobs, translating to $2 billion in earnings for workers. Direct expenditures associated with building the pipeline, such as construction and material costs, would total approximately $3.3 billion. “From equipment and material suppliers to contractors and manufacturers, the construction industry agrees: the see KEYSTONE page 28

Construction industry employment climbed for the tenth consecutive month in March, as the sector added 18,000 jobs and surpassed 5.8 million employees for the first time since September 2009, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials cautioned that the industry may soon experience both layoffs for some skilled trades and shortages of others, unless policy makers boost infrastructure investment and allow importation of needed workers. “The nearly steady expansion of construction payrolls since hitting bottom in January 2011 brought the industry’s unemployment rate down to 14.7 percent last month, the lowest March rate since 2008,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist.

“Unfortunately, the decline is less a result of the 370,000 construction hires than because more than a million and a half experienced workers have left the industry since its peak by taking other jobs, retiring or leaving the workforce. That makes shortages of skilled workers increasingly likely in high-demand crafts such as pipefitting, welding and some residential activities.” The 5.802 million construction workers employed in March constituted an increase of 162,000 or 2.9 percent from a year ago and included many, but not all, nonresidential segments as well as residential construction, Simonson noted. Residential building and specialty trade contractors added 14,800 workers in the month and 77,800 (3.8 percent) over 12 months. Nonresidential see JOBS page 28


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