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January 21, 2012 • Vol. IXX • No. 2 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
In Jeopardy...
Road Funds at Risk in Some States Over Rule
Kom atsu Hybrid Proves Itself as Powerful...10
By David A. Lieb The Court Street Bridge was rehabilitated to provide a safe detour for the duration of the U.S. 24 project.
Numbers Strong for Nor thern Green Expo...14
New Compact Bridge Set for Clay County, Kan. By Jennifer Rupp CEG CORRESPONDENT
U.S. 24 runs the entire width of Kansas, extending into Colorado to the west and Missouri to the east. Major repairs to this route have been incorporated into the Kansas Department of Transportation’s (KSDOT) highway projects over the next couple of years. For the 2012-2013 fiscal period, KSDOT has allotted $82 million for improvements across the state. The projects range from heavy preservation and expansion, to light preservation and modernization. see BRIDGE page 58 Cate rpil lar Highl ight s Rit chie Br os. Sa le.. .71
Paving Section ......43-53
Oil Industry Chief Warns Obama on Canada Pipeline
Parts Section ........64-65
By Matthew Daly
Table of Contents ........4
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Auction Section .............. ....................Starts at 71 Business Calendar ......77 Advertisers Index ......78
WASHINGTON (AP) The oil industry’s top lobbyist warned the Obama administration Jan. 4 to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline or face “huge political consequences” in an election year. Jack Gerard, president of the American
Petroleum Institute, said it would be a “huge mistake” for President Barack Obama to reject the 1,700-mi. (2,736 km), Canada-to-Texas pipeline. Obama faces a Feb. 21 deadline to decide whether the $7 billion pipeline is in the national interest. “Clearly, the Keystone XL pipeline is in the national interest,” Gerard said at the trade association’s annual “State of see PIPELINE page 62
ASSOCIATED PRESS
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Stuck in a financial pothole, Missouri’s highway department has been selling equipment and eliminating employees to scrounge up enough money to repair its roads. Unless it also changes state law, it could lose tens of millions of federal highway dollars as a penalty for not adopting new safety requirements for commercial truck drivers. Though Missouri’s financial predicament may be extreme, it is far from unique. Approximately one-third of states have indicated they may not meet a Jan. 30 deadline for their drivers’ license offices to require interstate truck drivers to provide proof from a medical professional that they are healthy enough to drive, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. States that fail to comply with the federal mandate could lose 5 percent of their highway funds — about $30 million in Missouri’s case. If they remain out of compliance for a second year, that penalty doubles. But noncompliant states could receive a grace period; as long as they submit a plan to obey the mandate, federal officials have indicated they may not start deducting money until 2014. The federal agency declined to provide a list of the states in jeopardy of missing the deadline. But Missouri’s plight was confirmed by state officials and documents obtained by The Associated Press through an open-records request. Officials in several other states, including Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma, also confirmed to the AP that they will not be able to fully implement the federal requirement by the deadline. “It’s hard enough to keep our roads in good condition, and this is going to make it more difficult,” said Missouri state Rep. Eric Burlison, a Republican who unsuccessfully sought to bring Missouri in line with the federal requirements. The federal government already requires interstate see FUNDS page 23