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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” 4December 24, 2011 • Vol. XVIII • No. 26 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
Funds Set for 46 Transportation Projects in U.S.
IED Celebrates with Annual Party...10
ways, but we haven’t been able to address our growing inventory of deficient bridges. Routine bridge replacements were being done every year, but we couldn’t get ahead of the curve,” said Bob Brendel, special assignments coordinator of MoDOT. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) unveiled the Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program in September 2006 to rehabilitate or replace 802 of the worst bridges in
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that 46 transportation projects in 33 states and Puerto Rico will receive a total of $511 million from the third round of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s popular TIGER program. The announcement comes months ahead of schedule and will allow communities to move forward with critical, job-creating infrastructure projects including road and bridge improvements; transit upgrades; freight, port and rail expansions; and new options for bicyclists and pedestrians. The Department of Transportation (DOT) received 848 project applications from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., requesting a total of $14.29 billion, far exceeding the $511 million made available for grants under the TIGER III program. “The overwhelming demand for these grants clearly shows that communities across the country can’t afford to wait any longer for Congress to put Americans to work building the transportation projects that are critical to our economic future,” said LaHood. “That’s why we’ve taken action to get these grants out the door quickly, and that is why we will continue to ask Congress to make the targeted
see BRIDGES page 44
see PROJECTS page 36
This bridge beam was on display two years ago at the Missouri State Fair. The public was asked to sign it, and it was later placed on the Route U Bridge over Spring Fork Creek in Pettis County
Mack Helps Chr istmas Tree Get to D.C. ...24
Safe & Sound Initiative Helps Missouri Bridges Bounce Back By Jennifer Rupp CEG CORRESPONDENT
Case Donates Skid Steer to Iowa College...30
Table of Contents ....................4 Snow & Ice Section ..........37-43 Paving Section..................49-57
Underground Utility, Trenchers & Boxes Section .... ..........................................59-62 Parts Section..........................76 Auction Section ....Starts at 81 Business Calendar ................83 Advertisers Index ..................90
There are 10,405 bridges on the Missouri state highway system — 7th largest total nationwide. Approximately 1,100 of them are in poor or serious condition. The Safe & Sound Initiative will address most of these bridges. “We’ve focused on system improvements over the last 10 years and have made significant progress improving the condition of our road-
ARTBA Economist Predicts 2012 Outlook for Transportation Construction Market Mixed No matter how you slice it, the outlook for the 2012 transportation construction market is mixed, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) senior economist said Dec. 12 in releasing her annual economic forecast during a 90-minute webinar for Wall Street analysts and construction industry
executives. “There is good news and bad news for 2012 depending on the mode of transportation,” according to ARTBA’s Alison Premo Black. First the bad news: the highway and bridge construction market is expected to contract six percent, to $72.6 billion from an estimated $77
billion in 2011. The subway and light rail markets will be down even more. “The main factors driving the decline in highway and bridge construction are not surprising: the winding down of infrastructure investment under the American Recovery & see FORECAST page 24