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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” 470 • Ft. Washington, PA Drive 19034 • Toll• 215-885-2900 Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215/885-2910 • www.ConstructionEquipmentGuide.com AprilMaryland 11, 2012 •Drive Vol. XLIX • No. 8 • 470 Maryland • Ft.• 215/885-2900 Washington, PA 19034 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
Low Span Score Spurs Vital Replacement Work By Jennifer Hetrick EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Hoffman Equipment Holds Equipment Drive-Thru…8
Eighty-two years can take a lot out of a bridge, particularly when the area in which it was built has experienced a dramatic growth in population and, therefore, traffic. Such is the case with a bridge in still bucolic, but increasingly busy, Bucks County, Pa.
Regional Gas Price Disparities Explained By Lori Lovely CEG CORRESPONDENT
Alex Lyon & Son Hosts Sale in A tlantic City…120
More Than 2,900 Bidders Vie for Iron in Md. …124
Table of Contents ........4 Paving, Compaction & Milling Section ....73-101
With fuel prices once again on the rise, there is a noticeable disparity in cost from one region to the next, leaving many consumers wondering why. Several factors affect the price of gas everywhere, including demand, supply and supply disruptions, which, in turn, can be affected by events such as hurricanes and politics, distance from the supply source, competition and federal emissions standards — or even higher environmental standards in some regions, which require specific refining, distribution and storage, all of which add to the cost. Environmental programs often require reformulated gasoline that contains additives to reduce
pollutants. Approximately onethird of the gasoline sold in the United States is reformulated. This creates “gasoline market islands,” according to John Cook, director of the petroleum division of the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. Because the clean-burning requirements in these islands are unique, few refineries can supply them, leading to the possibility of higher prices in certain markets, due to demand or the potential for supply interruptions.
Photo Courtesy of Justin G. Orient
The existing five-span bridge will be completely demolished (including concrete piers and abutments). Then a new three-span bridge will be constructed in its place, which will be aligned slightly downstream from the existing bridge.
Don’t Be Crude Crude oil acquisition costs are the single biggest driver impacting gas prices, according to Tim Hess, analyst of the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Located just outside Doylestown Borough, the bridge at Lower State and Almshouse Roads has carried traffic of all kinds — two- and fourfooted as well as wheeled conveyances of various sorts — over the Neshaminy Creek in ever-increasing numbers. The most recent count stands at 13,500 vehicles per day. Built in 1930, the original bridge was 212 ft. (64.6 m) long and 24 ft. (7.3 m) wide. It also was constructed with five support piers, which have interfered with water flow and caused
see PUMP page 131
see BRIDGE page 40
Parts Section ............108
Western Pa. Locks, Dams on Brink of Failure
Auction Section114-140
By Len Boselovic PITTSBURG POST-GAZETTE
Business Calendar....118 Advertisers Index ....138
PITTSBURGH (AP) Pittsburgh’s three rivers, an economic engine since Lewis and Clark departed the city for their epic exploration of the west, are flirting with disaster.
The region’s 23 locks and dams, which annually move 33 million tons of coal, petroleum and other commodities that fuel the local economy, are on the brink of failure, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency charged with maintaining them. The failure could come at Elizabeth, the locks
and dam on the Monongahela River completed in 1907. The Corps said there “are significant structural, mechanical and hydraulic problems” with the locks, including the collapsing roof of the tunnel that carries water used to fill and empty the lock chambers. see DAMS page 34