Better Roads 1014 issuu

Transportation Talk:

Don’t Underestimate the Market

PAGE

5

In Court: A ‘No Damages for Delays’ Case Prevails

PAGE

26

Kirk Landers: How Much Capacity is Too Much?

PAGE

32

Taking Control

of Congestion Page 16 16

ADA Angst: New Interpretation of These Requirements Page 6

Building a Better Jobsite October 2014

www.BetterRoads.com

Page 21

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Contents October 2014

6. ROAD SCIENCE: ADA Angst

Volume 84, Number 10

16. HIGHWAY CONTRACTOR:

A new interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements gives agencies the opportunity to reassess the Compliance to Accessibility Law. However, pavement preservation stakeholders in the United States are concerned that a reinterpretation of the Act last year will lead to disruption of low-cost pavement preservation programs.

Taking Control of Congestion on Tomball Parkway

Explosive growth around Harris County, Texas, has caused major traffic delays on State Highway 259. The state DOT couldn’t help fund a roadway expansion, so the county’s toll road authority took control.

21. APPLICATIONS & INNOVATIONS: Building a Better Jobsite

Contractors should always have the best interests of their crews in mind when making their purchasing decisions to combat common safety pitfalls on any jobsite.

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS

5 Transportation Talk

26 In Court

32 Kirk Landers

29 New Road Products

31 Marketplace

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

28 Advertiser Index

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Contribute:

If your agency or crew has worked on an exceptional project, or if you want to share your thoughts on current transportation issues, email your ideas for a blog or contributed story to Editor-at-Large Tina Grady Barbaccia at tinabarbaccia@randallreilly. com or Online Managing Editor Brian Ethridge at brianetheridge@ randallreilly.com

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TransportationTalk Editorial Editor-At-Large: Tina Grady Barbaccia Editorial Director: Marcia Gruver Doyle

Don’t Underestimate the

Market

Online Editor: Wayne Grayson Online Managing Editor: Brian Ethridge Production Editor: Lauren Heartsill Dowdle Editor Emeritus: Kirk Landers Truck Editor: Jack Roberts Construction Editors: Tom Jackson, Tom Kuennen, Dan Brown editorial@betterroads.com

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Better RoadsTM magazine, (ISSN 0006-0208) founded in 1931 by Alden F. Perrin, is published monthly by Randall-Reilly Publishing Company, LLC.© 2014. Executive and Administrative offices, 3200 Rice Mine Rd. N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Qualified subscriptions solicited exclusively from governmental road agencies, contractors, consultants, research organizations, and equipment and materials suppliers. Single copy price $5.00 in U.S. and Canada. Subscription rate for individuals qualified in U.S. and Canada $24.95. Foreign $105.00. Special group rates to companies qualified in quantities over five names. We assume no responsibility for the validity of claims of manufacturers in any advertisement or editorial product information or literature offered by them. Publisher reserves the right to refuse non-qualified subscriptions. Periodical circulation postage paid at Tuscaloosa, Alabama and additional entries. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage retrieval system, without written permission of the copyright owner. For quality custom reprints, e-prints, and editorial copyright and licensing services please contact: Linda Hapner, (224) 723-5372 or reprints@betterroads.com. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Better Roads, 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406.

T

he transportation construction industry was hit pretty tough with this latest recession. In a 2014-2018 Construction Outlook from the Portland Cement Association’s (PCA) Dave Zwicke, senior regional economist, at the Associated Equipment Dealers (AED)/Infor Executive Forum, he noted that this past recession was the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. There was an 8.5 million job loss. Construction activity declined 38 percent. Housing starts declined 73 percent.

Now that the country is finally in the recovery stages, there is concern that the recession has been so harsh that expectations for future growth have been distorted, Zwicke says. Are we in a “new normal?” There has been a prolonged period of 2-percent growth. There is worrisome federal debt, which is presently at the highest levels in the post-World War II Era. However, though there is merit to the arguments that we are in a “new normal,”’ Zwicke says, there cannot be a complete dismissal of business cycles and how they work.

Household debit as a share of GDP is in steady decline. The household debt service, the percent cost of debt relative to disposable income, is at a 30-year-low. Consumer confidence has risen to post-recession highs, and inflation remains “relatively low” for the near term, Zwicke says. He also points out that net job creation has accelerated.

“The rate of annual increase has slowly been increasing,” Zwicke says. “The rate is expected to gradually accelerate, reaching 3 million in 2017.”

Total construction spending is also expected to increase. This year, total spending is shown to have a 4.1-percent increase. In 2015, it is expected to increase 9.2 percent, followed by 9.8 percent in 2016. In 2017, it will slow down a bit with a 7.5-percent increase and a 5-percent increase in 2018.

The cement intensity signals broader activity, Zwicke notes. These intensities, he says, rise and fall based on several factors: geographic trends, building preferences, sector strength and cyclical patterns. The sustained rise in recent months signal an apparent cyclical turning point.

Cement consumption is forecast to experience growth. This year, a 7.9-percent growth is forecast, with a consumption of 86.1 million tons.

Next year, consumption is forecast to increase 8.4 percent to 93.3 million tons. In 2016, growth is expected to increase 10.7 percent to 103.2 million tons.

All this growth is encouraging. Although we may not be completely out of the woods yet, Zwicke’s acknowledgement of business cycles and how they work is important. I would like to take the optimistic approach that the market will continue to recover and get on board with Zwicke’s advice: Don’t underestimate the market. Here’s

by Tina Grady Barbaccia, to hoping that despite all our funding issues, the overall Editor-At-Large construction market will continue down a positive road. ❖ tinabarbaccia@randallreilly.com Better Roads October 2014 5

RoadScience

by Tom Kuennen, Contributing Editor

ADA Angst

New interpretation of ADA Requirements gives agencies opportunity to reassess the Compliance to Accessibility Law.

P

avement preservation stakeholders in the United States are concerned that a reinterpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act last year by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will lead to disruption of low-cost pavement preservation programs in this country.

The technical advisory requires that curb ramps and other upgrades be mandated for a variety of thin pavement preservation surface treatments that heretofore had been defined as maintenance, and therefore did not require upgrades until alterations were made to the road.

This unfunded mandate could set the pavement preservation mantra of “the right treatment to the right road at the

6 October 2014 Better Roads

right time” on its head, with cost pressures resulting in the wrong treatment to the wrong road at the wrong time, or no treatment at all if the ADA curb ramp installation costs are too high.

But at the same time it could lead to a reassessment of an agency’s compliance with the ADA as the agency inventories which intersections need remediation, and which don’t, regardless of the status of its pavement preservation program.

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) requires that state and local governments make sure that persons with disabilities have access to the pedestrian routes in the public right-of-way. An important part of this requirement is the obligation that, whenever streets, roadways or

Photo courtesy of Tom Kuennen

Older and newer: This older-style curb ramp contrasts with a late model in foreground

Photo courtesy of Tom Kuennen

highways are altered, curb ramps be provided where street level pedestrian walkways cross curbs.

For decades, states, counties and municipalities should have “ADA plans” in place, thus have a program for providing curb ramps, in many cases installing curb ramps even without the trigger of pavement “alteration.”

Programs for curb reconstruction to provide curb cuts without associated pavement reconstruction has kept these agencies ahead in the game.

During those same decades, the pavement preservation movement gathered steam, and now many presPictured is a regulation curb on a suburban street. An important part of this requirement is the obligation that whenever street, roadways or highways are altered, curb ramps be provided where street level pedeservation programs are in place at all trian walkways cross curbs. levels of government, with pavement inventories and condition databases used to program presor delay spending $6 to $10 on future rehabilitation or ervation work. But, the new ADA guidance from inside the reconstruction costs, NCPP says.

Beltway does not take the existing ADA plans into considerPreviously, pavement preservation treatments weren’t ation, and the guidance creates contradictions in prioritizconsidered road alterations that would trigger ADA requireing ADA work and pavement preservation programs. ments. But following the new guidance released last year, under the ADA, some pavement preservation treatments now require costly accessibility features such as curb ramps be installed as part of the project, while other preservation Proponents maintain that pavement preservation techniques treatments don’t.

Projects now deemed to be alterations must include are cost-effective and environmentally sustainable stratecurb ramps within the scope of a project. These include gies that extend the life of pavements before they deteriomicro surfacing, thin-lift overlays, open-graded surface rate substantially. They add that pavement preservation is courses, cape seals, mill-and-overlays, and hot in-place like changing the oil in your car, or painting your house: a smaller upfront investment avoids high future costs of recycling. reconstruction and rehabilitation.

Projects deemed to be maintenance, and exempt from curb For roads, these techniques include preventive mainteramps, include crack and joint filling and sealing, surface, nance surface treatments such as slurry surfacings, crack chip, slurry, scrub and fog seals, concrete joint repairs and sealing, chip sealing, micro surfacing, surface rejuvenation, dowel bar retrofits, spot high-friction treatments, underhot and cold in-place recycling, thin-lift hot-mix asphalt sealing, diamond grinding, and pavement patching. paving, and concrete pavement restoration.

“This recent DOT/DOJ interpretation changing longPavement preservation methods prolong pavement life, standing FHWA practices threatens to take away several cost says the National Center for Pavement Preservation (NCPP), effective maintenance ‘tools’ for government agencies,” said avoiding high future costs of reconstruction or rehabilitaFP2 Inc. executive director Jim Moulthrop, P.E. “Our experition through the expenditure of lesser amounts of money ence is showing that the right treatment, for the right road, at critical points in a pavement’s life. Experience shows that at the right time, is put at risk by the new ADA guidelines, spending a dollar on pavement preservation can eliminate which can even lead to no treatment if it’s perceived that the

Preservation saves roads, money

Better Roads October 2014 7

Image courtesy of U.S. Department of Justice

RoadScience

Local governments now must recalibrate their pavement preservation programs to accommodate the cost of compliance or change strategies completely. An ideal curb ramp that meets ADA requirements is shown.

right treatment would lead to unaffordable capital improvements. This is counterproductive to road maintenance programs achieving ADA goals, and flies in the face of the pavement preservation language of our federal surface transportation legislation, MAP-21.”

Survey shows California impact That’s borne out by a survey this spring of local governments in California that shows the impact that the ADA guidance will have on local governments that now must recalibrate their pavement preservation programs to accommodate the cost of compliance, or change strategies completely.

The survey was conducted in May by Ding Cheng, Ph.D., and Gary Hicks, Ph.D., of the California Pavement Preservation (CP2) Center at the California State University-Chico.

Nearly 260 road professionals answered – of whom 62 percent were from local agencies, and 25 percent from state or federal agencies – and the survey found that more than 63 percent of respondents believe the new interpretation of what is considered alteration and what is considered 8 October 2014 Better Roads

maintenance will greatly impact their ability to maintain their roads.

Preservation treatments like micro surfacing, cape seals, thin and ultrathin HMA, and in-place recycling now are considered by the new rules to be alterations that will require curb ramps and amenities. More than 90 percent of respondents said they currently use these treatments, but 54 percent said they’d no longer use them in the face of the new ADA interpretation.

Would the new ADA interpretation lead to deferred projects? Some 65 percent of respondents said it would; 55 percent said it would increase the cost of roads by 20 to 40 percent, 34 percent by 40 to 60 percent, and 11 percent of respondents believe they will see 60 to 80 percent increases in their road costs.

Nearly 70 percent of respondents said the new ADA guidance will cause them to shift away from treatments that have worked well in the past, and 75 percent said it would lead to deferred maintenance.

“The new interpretation of what is considered as alteration and what is considered as maintenance will affect agencies’ ability to maintain roads,” Cheng and Hicks say.

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Photo courtesy of Tom Kuennen

RoadScience

This ramp is present with friction treatment, but it lacks tactile bumps.

“Agencies may decide to no longer use surface treatments, such as microsurfacing, cape seal, or in-place recycling, if they require the installation of curb ramps. The technical advisory will cause agencies to defer preservation projects, and increase project costs by 20 to 40 percent or more.”

Transition plan will help Regardless of the status of local agency pavement preservation programs, existing federal laws for years have required that agencies with authority over streets, roads or walkways to have developed a transition plan and complete structural changes like curb ramps by Jan. 26, 1995.

“If agencies have complied with these long-standing program access regulations, most needed curb ramps will already be in place,” said Doug Hecox, FHWA acting associate administrator for public affairs, as reported in California Asphalt Magazine. “The joint [technical advisory] addresses remaining barriers between sidewalks and streets to provide access to pedestrian facilities for more than 30 million people with disabilities based on the 2010 Census data.”

Thus whether they have preservation programs or not, agencies without their full complement of curb ramps and other amenities need a transition plan from their current state to a network that is fully accessible and ADA-compli10 October 2014 Better Roads

ant, says Steve Mueller, P.E., president, Stephen Mueller Consultancy in Colorado.

Mueller, who just launched his consulting practice after retiring as pavement and materials engineer for the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Colorado Resource Center, has a long history of involvement with pavement preservation, pavement recycling, and asphalt materials and construction. He also is a former district engineer for the Asphalt Institute, and pavement management engineer for Aurora, Colo.

“The law is designed to provide pedestrian mobility to everyone in our society,” Mueller tells Better Roads. ”Agencies need to understand how accessible their roads currently are, and develop a good inventory of ramps and other access features, such as sidewalk width and anything else needed to accommodate people who are physically challenged, and make the changes they need,” Mueller said.

Colored “truncated domes” or tactile indicators are required for citizens with vision problems, he said. “They are detectable with canes and by foot,” he says. “If a signal is present an agency would have to implement audible signals.

The agreement between the DOT and DOJ said ‘if you are doing any alterations to the paving surface, the roadway must be made completely accessible.’”

The issue then becomes which preservation treatments make for alterations, and which don’t. “Microsurfacing and slurry surfacings are close to the same product, except for polymer modification in the former,” Mueller says.

“If slurry seals are a maintenance technique, and micro surfacing an alteration, it does not make any technical sense whatsoever. I am very concerned about the engineering principles that were applied in this agreement, and that the DOT decisions were taken at a high level without adequate technical involvement and review. When basic engineering principles are ignored, and basic materials aren’t well

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RoadScience

Where the Sidewalk Ends: Makeshift asphalt ramp serves until surface or friction course of asphalt is placed in condo development.

understood by the people putting these agreements together, the outcome won’t technically be what it should have been.”

Nonetheless, as a civil rights issue, compliance with the ADA is obligatory to all public agencies, Mueller says. “The lack of technical involvement doesn’t mean agencies shouldn’t be following the civil rights function of the law,” he says. “The law has been in effect for more than 25 years now, and many local communities – and some state DOTs – have not been complying with the law. Their attitude was that it was just

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another unfunded mandate, and they were ignoring the law and not creating the transition plan that should have been there. If the agencies had been doing their transition planning, this agreement might not have been necessary.”

Note: A guide to the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act relating to curb ramps at pedestrian crossings may be found online in the DOJ’s ADA Toolkit: visit ada.gov/pcatoolkit/ch6_toolkit.pdf.

Not a federal funding issue Also, the mandate being a civil rights issue means that it has nothing to do with whether an agency receives federal funds, said Robert Mooney, pre-construction team leader, FHWA, at the combined annual meetings of the Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association, Asphalt Emulsion Manufacturers Association, and International Slurry Surfacing Association in February. “It applies to all entities: all agencies, all states, towns, counties, even if they are not recipients of federal funds,” he said. “If [your project] is

not in compliance with the law, even though it’s not federally funded, if there is a complaint from a citizen you will be held responsible.”

Originally, the DOJ proposed that any preservation work other than a pothole repair was to be considered an alteration, requiring that accessibility be provided, he said. “To them, the only maintenance item was a pothole,” Mooney said. “That was our starting point.”

But in 2013 DOJ and DOT continued the dialogue, based on information from states and towns, contractors, and complaints about how unevenly the guidance was being enforced, Mooney said. The appearance was that preservation equipment was being utilized, but no curb ramps were being installed. “It was the Department of Justice’s point of view that if the public perception was that major work was going on a roadway, that we [would] need to address accessibility for all the public,” he said.

Mooney was asked what the ramifications would be for an agency that did not upgrade curbs. “[While] it depends on the exact scenario, a complainant – a citizen putting in

Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info Untitled-7 1

9/30/14 Better Roads October9:33 2014AM13

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RoadScience a complaint – will be able to go to court and sue, and they would most likely win,” Mooney said. “The agency would be held responsible in the lawsuit.”

He also said that if FHWA found that an agency was not in compliance, it could withhold funds for unrelated projects until the project in question had been rectified. “If we get wind of it and find there is truth to it, other projects could be affected,” Mooney said. “They can withhold funds for Project B until Project A is handled properly.”

Toward a sensible solution There is no easy way out of the predicament, experts close to the situation say. “California’s counties have long been a strong advocate for disabled access and the implementation of the American Disabilities Act,” said Scott McGolpin, director of public works for the county of Santa Barbara and president of the County Engineers Association of California, as reported by the California Asphalt Pavement

Association, in CalAPA’s magazine California Asphalt.

“We recognize people with disabilities need and deserve safe access to freely move within their communities,” McGolpin said. “Counties have adopted cost-effective strategies to maximize our limited financial resources to preserve all of our transportation infrastructure.”

The new federal guidance, however, places additional hardships on cities and counties, he said. “Unfortunately, the new ADA Joint Technical Assistance forces local governments to modify existing infrastructure at significant additional costs, including reconstructing existing ADA accommodations that met previous federal standards.

Consequently, it will minimize counties’ abilities to provide new access to other areas of the community.

“Despite this impractical update,” he adds, “counties will strive to reach substantial compliance without any additional resources to meet this unfunded federal mandate. Counties welcome the opportunity to work with federal partners to come up with a sensible solution.” v

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9/30/14 9:31 AM

Better Roads October 2014 15

HighwayContractor

Taking Control

of Congestion on Tomball Parkway

Explosive growth around Harris County, Texas, has caused major traffic delays on State Highway 259. The state DOT couldn’t help fund a roadway expansion so the county’s toll road authority took control to solve the problem.

16 October 2014 Better Roads

S

tate Highway 249, also known as the Tomball Parkway, is one of the primary freeways serving the city of Tomball in Harris County, Texas.

Running north and south, it is located in Commissioner R. Jack Cagle’s Precinct 4.

The six-lane highway (three in each direction) is used by thousands of Texans to commute to work and other destinations in the Houston metropolitan area. As the freeway heads north, it ends abruptly and commuters exit from the main lanes to a two-lane exit ramp to the frontage road with traffic signals.

This has resulted in traffic delays to the traveling public throughout the years. Also, the explosive growth in and around the city in recent years has increased the congestion, especially during rush hours.

With the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) facing a shortage of funds, the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) took a big step last year to solve this issue.

The agency decided to build three toll lanes in each direction along the existing SH 249 corridor and hired HCTRA hired Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN), a planning, engineering and program management firm headquartered in Houston, to provide construction management services for a critical portion of the project.

The project includes 1.1 miles of six main lanes (three lanes in each direction), a 17-span bridge, two ramp toll plazas for entrance and exit ramps, and two detention ponds.

Williams Brothers Construction Co., Inc. serves as the contractor.

Target milestones With HCTRA funding the project primarily through revenue bonds, a critical goal is to complete the construction as early as possible so the agency can start generating toll revenue.

To achieve this goal, HCTRA has set the contractor two hard milestones, with disincentives for not completing the project on time.

The first milestone, MS-1, requires the completion of the two ramp toll plazas by Jan.15, 2015, from the time the project begins construction. The damages for not completing the ramp toll plazas on time are $2,500 per calendar day.

The second milestone, MS-2, requires the substantial completion of the main lanes and the bridge in 450 calendar days, with $15,000 damages per calendar day. There are no incentives to the contractor for early completion of the work.

“I have never worked on a project where the contractor is charged seven days a week, regardless of weather, holidays and weekends,” says Henry Quiroga, P.E., LANs resident engineer. “Usually, the contractor is charged five or six days a week that counts off of set milestones. In this project, every day counts from 450 to zero.”

Better Roads October 2014 17

HighwayContractor

Completed columns and caps on this six-lane highway (three in each direction).

18

Challenges and milestones

Planning for the future

To achieve these milestones, the project team is proactively planning and executing different operations and navigating challenges as they emerge. One of the primary challenges is the concurrent construction of the Grand Parkway, a major four-lane project that runs east to west perpendicular to the Tomball project.

“The Tomball project goes under the Grand Parkway and over the frontage road,” says Quiroga. “It’s a three-tier level that requires complex coordination with several entities, including HCTRA, TxDOT, contractors and other engineering firms.”

For example, Quiroga says, when completing building the bridge substructure in the area of the Grand Parkway, coordination had to be done with Grand Parkway’s contractor to work during a specific time period and mobilized our crew and equipment accordingly.

“Now, they are building their bridge deck and are coordinating their activities with us,” Quiroga. “We meet several times on the field and plan tasks at least a month in advance to ensure that we don’t affect each other’s critical path.”

Another challenge the team encountered was the presence of numerous pipes in the detention pond.

“As we were digging the detention pond, we found 5,000 linear feet of old pipes that were not shown in the plans but had to be removed to excavate for the pond.” Quiroga says.

“We had to procure an environmental contractor to come in and pull the pipes. To complicate matters, we were not able to procure the services of the environmental contractor that we first selected. So, we went to plan B and selected a different contractor. This whole process took longer than expected.”

The project team has also faced challenges such as rain delays and equipment problems.

Despite these challenges, the project is on course for completion in the summer of 2015.

Unlike most projects, the Tomball Tollway is being constructed with minimal disruption to the traveling public.

“Usually, when you extend an existing road, it affects traffic on a daily basis,” Quiroga says. “This project is unique in that the tollway is being constructed in the center away from the traveling public. As this project continues, commuters will continue using the frontage roads. It’s also good for the contractors as they don’t have to incorporate traffic controls.”

Additionally, anticipating future growth, HCTRA and the project team are constructing the Tollway with room on its bridge structures to add another main lane. This will save the agency money in the long run and prevent future widening projects that could be expensive and disruptive to the traveling public.

Upon completion, the project will significantly ease congestion in a critical region of Houston, reduce commuting times and give drivers a new option to use non-stop toll lanes in addition to the currently used non-tolled frontage roads. It also will enable faster connections to major locations such as the Bush-Intercontinental Airport, the Port of Houston and the Texas Medical Center, and potentially stimulate economic development along the corridor.

“This project comes at a crucial time for this community and is a win-win for all the stakeholders,” Quiroga says. 

October 2014 Better Roads

This article was contributed by Joel Schramm, regional transportation manager at Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN), a planning, engineering and program management firm headquartered in Houston.

Photos courtesy of Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN) and the Harris County Toll Road Authority.

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Applications & Innovations

by Todd Jurjevic, sales and marketing director, Minnich Manufacturing

Building a

Better Jobsite Contractors should always have the best interests of their crews in mind when making their purchasing decisions to combat common safety pitfalls on any jobsite, regardless of the manufacturer.

T

he brave men and women who don their steeltoed boots and neon green safety T-shirts to build the nation’s highways and byways put their lives on the line every day to create the road systems that motorists may take for granted.

It’s not easy work when all of the variables of working in such a hazardous environment. Cars and trucks speed by at 80-plus miles an hour; inhalation of jobsite debris can sometimes be the root cause of both minor and major respiratory issues; and working at height on our bridge systems can result in serious injury or death with just one small misstep.

Not only are road workers dealing with traffic whizzing by them, they’re also likely manipulating equipment to carry out their tasks at the same time. It’s a dangerous job in a dangerous setting. Again, there’s nothing easy about it.

As manufacturers in the construction industry, it’s extremely important to do our part in supporting the folks who are out there making our country better one road, one overpass, or one pothole at a time. Many manufactur-

ers are already making strides in making their equipment the “safest on the market,” and incorporating protection systems like roll over protection (ROPS), and falling object protection (FOPS) for their riding equipment.

However, it’s not just excavators, skid steers, and rollers that need to focus on safety. Speak with a contractor, and they will most likely tell you that for a standard road construction project, for every one skid steer or excavator, there are approximately 10 smaller pieces of equipment that are equally as important to the success of the project — anything from dowel pin drills to generators, rammers, light towers, and everything in between. Each piece of equipment has its purpose, and choosing the best equipment can often lead to a cohesive, productive, and safe working environment.

That being said, as the people who manufacture the equipment that construction crews work with every day, manufacturers’ messages need to be less about using safety as a way to market our products, and more about how our equipment fits into creating a safer all-around jobsite. It’s the least we can do to support our industry. Safety is not a Better Roads October 2014 21

Applications & Innovations gimmick, or a line item on a sell sheet — it needs to be taken seriously.

There are myriad technologies available to combat the common safety pitfalls on any jobsite, and regardless of manufacturer, contractors should always have the best interests of their crews in mind when making their purchasing decisions. Each piece of equipment on the job site provides their own unique challenges, so here are a few general things to consider when purchasing equipment.

Keeping a safe distance When at all possible, it is important for the operator to be removed from the point of action on a jobsite. Anytime machinery is drilling, breaking, tamping, pounding, cutting, scraping, pouring or crushing, it presents possible hazards to construction crew members. Some manufacturers are taking the driver’s seat when it comes to keeping crew members away from the action by developing automatic technology to integrate into their machinery.

As an example, manufacturers of large-gang dowel pin drills, which are an integral part of the road building process,

are now available in self-propelled models. Dowel pin drills ride along the slab of cured concrete drilling holes into the side of the slab. These holes allow workers to insert pieces of rebar into the holes and make it possible for two adjacent concrete slabs to align once the next slab is poured. The selfpropelled units offer an alternative to pushing the unit down the slab, and takes at least part of the danger out of the equation.

Dowel pin drills are one example of removing the operator from the action, but it’s not like this is an entirely new idea.

The operator cabs of heavy machinery; like excavators and backhoes are also removed from immediate danger (perched safely atop the unit), but the location of the operator still allows the machinery to be transported without presenting hazards to the crew.

It does not make sense for the cab of an excavator to be located near the tracks or where work is being done. Not only would it be considered unsafe, but it’s also inefficient. This technology that removes the operator from the action is more of a tried-and-true idea that has simply been translated into other types of equipment.

Email: info@mobilebarriers.com

www.mobilebarriers.com Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info 22 October 2014 Better Roads

Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info

®

Control at your fingertips Along the same vein of keeping the operator at a safe distance from the point of action, many different types of road-building equipment offer remote control operation of select units.

Interestingly enough, not only are there incredible safety benefits in operating equipment via remote control, but plenty of jobsite efficiencies can be gained by providing a better vantage point for the operator. In the case of dowel pin drills, by placing the operator in an area with a better line of sight, the holes are drilled more accurately and more efficiently as well. Traditionally, operators would be running the drill via the control panel, directly above the area to be drilled. This makes it difficult to see exactly where the holes need to be drilled without craning your neck, or constantly stepping off the slab to check location accuracy, then stepping back on the slab to make adjustments, and then drilling.

Not only does remote control technology keep operators at a safe distance from the unit itself, it also allows them to be away from potentially harmful concrete dust, out of the way of traffic, and also allows them to be located farther away from the heat and noise of the portable air compressor,

which powers the drill unit.

With control literally at the operator’s fingertips, and armed with a much better line of sight to the area to be drilled, efficiency is increased, as well as operator safety — all great things that positively affect contractors’ bottom lines.

A breath of fresh air The processes that are required to create a road from scratch include actions that kick up dust and debris. This is just another common hazard on the jobsite, and it’s important for us to do our part to minimize airborne particles being inhaled by workers, which can lead to respiratory system issues.

One organization that we work closely with is the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and part of their mission is to evaluate workplace hazards, including dust inhalation. We, along with many other manufacturers work hand-in-hand with NIOSH while engineering equipment to make job sites safer.

One of the most serious ailments that NIOSH has identified as a hazard to construction crews is a condition called

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7/14/2014 2:15:46 PM 7/29/14 2:49 PM 23 Better Roads October 2014

Applications & Innovations silicosis. Most concrete and masonry products contain silica sand and rock containing silica, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): even materials containing small amounts of crystalline silica may be hazardous if they are used in ways to produce high dust concentrations. (To read more, go to cdc.gov/niosh/ docs/96-112.)

Silicosis can result in severe lung inflammation, increased risk for lung infections, and in severe cases, respiratory failure. It’s plain to see why proper procedures to mitigate risk to the crew are extremely important — these may Many variables can contribute to the complexity of a job. It is the responsibility of the contractor management team, including fleet managers and foreman, to determine the best equipment for the job. include respirators and other PPE, wetting of the job site, or possibly using dust collection systems to minimize exposure. power to make sure they can provide that solution, even if it means deviating from their standard product offering.

Customized equipment for unique jobs

Each jobsite is different and can present unique challenges to the contractors involved. Many variables can contribute to the complexity of the job, and it is the responsibility of the contractor management team, including fleet managers and foremen to determine the best equipment for the job.

In many cases, sometimes the best equipment is something that does not exist yet. This is another area where manufacturers can step in and provide the best tool for the job.

As an example, we recently received a call from a contractor and dealer asking to design custom equipment for a highway project in Effingham, Illinois. The challenge was to keep workers safe while anchoring temporary concrete barriers to the existing slab. The solution was to create a custom unit that rode along the top rail of the barriers and drilled through the footing to the slab so that they could be anchored without workers having to redirect traffic, or put themselves in harm’s way.

With input from the contractor and dealer, we were able to help engineer a solution that worked extremely efficiently and ultimately kept workers safe. Manufacturers and equipment dealers across the board should look at the needs of the project, and if their equipment isn’t providing the correct solution, they should do everything within their

24 October 2014 Better Roads

The future is now In this ever-advancing technological age that we are experiencing, you can bet that the technology surrounding the safety of construction crews will only improve and become more accessible. Many organizations claim that safety is a pillar of their core ideology, and contractors, dealers, and manufacturers alike need to continue their dedication to making sure construction crews are making it home safely to their families at the end of the day.

Highways and bridges are crumbling, and infrastructure is something that most Americans can agree on as a solid investment in our country, and we’re not likely to see road construction projects break ground less frequently anytime in the near future.

It is our duty as an industry to provide the proper tools and practices for construction crews to carry out their jobs efficiently and safely. With the help of technological advances in construction equipment, we are getting better and better at that everyday, and this only promises better solutions as we look toward tomorrow. v About the author: Todd Jurjevic is sales and marketing director for Minnich Manufacturing. He may be contacted by phone at 419-903-0010 or via e-mail at tjurjevic@minnich-mfg.com.

www.BetterRoads.com Better Roads Magazine is proud to announce the launch of the new mobile version of BetterRoads.com. Stay up-to-date while you are on the go, with the latest news and products in the road building industry along with insight from our award-winning editorial team.

InCourt Court

by Brian Morrow, P.E., Esq.

Attorney Brian Morrow is a partner in Newmeyer & Dillion LLP and a licensed civil engineer specializing in construction law, including road and heavy construction. brian.morrow@ndlf.com

Delays and Disruptions Contractor prevails on no-damages-for-delay clause against Port of Houston

I

n a recent case involving no-damages-for-delay clauses – Zachry Construction Corp. v. Port of Houston Authority of Harris County, Aug. 29, 2014 – the Texas Supreme Court held a no-damages-fordelay provision in a construction contract by the Port of Houston was unenforceable.

No-damages-for-delay clauses can be found in private construction contracts, and public construction contracts with state and local governmental entities. The federal government, however, does not use such clauses in its standard form contracts. No-damages-for-delay provisions legally excuse a party to a contract from liability that it would otherwise be exposed to in the event of a project delay. These clauses assist in avoiding liability for money damages for delay, disruption, or interference suffered by a contractor during performance of a contract. No-damages-for-delay clauses are often upheld as valid, though they are also strictly interpreted and limited to their terms. There are several recognized exceptions to no-damages-for-delay clauses, including delays not contemplated by the parties, active interference, unreasonable delays, and fraud or intentional misconduct. In the absence of a no-damages-for-delay clause, typical rules of contract law would impose liability for delay caused by another party. The use of nodamages-for-delay clauses represent an attempt by owners and prime contractors to avoid liability for damages relating to delay.

In Zachry Construction Corp. v. Port of Houston Authority of Harris County, Zachry Construction contracted to

26 October 2014 Better Roads

construct a wharf on the Bayport Ship Channel for the Port of Houston. The contract included a no-damagefor-delay provision that provides: [Zachry] shall receive no financial compensation for delay or hindrance to the work…

The planned wharf was a concrete deck supported by piers. It would be used for loading and unloading ships carrying container goods. Its length was 1,660 feet — long enough for two ships to dock stern to bow. It would be built in five sections, each 135 feet wide and 332 feet long. The total cost was $62,485,733.

Zachry planned on innovative construction, including installing a frozen earth wall that would allow it to perform the work in the dry.” The company believed this approach would make the work less expensive and allow it to be completed more quickly.

Work began in June 2004 and was to be completed in two years. But two sections of the wharf had to be completed by February 2006, so a ship from China could deliver cranes to be used on the wharf. The Port imposed liquidated damages of $20,000 per day for missing the deadlines.

Nine months into the project, the Port realized that a sixth 332-foot section would have to be added to the wharf. To complete the two sections of the wharf needed by February 2006 and to continue to work “in the dry”, Zachry proposed to build another frozen cutoff wall through the middle of the project, thus splitting the project into two parts. Zachry would finish the west end where the ship from China would dock, remove

the wall from that area, and continue working on the east end “in the dry.”

The Port had reservations about this plan.

Nonetheless, Change Order 4, using Zachry’s approach to add a sixth section at a cost of $12,962,800, was finalized Sept. 27, 2005. Two weeks later, however, the Port ordered Zachry to revise and resubmit its plans without the cutoff wall. The practical effect was to disallow the cutoff wall. Zachry protested the Port had no right to determine its method and manner of the work, but the Port would not budge. Zachry’s only option was to finish the west sections in time for the ship from China to dock, then remove the wall and continue to work “in the wet,” which would delay completion and increase the cost.

In negotiating Change Order 4, the Port promised not to impose liquidated damages as long as the ship from China could dock when it arrived, though the Port refused to put its promise in writing. Zachry completed the project in January 2009, more than twoand-one-half years after the contract deadline. Despite its promise, the Port withheld $2.36 million in liquidated damages.

In November 2006, several weeks after the Port disallowed construction of the cutoff wall, Zachry sued the Port, claiming $30 million in delay damages caused by the Port, and seeking recovery of the $2.36 million in liquidated damages. The Port countered the contract precluded delay damages. The trial court found the no-delay-damages provision could not be enforced if the Port’s intentional misconduct caused the delay, and found the liquidated damages were invalid. After a three-month trial, the jury found that the Port breached the contract by rejecting Zachry’s cutoff wall design, causing Zachry to incur $18,602,697 in delay damages. The jury also found that the delay “was the result of the Port’s ... arbitrary and

capricious conduct, active interference, bad faith and/ or fraud.” The trial court entered judgment for Zachry.

Both parties appealed. The court of appeals held the no-delay-damages provision barred Zachry’s recovery of delay damages, reversed the judgment for Zachry, and awarded the Port $10,697,750 in attorney fees. Zachry appealed. The Texas Supreme Court held the Texas Government Contract Claims Act waived the Port’s immunity regarding Zachry’s claim for delay damages and the Port’s no-damages-for-delay clause was unenforceable.

The Zachry matter underscores the implications of no-damage-for-delay clauses. Given the potentially severe impact, no-damage-for-delay clauses should be carefully analyzed and drafted. In addition, contractors need to carefully analyze and characterize delays to attempt to bring them within one of the narrow exceptions to no-damage-for-delay clauses. Otherwise, they might find themselves on the wrong side of a significant monetary result. v

Better Roads October 2014 27

advertiser index Company

Phone/Web

Page #

Asphalt Pavement Alliance.............................www.driveasphalt.org.................................... 19 Atlas Copco Construction Equipment.............www.atlascopco.us ........................................ 15 ATSSA’s Training and Certification ..................www.atssa.com ............................................. 13 Bituminous Insurance Co. ..............................www.bituminousinsurance.com ..................... 12 Bobcat ...........................................................www.bobcatadvantage.com/CTLfaceoff1 ....... 11 Case Construction Equipment ........................www.casece.com/mscr ..................................... 2

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Clearspan Fabric Structures ............................www.clearspan.com/adbr .............................. 31 Crafco, Inc......................................................www.crafco.com ............................................ 14 Eager Beaver Trailers ......................................www.eagerbeavertrailers.com ....................IFC-1 International Pavement Management Assoc...www.thebookonbetterroads.com ................... 31

SCAN

KTP Enterprises ..............................................www.fast-measure.com ................................. 31 Landoll Trailers ...............................................www.landoll.com........................................... 23 Miller-Bradford & Risberg, Inc. .......................www.miller-bradford.com ................................ 9 Mobile Barriers, LLC .......................................www.mobilebarriers.com ............................... 22

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NAPA Asphalt Sustainability Conference ........www.asphaltpavement.org ............................ 20 Pioneer Bridges..............................................www.pioneerbridges.com .............................. 31 Pugmill Systems, Inc.......................................www.pugmillsystems.com .............................. 31 Trinity Highway Products ................................www.trinityhighway.com...............................IBC VMAC............................................................www.vmacair.com ......................................... 22 Volvo Construction Equipment .......................www.volvoce.com/smartroads ......................... 4 Wirtgen America Inc ......................................www.wirtgenamerica.com .............................BC This index is provided as a service. The publisher does not assume any liability for errors or omissions.

28 October 2014 Better Roads

VISIT

betterroads.com/info

NewRoadProducts

By Better Roads Staff

Terex’s next-generation skid steers, CTLs Terex’s Generation 2 (GEN2) line of skid steers and compact track loaders are available in radial and vertical lift-path patterns with rated operating capacities (ROC) ranging from 665 to 2,300 pounds: R070T, R160T, R165S, R185S, R190T, R200S, V200S, V230S. Additional models with 2,300- to 3,600-pound ROC will be added to the line in the next few months. All of the GEN2 models have Tier 4 Final engines, cylinder seal package and upgraded hydraulic couplers. betterroads.com/terex-loaders

Caterpillar wheel excavators Caterpillar’s two new wheel excavators – the M318F and M320F – deliver 169 horsepower from a Cat C7.1 ACERT engine that includes an emissions aftertreatment system; a NOx reduction system; selective catalytic reduction; diesel oxidation catalyst; diesel particulate filter and high-pressure/common-rail fuel. The engine is longitudinally mounted with the cooling package forward, so ground level access to routine maintenance points is simplified, and electrical and hydraulic components are grouped in specific areas.

Radiators are grouped in the same compartment and the condenser can be tilted for cleaning. The Tier 4 Final machines weigh 21.7 and 23.2 tons, respectively. betterroads.com/cat-m318f-m320f

Takeuchi compact wheel loaders designed for tight jobsites Takeuchi’s newest compact wheel loaders – the TW65 Series 2 and TW80 Series 2 – are Tier 4 Final-compliant machines featuring a compact design for maneuverability on tight jobsites. They provide reach and dump heights up to 8 feet 6 inches. The TW65 Series 2 has an 11,354-pound operating weight, 4,050-pound rated operating capacity, 9,171-pound tipping load and a bucket breakout force of 11,600 pounds. The 12,700-pound TW80 Series 2 has a 4,445-pound rated operating capacity, 12,700-pound tipping load and 13,960-pound bucket breakout force. Equipped with a turbocharged, water-cooled Deutz engine that provides 192 foot-pounds of torque at 1,800 rpm, the loaders deliver 73 horsepower with a rated engine speed of 2,200 rpm. The loaders feature a 12.4-mph standard travel speed; however, a high-speed road gear option is available. betterroads.com/takeuchi-tw65-tw80

Bobcat adds Trimble GPS option By adding a Trimble GCS900 GPS grade control option to its grader attachment, Bobcat says owners of its M Series loaders now have the ability to precisely grade on jobs that require more maneuverability than dedicated graders can handle. Two Bobcat grader attachments, the 96- and 108-inch moldboard models, will be available in GPS-ready versions. The GCS900 system’s on-board control box determines the position of each tip of the blade and compares it to the design elevation to compute cut or fill to grade.

The GPS system requires users to have a Bobcat M Series skid steer or compact track loader with a deluxe instrument panel. Visit betterroads.com/bobcat-trimble-gps?pid=118 for a video. betterroads.com/bobcat-trimble-gps

Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info Text INFO to 205-289-3789 or visit www.betterroads.com/info Better Roads October 2014 29

Marketplace

roady_Ad(full):Roady_Ad(fullpg)

05/02/07

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roady_Ad(full):Roady_Ad(fullpg)

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PS Form 3526

2. Publication Number 53760

4. Issue Frequency MONTHLY

5. Number of Issues Published Annually 6. Annual Subscription Price 12 $ 24.95

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7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication 3200 RICE MINE RD NE TUSCALOOSA, TUSCALOOSA AL, AL 35406-1510

3. Filing Date 09/16/2014

Contact Person JULIE PUCKETT Telephone (205) 248-1439

8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher 3200 RICE MINE RD, NE TUSCALOOSA, AL 35406

Let Roady Add Some YourNext NextCommunity Community Event Let Roady Add SomeFun Fun To To Your Event

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Better Roads October 2014 31 pugmill_BR0709.indd 1

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3/28/13 8:42 PM

Kirk Landers Editor Emeritus

How Much Capacity Is Too Much? j.kirk.scribe@gmail.com

32 October 2014 Better Roads

L

ast summer, I was shocked to receive an email blast from the Illinois Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) urging the state to quit spending on highway expansion projects and invest that money instead in public transportation.

The rationale for this campaign was PIRG’s finding that vehicle miles travelled (VMT) per lane mile have been flat since 2004, and the group’s assertion was that this signals a permanent change in driving habits that dictates against any further expansion of the system.

In an email exchange with an Illinois PIRG executive, I suggested their conclusions were poorly drawn, that VMT data has been heavily impacted by the Great Recession, that congestion remains a problem in the Chicago metro area and that while public transportation is an important benefit to offer citizens in high-population-density areas, it is not financially self-sustaining and typically provides little or no relief for highway gridlock.

In the end, the group was primarily opposed to the construction of a specific new expressway, which is a different subject than a blanket condemnation of lane expansion.

Several interesting things came from this exchange, starting with the fact that vehicle miles travelled per lane mile really have been flat between 2004 and 2012 (the latest date for which I could find data). I personally think this has nothing to do with a sea change in driving habits and everything to do with things like the recession, the crackdown on illegal immigrants in the 2000s and lane expansions financed by the Obama administration’s economic stimulus packages starting in 2009. In any event, the VMT data from 2004 to present is not especially significant in the struggle to maintain the structural integrity of our roads and bridges, or to manage capacity in a rational manner.

The simple truth is, our investment in highway capacity and condition has not kept pace with usage since 1997, the last increase in the fuel tax revenues for the Highway Trust Fund.

While there have been persuasive studies suggesting that high-population-density regions like Chicago cannot build their way out of gridlock, placing a blind, blanket ban on Interstate and freeway construction is a dangerous policy and an invitation to some future pendulum swing in the other direction. The reasons for building new Interstate miles are not limited to relieving traffic congestion. For example, a former Indiana governor proposed constructing an east-west toll way to connect small cities and towns in central Indiana and Illinois more efficiently to the nation’s Interstate commerce. His concept was that the tollway would give these towns and cities opportunities for economic expansion, and perhaps reduce the cost of getting agricultural products to market.

I don’t know if the concept was valid or what social and environmental ramifications might follow the construction of such a roadway, but if our governments simply ban system expansions, we never get to evaluate the possibilities of such an investment and we consign cities and towns and counties not currently tied to the Interstate system a future where that’s no longer possible. 

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