By Lauren Schapker, vice president of legislative affairs, ARTBA
In his Feb. 4 State of the Union address, President Donald J. Trump urged Congress to pass infrastructure legislation.
“We must also rebuild America’s infrastructure,” he said. “I ask you to pass Senator John Barrasso’s highway bill to invest in new roads, bridges, and tunnels all across our land.”
His comments represent the first time during a State of the Union address that Trump asked Congress to act on specific infrastructure legislation. The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee (EPW), led by Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), in July unanimously passed the America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act.
The bill is still waiting for consideration before the full Senate. House Republicans and Democrats have put forward separate infrastructure principals, but not a detailed bill.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who delivered the Democratic response to Trump’s speech, highlighted the actions governors in states are taking to improve infrastructure. “During my campaign, people told me to fix the damn roads, because blown tires and broken windshields are downright dangerous, and car repairs take money from rent, childcare or groceries,” she said.
Whitmer recently led an effort to approve $3.5 billion in one-time bond revenue for Michigan roads, doubling the state’s funding for roads over the next five years.
Having infrastructure mentioned in both speeches reinforces the bipartisan appeal of infrastructure—a message ARTBA staff emphasizes every week with Capitol Hill offices. ARTBA will continue to work with Congress to ensure passage of a new surface transportation reauthorization bill before the current law expires Sept. 30.
“As a customer-focused company, Neal Manufacturing is continually innovating, making sure our products employ the latest technology to meet or exceed all equipment standards,” said Tripp Farrell, president of Neal Manufacturing, a division of Blastcrete Equipment LLC. “Updating our line for Tier 4 Final compliance is just one of the many ways our team helps keep customers jobsite ready.”
Neal Manufacturing’s lineup of asphalt preservation equipment meets Tier 4 Final emission standards.
The DA 350 offers a 100 gpm hydraulic piston pump, for a robust, versatile application vehicle capable of handling pavement preservation products with heavy aggregate loads. The three-wheeled self-propelled sealcoating machine features a built-in, high powered blower and AutoTrim, an automatic cutting-in attachment, allowing contactors seven times the productivity on prep work along curb-and-gutter streets. A 35-horsepower Yanmar Water Cooled Diesel Tier 4 final engine powers the DA 350.
For high-quality results on large road projects, the High-Volume Road Maintenance Vehicle features Neal Manufacturing’s Generation IV pump that delivers infinitely variable outputs from 0-150 gpm, even with larger aggregates mixes. The Road Maintenance Vehicle is available with a Yanmar 3TNV88C, 35-horsepower Tier 4 Final engine. Individually or in combination with the DA 350 as part of Neal Manufacturing’s Asphalt Road Preservation Package, the High-Volume Road Maintenance Vehicle features innovative, productivity enhancing options for lasting sealcoat applications.
Neal Manufacturing backs their equipment with industry-leading customer support including free training seminars at the company’s Anniston, Alabama location.
About Neal Manufacturing
The Neal Manufacturing Division of Blastcrete Equipment, LLC is an industry leader in the manufacture of pavement maintenance and sealcoat production equipment. Blastcrete Equipment LLC manufactures mixing, pumping and spraying equipment for the refractory, shotcrete, concrete construction and repair, underground mining and tunneling, and power generation industries worldwide. For more information: Neal Manufacturing Division of Blastcrete Equipment LLC, 2000 Cobb Ave., Anniston, AL 36201 770-830-1282; fax 256-236-9824; eric@nealequip.com; or www.nealequip.com.
ARTBA & Other Groups Urge Senate Vote on Highway Bill
October 18, 2019
By John Schneidawind, vice president of public affairs, ARTBA
ARTBA and a cross section of nearly 40 national organizations representing business and organized labor are urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to bring S. 2302, the America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act (ATIA), to a floor vote by the end of the year.
The Senate’s Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee July 29 unanimously passed the ATIA, but “it is up to the rest of the Senate to take the next steps,” the groups wrote in an Oct. 17 letter to McConnell. (see below)
Those steps include consideration by the Senate’s Commerce, Banking and Finance committees. The Finance Committee is tasked with developing a way to pay spending called for by the legislation, which represents the first surface transportation program reauthorization bill in nearly 15 years that would significantly increase federal investment in highway safety and mobility improvements.
In urging McConnell to bring the bill to the Senate floor for consideration, the letter notes that “history has demonstrated that delaying action on such measures until their deadline leads to two outcomes: short-term extensions; and the disruption of state highway improvement plans.”
The letter praises McConnell for moving the last highway program reauthorization through the Senate after the EPW Committee passed it in June 2015, which “with your personal support, spurred action from other Senate Committees and the House of Representatives. This culminated in the enactment of the “Fixing America’s Transportation (FAST) Act six months later.”
The House of Representatives has yet to take any action to introduce similar highway program reauthorization legislation.
Summer Transportation Construction Work Hits Record $45.6 Billion
October 17, 2019
By Mark Holan, editorial director, ARTBA
Transportation contractors were busy this summer, with the value of work up across all modes in June, July, and August compared to the same three-month period in 2018.
Contractors performed a record $45.6 billion in transportation and transportation-related construction work, up 12 percent compared to the $40.8 billion put in place June through August 2018, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
“Highway and street pavement work has shown continued strength, with $21.7 billion in work between June and August 2019, compared to $19.6 billion in market activity through the same time period in 2018,” said ARTBA Chief Economist, Dr. Alison Black. “Work is also up for bridge, airport, transit, rail and port/waterway construction.”
ARTBA contractor members can have their say about what was going on by taking a few minutes to answer our third quarter industry conditions survey. The deadline is Oct. 28.
State and local government highway and bridge contract awards continue to show strength in some of the nation’s largest markets, Black said, including California, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Texas, and Virginia. Year to date, market activity is up 10 percent across all transportation modes.
Dr. Black will take a deeper dive into market conditions and federal, state, and local funding trends at ARTBA’s four upcoming regional meetings. Learn more and register here.
ATIA Group Letter to Senate Leader McConnell
October 17, 2019
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Leader McConnell:
The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee’s America’s Transportation
Infrastructure Act (ATIA), S. 2302, provides a rare opportunity to benefit all states and continue the nation’s longest economic expansion in history. While the EPW Committee has unanimously approved a critical federal infrastructure initiative, it is up to the rest of the Senate to take the next steps.
We applaud EPW Committee Chairman Barrasso, Ranking Member Carper and all committee
members for proactively moving forward with a reauthorization of the federal highway program more than a year before it expires. History has demonstrated that delaying action on such measures until their deadline leads to two outcomes: short-term extensions; and disruption of state highway improvement plans.
The ATIA is not only timely, but it would also deliver meaningful enhancement to the nation’s
highway and bridge infrastructure network. It would provide historic investment levels, deliver
beneficial projects faster by cutting red tape, tap private sector capital and innovations, prioritize safety, and improve the quality of life for rural and urban communities. The ATIA is an important foundation to begin addressing the critical need to modernize America’s infrastructure.
The ATIA earned unanimous endorsement of EPW Committee members and supportive comments from President Trump. This unique show of broad, bipartisan cooperation speaks not only to the merits of the legislation, but also to its prospects for passage. The EPW Committee approved a highway program reauthorization in June 2015 that, with your personal support, spurred action from other Senate committees and the House of Representatives. This culminated in the enactment of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act six months later.
We urge you to ensure the progress made on the ATIA continues by committing to schedule a
reauthorization of the federal surface transportation programs for floor consideration this year.
Such a pledge would be an unequivocal signal to the other relevant Senate committees to begin developing their respective components of the final bill.
Sincerely,
American Road & Transportation Builders Association
Associated General Contractors of America
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
American Society of Civil Engineers
Associated Equipment Manufacturers
The National Industrial Transportation League
American Public Works Association
Transportation Intermediaries Association
National Association of Chemical Distributors
North America’s Building Trades Unions
International Union of Operating Engineers
Laborers International Union of North America
American Public Transportation Association
Equipment Dealers Association
Associated Equipment Distributors
National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc.
American Highway Users Alliance
National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association
American Council of Engineering Companies
American Concrete Pipe Association
Coalition for America’s Gateway & Trade Corridors
Energy Equipment & Infrastructure Alliance
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
National Steel Bridge Alliance
Portland Cement Association
Industrial Minerals Association – North America
American Concrete Pavement Association
Construction & Demolition Recycling Association
American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)
International Warehouse Logistics Association
National Parking Association
Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association (FEDA)
Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS) has named Bill Painter as global senior manager of 3D road construction.
Painter began his career in Minnesota working for several of the largest paving contractors in the Midwest and has more than 28 years of experience in the highway and heavy construction industries. In 1994 when Topcon acquired the machine control side of Agtek, he was named the company’s Midwest regional manager, based in Chicago. Four years later, he relocated to California to take on the role of service manager and was quickly promoted to become the Northwest regional manager for construction.
In his new position, Painter will report to Murray Lodge, vice president of construction sales. Lodge said, “Bill’s extensive experience in construction and machine automation made him the clear choice for this new role. Few people in the company have the extensive knowledge about the industry and Topcon as Bill.”
