Tag: Iowa: Page 5

Roadbuilding

Poll: Infrastructure a mixed priority for likely Iowa Caucus attendees

Infrastructure spending has been a hotly debated topic as of late, but it still isn’t as high a priority as one might think amongst likely Iowa Caucus attendees. And even more perplexing, the issue is divided in priority between those who identify as Republicans and Democrats. In a recent Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll, […]

June 3, 2015

Roadbuilding

Iowa Transportation Commission approves $33 million in new highway and bridge projects

The Iowa Transportation Commission has approved a 2015 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program (ITIP) amendment to add highway and bridge projects for fiscal year 2015, a move made possible by the recent 10-cents-per-gallon gas tax approved by Gov. Terry Branstad. The new projects total $33.2 million, which is the amount expected to be collected for FY […]

March 12, 2015

Roadbuilding

Deficient roads and bridges cost Iowa drivers an extra $2 billion each year

Twenty-seven percent of Iowa’s major urban roads and highways are in poor condition, and 21 percent of the state’s bridges are structurally deficient, according to a report from The Road Improvement Program (TRIP). On Wednesday TRIP released “Iowa’s Top Transportation Challenges: Meeting the State’s Need for Safe and Efficient Mobility” at a press conference at the Iowa State […]

February 19, 2015

Workforce

How a heavy equipment operator, mother of two went from no driver’s license to running her own construction crew

“What am I doing here?” That was Patricia Hook’s first question when she arrived at J. Pettiecord two years ago. The mother of two didn’t have a driver’s license or any construction experience, and she looked around the Des Moines, Iowa, contractor’s yard filled with heavy trucks and equipment, and “it kinda scared me.” Despite […]

January 29, 2015

Workforce

Iowa contractor takes aim at employee retention and safety with hefty monthly bonus checks

Although still in its early days, a program implemented by J. Pettiecord, Des Moines, Iowa, in September is already having a positive effect. Called the SAAP Monthly Bonus—which stands for Safety, Availability, Attitude and Production—the program rewards employees that meet a few requirements at the end of each month with a bonus check equal to […]

January 12, 2015

Roadbuilding

Iowa to spend over $1 billion on interstate widening project

The Iowa Department of Transportation is currently working to develop plans to widen over 170 miles of interstate highways. For the state to widen key stretches from four to six lanes, Iowa will have to spend over $1 billion, according to The Des Moines Register. Although overall traffic volume statewide remains slightly below a […]

December 26, 2014

Roadbuilding

H.R. Green’s Larry Stevens elected as 2014-2015 APWA president

The nearly 29,000 American Public Works Association (APWA) members elected Larry Stevens, P.E., PWLF, as its 2014-2015 president during the 2014 APWA International Public Works Congress and Exposition held in August in Toronto. Stevens, project director for Johnston, Iowa,-based HR Green Inc. will lead the organization as well as APWA’s 17-member board of directors.

August 28, 2014

Roadbuilding

Iowa DOT presents 5-year plan to Transportation Commission

The Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) present the draft of its five-year plan, the FY 2015-2019 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program, to the Iowa Transportation Commission on Tuesday. The Iowa DOT program includes investments in aviation, transit, rail, trails and highways. The agency says the highway program is a “major component” of the plan, with about […]

May 14, 2014

Roadbuilding

Iowa’s Jesup Bridge: From beginning to end

Buchanan County Secondary Roads plans to replace the bridge on V-65 south of Jesup, Iowa. The bridge will be replaced as part of a demonstration project using a new design software program developed by the Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance (SSSBA). Called eSPAN140, the design software is developed to provide a more economical manner […]

February 14, 2014

Roadbuilding

Alternative fuel-powered Dodge Ram touted as cost-effective transportation industry option

A Dodge Ram powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) is wrapped to promote the 2014 Land Investment Expo in West Des Moines, Iowa. Legendary oil-and-gas entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens, who is working to meet the transportation industry’s need for cost-effective alternative fuels, will deliver a keynote address during the seventh annual event presented by Peoples […]

December 6, 2013

Roadbuilding

The Durable Performance of Perpetual Pavements

When the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) opened a new stretch of U.S. Highway 151 in Linn County back in 1966, they wanted a road that would last a long time, but they never imagined the traffic loads and heavy-weight trucks that drive on U.S. highways today. Despite this, U.S. 151 is still in place and in […]

October 4, 2013

Workforce

Facing $9 billion in demand, Iowa contractors feel impact of skilled labor shortage

Add Iowa to a growing list of states struggling to meet rebounding construction demand due to a shortage of skilled laborers. According to a report from the Des Moines Register, contractors in Iowa have reported shortages of equipment operators, steel workers, carpenters, supervisors and concrete workers. These companies expect those shortages to deepen in the coming […]

June 3, 2013