Tag: highway construction: Page 7

Roadbuilding

Road commission worker killed by motor grader

A Kent County, Michigan, road commission worker has been killed after being hit by a motor grader at road construction site in Caledonia Township. The victim, Timothy Eugene Dougherty, 42, was working at the site when he was struck by the grader which was being driven by another road commission employee. Authorities called the incident a […]

September 9, 2014

Roadbuilding

Highway construction causes problems for firefighters

Highway construction typically poses an inconvenience for everyone who has to drive through it. It can cause traffic jams and detours which makes it difficult for anyone working on a tight schedule. For firefighters, highway construction can be much more than an inconvenience – it can cause an emergency situation. When an 18-wheeler carrying 12-hundred […]

September 9, 2014

Business

Recent toll road poll proves nothing; private financing of public roads is still a bad idea

The Reason Foundation and the Alliance for Toll-Free Interstates recently traded jabs over a poll that purports to show Americans prefer toll roads as a solution to our declining transportation infrastructure. Not unexpectedly, the Reason-Rupe Poll  found favor with Reason’s longstanding position advocating toll roads. The Alliance shot back with a press release citing a […]

August 22, 2014

Business

Bursting bubble of big tobacco financing gives glimpse of road building’s future without a gas tax increase

Last week I wrote about how states that engage in public-private partnerships (P3s) and other types of debt and bond financing would create short term gains and long term disaster for the road building industry. This weekend I read an article on ProPublica, an independent journalism site, that shows how the exact same thing—only using […]

August 12, 2014

Business

Toll roads, P3s and creative financing will bring short-term gain, long-term disaster for the road building industry

For the last half-century gas and diesel taxes collected at the pump have been the primary source of funding for almost all our highway infrastructure. But Congress hasn’t  increased the gas tax or adjusted it for inflation since 1992. Anti-tax advocates claim this as a victory, but it’s not. With the highway trust fund running […]

August 1, 2014

Business

Congressional showdown ends with Senate passing House’s $10.8 billion highway funding patch

The Senate on Thursday passed a 10-month funding bill that will prevent the Highway Trust Fund from going broke until the end of May. The bill was first passed by the House earlier this month, and is now just a presidential signature away from becoming law. The bill’s clearance in Congress comes after a showdown […]

August 1, 2014

Business

Senate passes highway bill with reduced funding; sends vote back to House with pressure for long-term solution

On Tuesday the Senate voted to pass a bill that would stave off the looming insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) after making key changes to the legislation that will send it right back to the House for another vote. The HTF is the primary source of federal funding for road construction and repairs. The […]

July 30, 2014

Safety

Construction worker killed by trash truck while picking up cones from work zone

A construction worker was killed after being hit by a trash truck that crashed into a road work zone last week in Kansas. According to a report from The Hutchinson News, Dylan Joseph Snyder, 22, was picking up construction cones and signs along Kansas Highway 61 in Reno County when the truck rear ended one vehicle […]

July 28, 2014

Safety

3 tips for staying safe inside road construction work zones

Although many types of construction work can be considered hazardous, few tasks are more dangerous than those conducted in road construction work zones. A number of construction site hazards can be mitigated through effective control measures, but the unpredictability of other drivers—particularly those who are impatient or inattentive – puts work zone crews at a […]

July 24, 2014

Business

House passes $10.8 billion quick fix as highway construction funding nears insolvency

The House on Tuesday passed a nearly $11 billion quick fix that would stave off the looming insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), the primary source of federal funding for road construction and repairs. The bill passed a week after the White House and transportation officials urged lawmakers to try and find a long-term […]

July 16, 2014

Business

White House, transportation leaders push Congress to find a long-term highway funding solution sooner rather than later

The White House, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and several industry associations are urging Congress to find a highway funding solution before the primary source of money, the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), becomes insolvent. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) projects that insolvency to occur by the end of August. White House press secretary Josh Earnest […]

July 9, 2014

Workforce

Western Pennsylvania road builders launch “virtual apprenticeship” video game for recruiting teens

The Constructors Association of Western Pennsylvania has come up with a promising way to attract more recruits to the industry. They’ve set up a “virtual apprenticeship” video game in which young people can find out if road building construction is right for them. According to this article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette visitors to the Future […]

July 1, 2014