April 2002
Alabama
MONTGOMERY (AP)—Former state transportation chief Jimmy Butts was sentenced in circuit court for his role in a bribery case. Former state transportation director Jimmy Butts received 15 months in prison and two years of probation to be served concurrently with the federal prison term. He also received a two-year suspended sentence for state ethics convictions.
Alaska
JUNEAU (AP)—Alaska has received $6.7 million dollars in federal money as its share of mineral revenues collected on federal lands last year. The money represents Alaska’s share of bonuses, rents and royalties. In addition to the share of revenues, Alaska received more than $13 million from the federal government as part of its tract settlement in April 2001. More than $1 billion in mining rents and royalties was distributed to 33 states last year. The money was collected by the Interior’s Minerals Management Service.
Arizona
PHOENIX—The Legislature put its regular session on hold while lawmakers focus on fixing the latest shortfall in the 2001-02 budget. The Senate approved a two-bill plan Feb. 28 to erase a $200 million budget shortfall while retaining most of a 5-percent pay raise for state workers. The Senate and House plans include an array of cuts in state programs as well as reduced funds for highway construction.
Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK (AP)—Gov. Mike Huckabee said the state’s road improvement project will not only repair Arkansas’ reputation for bad highways, but has already helped lower the unemployment rate. Dan Flowers, director of the state Highway and Transportation Department, said the state currently has more miles of highway under construction or renovation than any other time in history. The 1999 Highway Rehabilitation Program is a 5-year, $950 million plan to fix 380 miles, or 60 percent, of the Arkansas interstate highway system, Flowers said. He said of the total 53 projects in the plan, 34 projects remain to be contracted at a cost of $523 million.
California
WATSONVILLE—In early March, voters approved Proposition 42—a California constitutional amendment that permanently transfers the sales tax on gasoline from the general fund to the state transportation fund. As outlined in the Proposition, beginning in July 2003, all gasoline sales taxes would go directly for transportation improvements, adding an anticipated $1.2 to $1.5 billion annually to California’s transportation budget. “This victory is a strong indicator that Californians recognize the critical transportation needs in our state,” said David Watts, president, chief executive officer and chairman of Granite Construction Inc. “Proposition 42 is good news for our industry.”
Colorado
FORT COLLINS—A miner was killed at Aggregate Industries’ Ft. Collins Plant on Jan. 21. According to a preliminary accident report from MSHA., employees were draining water lines to a log washer when Kenneth M. Allinder, 51, entered the machine, and it was inadvertently turned on. He had six weeks of mining experience.
Connecticut
NEWINGTON (AP)—The state Department of Transportation may have saved millions of dollars if it had planned better for several road and bridge projects, according to state auditors. A new audit reviewed 15 DOT projects that were supposed to cost $59.5 million. But nearly $11.8 million was added to the projects because of last-minute contract changes, the report found. Seven of the 15 transportation projects reviewed included last-minute changes that added at least 10 percent to final costs. The costs of four projects were increased 30 percent or more because of late changes.
Delaware
SUSSEX COUNTY—The Positive Growth Alliance held an informational forum in Georgetown, with Governor Ruth Ann Minner’s senior advisor Lee Ann Walling telling the 300 attendees that a “sprinkling of density” may not be a bad price for turning growth away from rural areas, according to The Smart Growth Network. The state requires the county to update its plan every five years, with a focus on transportation, infrastructure, development districts and open space.
Florida
MIAMI—A miner was killed at Rinker Material’s FEC Quarry on Feb. 13, according to a preliminary accident report from MSHA. Orlando Valdes, 53, was working as an electrician. He was changing out a generator on a 42-cu. yd. dragline. A hoist being used overhead, fell and struck him. He had five years of mining experience, with nearly two years at the mine.
Georgia
Elberton—A miner was killed following injuries sustained at the Worley Blue Quarry on Jan. 14, according to a preliminary accident report from MSHA. James R. Thornton, 38, was working on a ledge, positioned between a grout bucket and a ladder that descended to a lower ledge. He was seriously injured when a large piece of grout was thrown into the bucket, causing the bucket to shift and hit him, knocking him off the ledge. He was not wearing a safety belt and line and fell 28 ft. to the pit floor. He died on Feb. 1. He had 10 years of mining experience, with 18 weeks at the mine.
Hawaii
HONOLULU (AP)—Hawaii could lose $32 million next year under a Bush administration proposal to cut federal highway funds. Gov. Ben Cayetano pleaded with President Bush during a White House meeting to restore $8.5 million in highway construction money. The cut would jeopardize dozens of highway projects from regular maintenance to new road construction. The state had received an average of $120 million in federal highway funds in recent years. The Bush proposal would cut that by 27 percent.
Idaho
BOISE (AP)—Republican lawmakers decided what public construction projects get eliminated first if the state economy continues to slide. A Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee voted for the list, which tries to protect $60 million in college campus projects approved a year ago, when lawmakers thought they were working with a huge surplus.
Illinois
SCHAUMBURG—With funding from the Illinois FIRST program, the Illinois Department of Transportation is planning its road construction season throughout the six-county Chicago region. “The overall focus in 2002 will be on road maintenance and safety improvements although we will undertake a variety of congestion relief projects as well,” said Dirk Fuqua, IDOT’s engineer of project implementation in the Chicago area.
Indiana
MUNSTER (AP)—Indiana could see a $152 million cut in federal highway money and be forced to reconsider roads projects under the 2003 budget proposal President Bush has sent Congress. The Federal Highway Administration projects Indiana would receive $486 million in fiscal year 2003 under the budget, down from $638 million in 2002. The 24-percent reduction would result in the projected loss of 6,391 roads-related jobs over a seven-year period.
Iowa
DES MOINES (AP)—Past and present leaders of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources say politicians have historically short-changed the agency, making it impossible to adequately protect the state’s environment. The agency’s former top official, Pete Hamlin, said lawmakers often create programs that require huge resources, but fail to provide the money and staffing to follow through. Though the state has ranked last nationally in spending on environmental protection, lawmakers seem reluctant to give the DNR more money. Paul Johnson, former director of the DNR, developed a report in 2000 concluding that the agency needed 293 more people to adequately do its job—a 27 percent increase. Johnson saw the proposal go nowhere. Senate Majority Leader Stewart Iverson, a Republican from Dows, said last year of DNR officials: “I think they should do their jobs and quit whining about money.”
Kansas
TOPEKA—According to the Kansas Aggregate Producers Association, it is focusing on the Comprehensive Transportation Program (CTP) during the state Legislature’s 2002 session. According to the association, Speaker Kent Glasscock appointed a House Select Transportation Committee to review recomendations to ensure successful completion of the CTP. Several subcommittees are examining options such as downsizing $151 million worth of projects or recommending a 4¢ increase in motor fuel taxes with the entire increase going to the state highway fund.
Kentucky
CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP)—Regional planners are considering installing streetcar lines to link downtown Cincinnati with the northern Kentucky cities of Newport and Covington. Southbank Partners and Downtown Cincinnati Inc. are leading a study expected to take about six months to consider specific routes for the streetcars. The agencies also will estimate costs for the project and ways to pay for it. A light-rail system is being discussed as a long-term alternative to help relieve clogged highways by transporting commuters across metropolitan Cincinnati and northern Kentucky.
Louisiana
BATON ROUGE—The Concrete and Aggregates Association of Louisana, Inc. (CAAL) has a new Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) state promotion champion. Ken Wetzel of Lonestar Industries, Inc, now chairs the position, formerly held by Jesse Melancon of Holnam. Wetzel will coordinate all ICF promotional activities with CAAL, and has taken an active role in the recent ICF seminars. According to the association, his goal is to continue to increase ICF recognition in Louisiana. Wetzel traveled to Skokie, Ill., to meet with the Portland Cement Association.
Maine
AUGUSTA (AP)—A 19th century state prison here will be bulldozed into the former limestone quarry within its walls at an estimated cost of $3 million. A park is to be developed on the site.
Maryland
ANNAPOLIS (AP)—Top legislative leaders, backed by a majority of the members of the General Assembly, appealed to Gov. Parris Glendening to resume environmental impact studies of a proposed highway designed to relieve traffic congestion in the Washington suburbs. The aim is to jump-start the long-delayed east-west Intercounty Connector between I-270 and I-95. Resolutions introduced in both chambers ask Glendening to complete the study. The appeals were quickly rejected by the administration. The resolution asks the governor to resume work on the environmental impact statement, which must be completed before any work could begin on the highway. The resolution does not carry the force of law, and Glendening can simply ignore it.
Massachusetts
BOSTON (AP)—The company managing the Big Dig never attempted to recover $2.5 million in repair costs for a flaw in the Ted Williams Tunnel’s ventilation system, according to lawyers for the state agency overseeing the project. The venting in the tunnel, the first piece of the $14.5 billion Central Artery/Tunnel project to be completed, has never worked properly due to leaks in its ceiling, officials told The Boston Globe. Lawyers for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, the agency overseeing the project, say the project’s joint venture management company, Bechtel/Parsons Brinkerhoff, waited too long to inform project officials about the flaw. As a result, Bechtel/Parsons Brinkerhoff lost the opportunity to sue the contractor for negligence, and did not attempt to recover the cost of the repair work.
Michigan
DETROIT (AP)—Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick testified before a state Senate committee that is considering legislation to create a regional transportation authority in southeastern Michigan. The Detroit Area Regional Transportation Authority, which passed the House in December, would coordinate the Detroit Department of Transportation and the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation. The new authority is intended to create a seamless regional transit system for the Detroit area.
Minnesota
ST. PAUL (AP)—Senate Democrats think they’ve found a way to raise $7.5 billion over the next decade to fill the state’s potholes, widen roads and improve transit. The plan includes a 7¢ gas tax increase, authorization for an additional $100 million each year in trunk highway bonds, higher license tab fees for newer cars and trucks and a referendum asking voters in the 11-county Twin Cities area to approve a half-cent sales tax increase to help relieve congestion. Sen. Dean Johnson said several recent polls have shown public sentiment is behind spending more on transportation. The GOP-led House is less likely to embrace the package because of its many tax and fee increases.
Mississippi
JACKSON (AP)—State highway and planning officials say the usual practice of widening roads to ease congestion is no longer the best cure for heavy traffic. The 2030 transportation plan being prepared by the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District will include broader use of intelligent traffic systems and an expanded mass transit system to improve traffic flow. Vision 21, MDOT’s own $3.6 billion mid-range plan for state and federal highways, developed in part from recommendations by the Joint Legislative Committee for Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review, is currently before state legislators.
Missouri
JEFFERSON CITY (AP)—Gov. Bob Holden publicly embraced a $475 million Senate transportation plan, calling a bill by Sen. Morris Westfall (R-Halfway) “a very positive and a significant step forward” toward improving the state’s transportation system. Westfall’s measure would raise the motor fuel tax by 6¢ a gallon, to a total 23¢, and raise the state sales tax by three-eighths of a percentage point to 4.6¢ per dollar. Most of the $475 million raised annually would go to the state Department of Transportation for highways and bridges.
Montana
WASHINGTON (AP)—The Environmental Protection Agency agreed to name the town of Libby to the national Superfund list as the most significant hazardous site in Montana. The designation automatically makes Libby one of the EPA’s top 100 Superfund priorities. Gov. Judy Martz made the request to the EPA in January to help with cleaning up contamination from the now-defunct vermiculite mine there. W.R. Grace & Co. operated the mine. Over the past two years, the EPA has spent $32 million testing areas around town, removing soil and inspecting waste from the mine.
Nebraska
OMAHA (AP)—Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) is leading the fight to restore billions of dollars to federal highway funding. Highway funding for fiscal year 2003 is currently authorized at $27.8 billion, but could be above or below that figure depending on the level of gas taxes collected. Nebraska’s budget shortfall makes it important for the federal government to fulfill its obligations on roads projects, Nelson said. “This bill will send billions of dollars to the states for highway funding and ensure that Nebraska’s budget woes won’t stop desperately needed highway repair,” Nelson said.
Nevada
LAS VEGAS—It’s a safe bet that by 2025 the already congested streets of Las Vegas will face nearly total gridlock unless officials find more money for roadwork, the head of the Regional Transportation Commission said. According to The Las Vegas Sun, RTC General Manager Jacob Snow said “mushrooming” traffic congestion, up 246 percent from 1990 to 2000, also demands more funding. The RTC has set aside $6.5 billion for road and mass-transit projects until 2025, but it needs more, he told the board. According to the report, the RTC recommended a package of $2.6 billion in tax increases and other financing plans to boost agency coffers. The $2.6 billion tax package still has significant obstacles to overcome before it can become law.
New Hampshire
CONCORD—The New Hampshire Department of Transportation is considering a number of congestion mitigation and air quality projects including transit services, traffic management and intersection improvement projects, employer trip reduction or flexible work schedule programs and education outreach programs. The programs are aimed at reducing transportation-related emissions.
New Jersey
TRENTON (AP)—The Route 29 tunnel opened in early March. The $105 million, 1.8-mile construction project, which includes the half-mile tunnel, was started in 1997. It links Route 29 with Interstates 95, 195 and 295 in a beltway system that is expected to reduce rush-hour congestion in the capital city.
New Mexico
SANTA FE (AP)—Santa Fe County has sued a man over what county officials contend is an illegal sand and gravel mine in the Santa Fe River bottom. The county’s lawsuit alleges the land Mike Roybal’s M&R Sand and Gravel is located on is not zoned for sand and gravel mining. The property was not zoned for mining when Roybal bought it in 1993 and Roybal also doesn’t have a county mining permit, said Chris Graeser, deputy county attorney. Roybal’s lawyer, Frank Coppler, said Roybal started mining there in the 1980s. Coppler said Roybal was mining the channel when the county passed its 1991 ordinance that established mining zones and formalized that the stretch in which Roybal mined was not in such a zone. Coppler said, however, that should not matter because M&R, as a business already in existence, was exempt.
OROGRANDE—A miner was killed on Feb. 2 at Onyx Construction’s Portable 2 plant here, according to a preliminary accident report from MSHA. Arron Maldonado, 38, was last observed sitting in the operator’s cab of a dozer with the vehicle stopped and the blade in the down position. He was found a short while later on the ground, apparently struck by the dozer blade. The dozer had traveled in reverse and came to rest 79 ft. away from where the victim was found. He had 18 weeks of mining experience.
New York
BUFFALO—Following December snowfall of 7 ft., President Bush declared the Buffalo region a major disaster area. The designation makes federal funds available to local governments for the repair of public buildings, roads and utilities. The Federal Emergency Management Agency had already declared a federal emergency to allow municipalities to be reimbursed for snow removal and emergency costs for a five-day period. The separate disaster declaration will help pay for some of the more than $10.6 million in infrastructure damage. In January, Buffalo officials estimated they paid $7.4 million to nearly 60 outside contractors to help clean up the snow.
North Carolina
CHARLOTTE—Although state lawmakers still have to act on a “smart growth” panel recommendation from last year to let localities use impact fees to defray new infrastructure and service costs, Charlotte developers are unhappy that two developers, Crosland Chief Executive Officer Todd Mansfield and Crescent Resources President Art Fields broached the subject of their practicality at a recent Urban Land Institute seminar. According to The Smart Growth Network, the two listed the fees among the costs of doing business and indicated their willingness to pay similar fees in the Charlotte area.
North Dakota
BISMARCK—David Sprynczynatyk, director of the North Dakota Department of Transportation, testified before the U.S. Senate budget committee about the state’s transportation needs. Under the proposed budget, North Dakota would lose about $45 million, or 25 to 30 percent of its federal highway funding. “North Dakota is already losing ground when it comes to maintaining its roadway systems,” he said. “The state highway system alone, which is valued at $8.5 billion, is falling $93 million behind each year. A reduction in federal aid of $45 million would mean an even more rapid decline in our systems.”
Ohio
CINCINNATI (AP)—Regional planners are considering installing streetcar lines to link downtown Cincinnati with the northern Kentucky cities of Newport and Covington. Southbank Partners and Downtown Cincinnati Inc. are leading a study expected to take about six months to consider specific routes for the streetcars. The agencies also will estimate costs for the project and ways to pay for it. A light-rail system is being discussed as a long-term alternative to help relieve clogged highways by transporting commuters across metropolitan Cincinnati and northern Kentucky.
Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY—Gov. Frank Keating’s proposal to cut by two-thirds the funding for Rural Economic Action Plan (REAP) in FY2003 is taking heat from both rural lawmakers and the executive director of the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments. According to the Poteau Daily News, the executive director said that the plan disproportionately reduces state funds available to help small towns and cities pay for needed infrastructure improvements.
Oregon
ORTLAND (AP)—A consultant hired by Ross Island Sand & Gravel says Ross Island is mostly free from contamination. The company, which has done mining and processed concrete at the island since 1926, is highlighting the consultant’s draft study in an advertising campaign. The report has not yet received regulatory scrutiny and isn’t expected to be final until late summer. The state ordered the study three years ago after it became public that the company accepted state-approved contaminated fill at the island and after miners accidentally breached a cap over contaminated fill deposited by the Port of Portland. The company has stopped mining at the island, instead pulling aggregate from a dry-land quarry in the Columbia River Gorge. Company officials say it cost nearly $10 million to complete the study, which analyzed 800 samples from 380 locations.
DURKEE—A miner was killed at Ash Grove Cement Co.’s Durkee Cement Plant on Jan. 21, according to a preliminary accident report from MSHA. Jason Wallace, 23, and another worker were trying to unplug material from the top of a silo. They descended into a ring of material that had solidified. The victim climbed down into the open inner core of loose material to unplug the drawpoint, when the material collapsed. He had five years of mining experience.
Pennsylvania
WASHINGTON (AP)—Pennsylvania’s chances of getting its share of decreasing federal highway funds could be hurt because three members of a key committee are in danger of losing their seats. Democratic Reps. Robert Borski, Tim Holden and Frank Mascara all serve on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; all face difficult races this year because of the new district map drawn by the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Legislature. Though Borski, Holden and Mascara will be around for this year’s budget battle, their absence would be felt next year, when Congress rewrites the five-year federal highway bill.
Rhode Island
PROVIDENCE—A commuter rail service is backing off its expansion plans in hopes of remaining financially solvent. According to The Providence Journal, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority will face a $1.7-billion shortfall over the next 10 years just from regular maintenance and modernization work, not including $4.5 billion it plans to spend on proposed expansion projects.
South Carolina
HOLLY HILL—A miner was killed at Holcim Inc.’s Holly Hill facility on Feb. 13, according to a preliminary accident report from MSHA. A construction access elevator was mounted outside the corner support structure of a building under construction. Franklin Eaddy, 50, was secured by a safety belt and line as he stood on an I-beam at the outside edge of structural steel. Workers entered the elevator at a level above the victim and lowered the elevator, catching him between the elevator and the structural steel. He had 11 years of mining experience, with four weeks at the mine.
South Dakota
PIERRE (AP)—Unless the state tax on gasoline and diesel fuel is increased, local road funds will decline substantially over the next couple of years. Ron Wheeler, state transportation secretary, said the state will get about $30 million this year through a formula that is used to distribute federal highway funds, he said. Wheeler said failure to increase the state fuel tax by 2¢ a gallon for two years, which is being considered in the Legislature, would result in the loss of $100 million to $130 million in federal highway money. If that happens, he said local governments will lose about $20 million for road and bridge work.
Tennessee
SEVIERVILLE—A miner was killed at the Sevier County Highway Department’s quarry on Jan. 24, according to a preliminary accident report from MSHA. Jimmie Tinker, 62, was found lying on the ground about 40 ft. from the crusher run storage bin. Apparently, he had been run over by a front-end loader as he was watching the stockpile driver dump a load of material. He had more than 20 years of mining experience, all at the county quarry.
Texas
AUSTIN (AP)—A Travis County district judge gave the state’s environmental regulatory agency the OK to install 55-mph speed limit signs in the Houston area to help fight air pollution. The reduced speed limit is one component of the state’s plan to reduce ozone pollution in the eight-county Houston region to meet U.S. Clean Air Act limits by 2007.
Utah
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)—Parties involved in the dispute over the Legacy Highway continue to meet, but have been unable to find a solution. House Majority Leader Kevin Garn (R-Layton) and Rep. Scott Daniels (D-Salt Lake) met with Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and officials from the state Transportation Department, the Sierra Club and the citizens group Utahns for Better Transportation. They are trying to resolve issues surrounding a lawsuit that has halted construction of the Legacy Parkway in Davis County. A lawsuit against UDOT and the Legacy Parkway was dismissed last August by Utah federal Judge Bruce Jenkins. Anderson, the Sierra Club and the citizens group appealed to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ordered a halt to construction until it can hear arguments in the case. UDOT says the work halt is costing it $2 million a month.
Vermont
MONTPELIER (AP)—Vermont’s unemployment rate decreased more than half a percentage point in January to 3.7 percent, down from 4.3 percent in December. State employment officials cautioned that the January number could be a statistical anomaly given the weak condition of the Vermont economy.
Virginia
RICHMOND (AP)—A battle in the state Legislature over transportation funding may go to the voters in northern Virginia. The Senate passed legislation to let voters decide on a sales tax increase to fund transportation. A House committee backed the transportation measure, but disagrees on an education funding initiative attached to it. An amended bill would allow northern Virginians to vote on a 0.5 percent sales tax to fund transportation needs.
Washington
OLYMPIA (AP)—Gov. Gary Locke and Senate Democrats want 9¢. House Republicans propose 7¢. House Democrats soon will suggest 8¢. These narrow differences over the size of a proposed gas tax increase are only the tip of the iceberg as behind-the-scenes transportation negotiations escalate in the Washington Legislature. If lawmakers cobble together a plan, it’s almost certainly headed to the statewide ballot. The gas tax is the most visible—and contentious—aspect of the two-year-long debate over transportation funding.
West Virginia
BLUEFIELD (AP)—A scenic highway that will extend 22 miles though Mercer, McDowell, Raleigh and Wyoming counties is nearing construction. The state Division of Highways has approved the route of the Shawnee Highway and notified Earthtech Inc. to design the first 1.75 miles of the $174 million road. About $8 million is earmarked for construction, according to Greg Akers, project manager with the Division of Highways. That is expected to pay for the first 1.75 miles.
Wisconsin
MADISON (AP)—The unemployment rate in eight of Wisconsin’s 11 largest metropolitan areas in January stayed the same or decreased from the month before, state officials said. The state’s unemployment rate for January, adjusted for seasonal changes, was 5.1 percent. It was up from December’s rate of 4.9 percent and was the state’s highest jobless rate since February 1994. The national rate for January was 5.6 percent.
Wyoming
CHEYENNE (AP)—Lobbyists lined up against a tax measure aimed at giving the Legislature several revenue options in this year’s session. House Bill 120 would raise sales, property and fuels taxes, plus put taxes on electric generation. If the entire measure passed, more than $200 million would be raised each year. The bill was crafted so that each tax proposal would receive a full hearing, without necessarily passing each tax. Mining interests said they would suffer greatly under the bill because extractive industries pay a higher rate than other landowners.