December 2001
U.S.
Bancorp Piper Jaffray
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Oregon Administration Works to Speed Highway Construction
DOT Says Congestion is Hurting Michigan’s Economy
MSHA Ends Diesel Sampling in UG Mines
Oregon Administration Works to Speed Highway Construction
SALEM, Ore. (AP)—Gov. John Kitzhaber is looking to
a speedup in highway projects as a way to help Oregon’s economy,
and officials said up to $100 million in work could begin early in 2002.
“We want to get projects under construction as quickly as possible,”
State Transportation Director Bruce Warner said.
The Transportation Department estimates that every $1 million spent on
road projects equals 21 full-time jobs, so outlays of $100 million could
mean work for more than 2,000 people.
The 2001 Legislature authorized sales of $400 million in bonds to fund
highway and bridge upgrades, the first big infusion of money for road
work since the early 1990s.
The bond will be repaid by revenue from fee increases that lawmakers approved
for motor vehicle services such as auto and truck title transactions.
The department had planned to sell the bonds in steps over five or six
years.
With the speedup in mind, Warner said plans are to sell about $100 million
worth next year.
Warner also said there’s some hope that the economic stimulus package
being debated in Congress will boost federal highway aid to states.
Some versions of the proposal would bring Oregon an additional $50 million
or more that could be spent on next year’s projects, he said.
Local agencies are submitting project proposals to the state Transportation
Commission, which will approve a final list in January. Warner said the
early wish lists add up to about five times as much money as is available.
The commission has decided that about $200 million of the overall total
will be spent on highway modernization and the rest for bridge replacement
or repair and road maintenance.
The agency says more than 500 bridges, many more than 50 years old, are
literally cracking apart and need repair or total replacement.
The speedup could mean some projects will be complete by 2003, Warner
said.
The department is taking two major steps to accelerate projects funded
under the bond program, he said.
One is to give preference to proposals that are free of ongoing land use
or environmental protection disputes that could delay work.
“We want the project to be ready to go,” Warner said.
The agency also is changing the way work is contracted out to private
companies.
Instead of waiting until design work is finished and then seeking bids
for construction, the steps are being compressed so contractors will offer
a single “design-build” proposal, Warner said.
Early construction work could begin even as the final design was being
completed, he said.
DOT Says Congestion is Hurting Michigan’s Economy
Detroit (AP)—Heavy traffic on southeast Michigan’s
roadways is hurting the state’s economy, according to the Michigan
Department of Transportation director.
When companies can only make 10 deliveries instead of 11 because of traffic
jams, that hurts productivity, said Greg Rosine, department director,
during a recent press conference in Troy, Mich.
Businesses are trying to fight back. They have formed the Michigan Smart
Growth coalition to address problems associated with urban sprawl and
the accompanying traffic jams, the Detroit Free Press recently reported.
The coalition is not advocating more government regulation on where building
can occur, but a coordinated effort to encourage growth in established
cities.
“We can’t indulge in the vain hope that somehow this problem
is going away,” said Irving Yackness, vice president of the Building
Industry Association of Southeastern Michigan.
Political and road officials tried to offer some cures for traffic ills,
but most came down to dollars and the realities of who will have to pay
for the improvements—Michigan’s taxpayers.
“But we have the congestion problems because of our success with
economic development,” said Bair. “You don’t find congestion
in ghost towns.”
Oakland County has identified $169.9 million in county road projects that
need to be done with only $24.5 million in federal and state dollars.
And that doesn’t include the $1.3 billion needed for work along the
I-75 corridor.
Bair would like to see an increase in the gas or sales tax to pay for
maintaining the region’s roadways.
MSHA Ends Diesel Sampling in UG Mines
Washington—In late October, the Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA) completed its sampling to determine miner exposure
to diesel particulate matter (DPM) in underground aggregate operations.
The sampling was conducted as part of an interim settlement agreement
worked out among MSHA, industry groups including the National Stone, Sand
& Gravel Association, and organized labor.
MSHA’s sampling in aggregates involved nine sites and was designed
to determine both the technical and economic feasibility of operator compliance
with specific airborne levels of DPM mandated in MSHA’s recently
issued DPM regulation.
Under the settlement agreement, MSHA said it would reopen the DPM rulemaking
record if the results of the sampling program determined that the mandated
air levels are infeasible, according to NSSGA.
The program covered a total of 31 metal/nonmetal mines. The data will
be analyzed between now and the end of the year, and the parties will
meet early in 2002 to review the results and determine a course of action.
The settlement agreement was worked out after the parties agreed to a
stay of legal action taken by industry to stop implementation of the mandated
air levels. Industry retains the option of continuing the litigation,
to which NSSGA is a party. Producers participating in the sampling include
Schildberg Construction Co., Hanson Aggregates Midwest, Kerford Limestone,
Patterson Materials Corp., Mississippi Lime Co. and Vulcan Materials Co.