The site – www.terex.com/used – allows construction contractors to access spec information, photos and MSRP on used construction, roadbuilding and aerial work platform equipment for sale through Terex. A complete inventory of used equipment for sale through Terex is available on the site.

“We know that customers today are making equipment decisions differently because of the economy,” says John Poag, operations sales manager, Terex Construction Americas, in a written statement. “Savvy contractors know that buying used equipment can be a smart way to reduce investment cost and increase profit margins.”

To determine if now is the right time to invest in “new” used equipment, Poag suggests that customers do a simple acquisition cost versus utilization rate analysis.

“Some questions to consider are: Will this piece of equipment allow you to do more specialized jobs? Will it allow you to do your current jobs more quickly and efficiently? Will having this piece of equipment allow you to do jobs that your competitors are not capable of,” Poag says in a written statement. “All of these questions will help determine if used is a better option than new.”

Once a customer selects a piece of equipment to purchase from www.terex.com/used, representatives from Terex Construction Americas and Terex Financial Services enlist the customer’s nearest authorized Terex distributor to complete the sale.

“Our goal is to connect our customers with Terex distributors for financing, service, parts and future equipment needs,” Poag says.

Dan Large, Wisconsin Ready Mix Concrete Association Man of the Year

The WRMCA honored Large with the award because of his dedication to the organization as a loyal and long-term member, his 15-year service as the organization’s technical committee chairman, and the tireless work he’s done on behalf of the organization as a five-term member of the board of directors.

“I was honored when they presented me with this award at our annual convention,” Large said in a written statement. “It’s a humbling experience to be recognized by my peers at WRMCA, all of whom contribute so much time and effort to the advancement of our industry.”

Patrick Essie, WRMCA executive director, says that Large “has always been the type of member who makes everyone associated with him better at what they do.” He adds that Large “is intelligent, creative and tireless. On a personal note, I have come to rely on his ability to grasp the big picture and seek from him his thoughts and ideas on a regular basis.”

The Coal Mine Act, which was signed into law on Dec. 30, 1969, was born out of a mining disaster that occurred in November 1968, when 78 miners died in an explosion at Consolidation Coal’s No. 9 mine in Farmington, W.Va. The law went into effect on March 30, 1970.

The event will take place in the department’s Great Hall. Other speakers will include representatives from Congress, the United Mine Workers of America and the National Mining Association.

What: Commemoration of 40th anniversary of the

Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969

WHEN: Tuesday, March 23

12:30 to 1:30 p.m. EDT

WHERE: U.S. Department of Labor

Great Hall

200 Constitution Ave. NW

Washington, D.C.

Projects are considered under way when a contractor has been hired, the project has received official notice to proceed, and work has begun.

This milestone comes just more than a year after the Recovery Act was signed into law and as the spring construction season is getting into full swing.

Biden made the announcement as part of a visit to North Carolina – the state where the 10,000th project, the Sanford Bypass, will break ground.

The contractor, DHG Infrastructure, says it is hiring more than 45 employees to work on the project. The $26 million project, which was accelerated by the Recovery Act, will redirect commercial truck traffic away from the heart of the city of Sanford, relieving congestion and maintenance problems, and increasing access for businesses to relocate and expand in the area.

“The 10,000 transportation projects under way are already helping put us on the road to economic recovery, but there is even more to come,” said Vice President Biden in a press statement from the U.S. Department of Transportation. “This spring, Recovery Act projects will pick up the pace across the country, providing even more jobs improving America’s roads, highways and bridges.”

The U.S. DOT asserts that that in the last year, the Recovery Act has improved more than 33,000 miles of pavement across the United States; helped purchase nearly 12,000 buses, vans and rail vehicles; helped construct or renovate more than 850 transit facilities and provided more than $620 million in preventive maintenance. This helped save and create jobs, and maintained and enhanced the nation’s transportation network. In addition to the 10,000 projects already under way, construction activity is expected to ramp up even further in the next few months as temperatures warm and new projects break ground.

“Every new Recovery Act project means workers back on the job, paying their rent or mortgage, putting food on the table for their families,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in the same U.S. DOT press statement. “These 10,000 projects are strengthening our economy and creating jobs right now, and there are more projects still to come this spring.”

During the first week of March, the U.S. Department of Transportation successfully met an aggressive deadline to “obligate” – or commit funds to specific projects – 100 percent of their Recovery Act highway and transit formula dollars. That important milestone means that for every Recovery Act project, contracts can be bid, workers can be hired and construction can begin on projects that create jobs and drive economic growth.

In addition to the Sanford Bypass Project, some other major Recovery Act-funded projects under construction include the following:

I-4/Selmon Expressway in Tampa. Because of $105 million in Recovery Act funds, construction began earlier this month on the $653 million I-4/Selmon Expressway Crosstown Connector in Tampa. The project will provide direct access for the more than 12,000 commercial trucks that travel through downtown to and from the Port of Tampa every day.

DART Orange Line in Dallas. Recovery Act funds totaling $61.2 million are helping Dallas Area Rapid Transit construct the 14-mile Orange Line, which will eventually link Downtown Dallas and the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Nelsonville Bypass in Southeast Ohio. Ohio is constructing a new, 8.5 mile, four-lane highway to divert freight traffic from U.S. 33, which bottlenecks in the town of Nelsonville. Recovery Act funds totaling $138 million are helping fund this final upgrade of the U.S. 33 corridor in southeast Ohio that will take traffic off local roads, which carry 1,700 trucks a day on one of the busiest truck routes in the state.

Merritt Parkway, near Fairfield, Conn. Recovery Act funds in the amount of $67 million are improving safety for the estimated 60,000 daily drivers who use the Merritt Parkway by widening shoulders and installing or updating guard rails along 9.3 miles of one of the East Coast’s most congested commuter routes.

South Westnedge Avenue Interchange on I-94 near Kalamazoo, Mich. Last fall, the Recovery Act fully funded this $47.7 million project to reconstruct the interchange and ease traffic congestion along this key Midwest corridor that serves an estimated 87,000 drivers daily. One additional lane will be added in each direction to widen the road from four lanes to six, allowing cars and trucks to move through Kalamazoo more safely and easily.

This corrects the shortfall of $12 billion nationally or $243 million to Missouri in federal funding for the remainder of the year, allowing the MoDOT to proceed with bid openings for projects that had been postponed due to funding uncertainties.

MoDOT had cancelled its bids for February and March after the temporary extension of SAFETEA-LU expired, and another extension hadn’t been approved yet. The extension was included in the HIRE Act, a.k.a. the “jobs bill,” that was approved by the Senate on March 17 and sent to Obama for his approval.

More than $130 million worth of road and bridge projects were delayed after MoDOT canceled bid openings for February and March.

Action from President Obama and Congress will allow these projects to be bid on and completed, MoDOT says in a written statement.

Following the news from Washington is a new schedule for MoDOT contractors and projects:

April 9, 2010 Bid Opening — Notice of Bid Opening is March 19, 2010.

April 30, 2010 Bid Opening — Notice of Bid Opening on March 28, 2010.

May 14, 2010 Bid Opening — Notice of Bid Opening on April 8, 2010.

May 28, 2010 Bid Opening — Notice of Bid Opening on April 22, 2010.

Roman Shklanka, chairman of Polaris, notes that Martineau has more than 40 years experience in the ready-mixed concrete and related industries, which is Polaris’ principal market. Martineau also was the founder and first president and CEO of U.S. Concrete Inc., and under his management, became one of the largest ready-mixed concrete producers in the United States, Shklanka notes in a written statement.

Martineau’s appointment to the board is subject to TSX approval.

WALES, WI –

The XL600 cone features an innovative design that is ideal for quarries needing a large secondary cone crusher with maximum throughput capacity that approaches 1,000 TPH (907 tonnes). The XL600 cone handles feed sizes up to 14 inches (360 mm), with the most active feed opening of any competitive model, providing better product shape for higher yields of salable product.

While the XL600 cone has a 600 hp motor, it is designed to operate and remain mechanically sound at lower eccentric speeds. Because of this versatility, the crusher speed can be selected to maximize throughput, size reduction, product shape and product yield. The large 65-inch (1.65 m) crushing head uses the same eccentric motion as Excel’s other highly successful Raptor cone crushers, with a high pivot point and large crushing stroke that offers better crushing action throughout the crushing chamber. The XL600 cone can be installed to replace cone crushers with a 59-inch (1.5 m) head diameter or larger without major modifications to foundations or feed arrangements, allowing producers to increase their production capacity without major plant renovations.

The Raptor XL600 cone is built with a rigid four-arm frame and integral countershaft mounted inside one of the four arms. This provides a stronger frame design and avoids pitfalls associated with an external countershaft box. The crusher line also employs “fail safe” hydraulics through an internal relief valve within the dual-acting tramp release cylinders, which ensures the machines stay protected from mechanical overload should an accumulator bladder fail. Advanced overload sensing technology detects crushing force overload. A simple alarm is activated, or the system can be automated to take corrective action. This same advanced automation system can be used to optimize crusher performance, with feed control, setting adjustment and monitoring of all critical lubrication and hydraulic parameters.  An additional safety feature standard on all Raptor models is the counterclockwise rotation crushing action that protects the machine if adjustment ring movement is excessive or if the ring gear brake fails.

The growing family of Raptor High-Performance Cone Crushers includes the XL300, XL400, XL600, XL900 and XL1100 – the largest cone crusher available on the market. FLSmidth Excel has designed these machines, employing the results of extensive research conducted with operator input, with the goal of keeping producers crushing at the highest production levels, in the most demanding aggregate and hard rock mining applications around the world.

FLSmidth Excel LLC (as of Jan 1, 2010, now known as FLSmidth Pekin LLC) is part of FLSmidth Minerals Inc., headquartered in Bethlehem, PA. The parent company, FLSmidth & Co. A/S, is based in Copenhagen, Denmark. With offices worldwide, FLSmidth Minerals supplies equipment, systems, service and support for mining, cement and aggregate operators in the material handling, flotation, crushing and grinding and pyro markets. Founded more than 125 years ago, FLSmidth has been renowned for innovative thinking and a focus on developing the best possible technological solutions. For more information, contact Fred Gross, vice president sales and marketing, FLSmidth Excel, 543 A.J. Allen Circle, Wales, WI 53183; phone: 262.968.9095; cell: 720.883.6862; fax: 262.968.9112; e-mail: Fred.Gross@FLSmidth.com or visit www.FLSmidthExcel.com.

The Senate voted 68-34 on March 17 to pass H.R. 2847, the $17.6 billion “jobs bill” known as the HIRE Act, which extends the current surface transportation law until Dec. 31 and transfers $19.5 billion in the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to ensure the fund’s solvency during the extension and restoring the recission that occured at the end of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity act–A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).

The final vote occurred after a 63 – 34 vote supporting a motion to waive a budget point of order raised by Republican Judd Gregg (N.H.), according to a special Washington Watch report from the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA). At press time, the bill was just waiting a signature from President Barack Obama.

The bill grew from $15 billion in the House to $17.6 billion after an expansion of the Build America Bonds financing.

Eleven Republicans (Lamar Alexander, Tenn.; Kit Bond, Mo.; Scott Brown, Mass; Richard Burr, N.C.; Thad Cochran, Miss.; Susan Collins, Maine; Jim Inhofe, Okla.; George LeMieux, Fla.; Lisa Murkowski, Alaska; Olympia Snowe, Maine; and George Voinovich, Ohio) voted for passage, while one Democrat, Ben Nelson of Nebraska opposed it, according to the NSSGA report.

This solves the problem in the short-term, but now Congress must work on a six-year surface transportation reauthorization. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has called for a six-year, half-billion bill. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said March 15 that a six-year bill is on the White House’s radar, NSSGA notes.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will continue its series of transportation hearings on March 18, when members will hear from witnesses on rural and urban mobility, NSSGA says.

However, NSSGA points out that finding the funds to pay for a $400 billion to $500 billion bill will be difficult. LaHood said that President Obama wants a bill that is bipartisan and fully paid for, but the funds are not there. LaHood said that in the interim, the DOT will push Congress to create a $4 billion infrastructure bank that is included in the administration’s FY 2011 budget and, that the secretary said the department would be soliciting proposals for how to spend $1 billion in discretionary spending this fiscal year, according to NSSGA.

American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) President & CEO Pete Ruane says that the jobs bill passed on March 17 will stabilize the federal highway and public transportation programs to help maximize employment and economic activity in the 2010 construction season. 

“The bill also pays back to the trust fund interest earnings sacrificed in 1998, and ensures that future interest generated will be dedicated for transportation infrastructure improvements,” Ruane said in a written statement. ”…it ends the practice of penalizing the trust fund for fuel tax exemptions granted to certain users — creating approximately $1.5 billion in additional revenue annually to support infrastructure investment.

“Today’s vote was a victory, but we must keep our eye on the larger objective: passage this year of a robust, multi-year highway and transit authorization bill,” Ruane continued.

Six Republicans (Senators Kit Bond – Mo., Scott Brown – Mass., Richard Burr – N.C., Susan Collins – Maine, Jim Inhofe – Okla., and Olympia Snowe – Maine) voted for the bill while one Democrat, Nebraska’s Ben Nelson, opposed it, according to NSSGA.

The bill extends SAFETEA-LU through Dec. 31, 2010, transfers $19.5 billion into the Highway Trust Fund for interest that had been foregone on the balance, and restores the rescission of contract authority that took place when SAFETEA-LU expired on Sept. 30, 2009.

It also includes a payroll tax break for new hires, a small-business expensing provision, and Build America Bonds financing, which was expanded by the House this month, increasing the cost of the bill from $15 billion to $17.6 billion, says NSSGA.