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Preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) indicate that mine fatalities in 2009 fell to an all-time low for the second straight year. Metal/non-metal mines recorded 16 mining deaths, and coal mines recorded 18 mining deaths for a combined total of 34 mining deaths nationwide and a significant drop from last year’s total of 52 deaths. Of the 34 fatalities reported, 11 coal miners and 14 metal/non-metal miners died at surface mines, while seven coal miners and two metal/non-metal miners died at underground facilities. Seven coal miners and five metal/non-metal miners died in accidents involving powered haulage, the leading cause of all fatal mining accidents in the United States during 2009.
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Ever since the invention of the automobile, paved roads have meant progress. Now some cash-strapped towns and counties are finding progress too expensive, and they are tearing up battered roads and putting down gravel. The high price of pavement and the sour economy have driven municipalities in states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Vermont to roll up the asphalt — a mile here, a few miles there, mostly on back roads — rather than repave. The idea of turning a beat-up road into gravel isn’t totally new. But with tax revenue plunging off a cliff because of the economy and asphalt prices doubling over the past three years to $400 a ton, rural towns are increasingly looking at gravel.
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Cash-strapped communities have a message for corporations that promised jobs in return for tax breaks: A deal’s a deal. As the recession drags on, municipalities struggling to fix roads, fund schools, and pay bills increasingly are rescinding tax abatements to companies that don’t hire enough workers, lay them off, or close up shop. At the same time, they’re sharpening new incentive deals, leaving no doubt what is expected of companies and what will happen if they don’t deliver.
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They came up short last year, but Democrats in the Alabama Senate want to try again in 2010 to pass a bill that would take $100 million a year from the Alabama Trust Fund to improve roads and bridges in the state. Democrats and road builders believe the proposal, if approved by the legislature and voters, would put people back to work, make Alabama roads safer, and boost the infrastructure that helps create economic development.
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AASHTO: America's top 10 transportation topics for 2010
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As America enters a new decade, what will be the buzz about transportation? Clearly, a safe, efficient, and viable transportation network should be at the forefront of issues facing policymakers at all levels of government and in all areas of our society in the coming months. Looking ahead, AASHTO has developed a list of the top 10 transportation topics that it forecasts will be part of the national conversation in 2010 — in the media, in government, and around the dinner table.
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Nevada probes allegations of shoddy work on bridge
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Nevada transportation officials are investigating claims by a construction worker who says a new highway bridge south of Reno is unsafe because he was ordered to use substandard concrete to save money building it. David Lee said he did the shoddy work earlier this year at the direction of his foremen at C.C. Myers, a California-based subcontractor, on one of five major bridges that are part of a $600 million highway project connecting Carson City and Reno.
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AGG 1 and World of Asphalt interactive Web sites help attendees pre-plan show visit
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Industry professionals can go online to access all the information they need to register for and participate in the upcoming AGG 1 Aggregates Forum & Expo and World of Asphalt Show and Conference. The show Web sites feature an interactive “My Show Planner” to help attendees efficiently organize their itinerary ahead of time. World of Asphalt and AGG 1 will be held Feb. 15-18, 2010, at the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.
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NRMCA Technical Short Course to be held in Arizona in January
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NRMCA’s Technical Short Course on Concrete and Aggregates will be offered Jan. 25-29, 2010, in Mesa, Ariz., just outside Phoenix. The course offers one week of intensive learning on the fundamentals of concrete, mixture proportioning, code and specification requirements, and additional topics. Attendees have the opportunity to achieve four industry-recognized certifications: ACI Grade I field testing technician, ACI flatwork finisher technician, and NRMCA Concrete Technologist Levels 2 and Level 3.
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Duluth developers close deal on LaFarge property
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An abandoned cement terminal may seem an unlikely centerpiece for a new waterfront development, but a group of local investors is betting the Duluth facility can be put back to productive use in a new and creative fashion. An investment team purchased the property from LaFarge North America for $1.325 million in a cash deal that closed Dec. 30. Located next door to Bayfront Festival Park and adjacent to property owned by the Duluth Economic Development Authority, the LaFarge property is currently zoned “waterfront industrial,” but the new owners of the parcel are seeking to have it designated “commercial waterfront.”
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British Columbia to create reserve around limestone quarry on Texada Island
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The British Columbia government will create a 7-hectare reserve around a significant cave threatened by a planned limestone quarry development on Crown land on Texada Island on the Sunshine Coast. Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell also says the quarry proponent, Lehigh Hanson Materials Ltd., has offered to remove 35 hectares from its mining application at the cave site, in effect creating a 28-hectare buffer around the reserve. The province’s “map reserve” designation under Section 16 of the Land Act would protect a small area of Texada Island around Stromberg and Grow Op creeks, but it falls short of park protection and could be reversed by a future government.
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Gravel pit expansion proposed
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Plans for a gravel pit expansion along the southwest city limits of Cambridge, Ontario, have gone on public display. Cambridge Aggregates and Italcementi Group want to expand an existing pit. Councilwoman Pam Wolf represents that area on the city council and is worried about dust, noise, and damage to the water table in the area. She hasn’t yet heard any concerns from residents about the proposal. The pit will be well hidden and about 200 metres away from the nearest city home, said Bob Long, a planner working for the gravel companies. Earthen berms up to 5 meters tall will hide the operations from view and deflect noise.
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New bid to annex land next to California quarry
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Temecula, Calif., officials hope the third time is the charm when they try to annex thousands of acres of land bordering a proposed gravel quarry. The City Council will consider allowing staff to once again ask for permission to absorb about 4,500 acres into the city limits. If approved, the annexation would put the city’s border right next to the site of Liberty Quarry. The quarry is opposed by city leaders and members of a grassroots movement who fear it will ruin the area’s quality of life. The city tried in June to annex the quarry site and surrounding lands and enact zoning that would ban open-pit mining. But the Riverside Local Agency Formation Commission, which regulates annexation in the county, rejected the plan, saying the quarry issue was best decided at the county level.
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Judge rules for North Dakota firm in Las Vegas road project
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A federal judge in Nevada has ruled that a disputed Las Vegas highway project should be awarded to a North Dakota company, despite a county commission vote to start the bidding process over again. U.S. District Court Judge Clive Jones issued a ruling granting Fisher Sand and Gravel the $112 million contract to widen a section of the Las Vegas Beltway north of the city.
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Cement makers see tough markets in Europe, United States
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The world’s leading cement makers expect the coming years to be tough in Europe and the United States as rising government debt looks set to squeeze infrastructure spending, according to a report in the Financial Times. As a result, large cement makers such as Swiss group Holcim and France’s Lafarge are pinning their hopes on demand from emerging markets such as China and India. The industry hopes that large economic stimulus packages will boost demand, although Lafarge said it had yet to feel the effects of increased government spending in the United States and Europe.
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Despite job losses, labor conditions improve better than forecast
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The December 85,000 job-loss figure released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was more than projected, but a three-month data review suggests that labor conditions are improving at a pace better than expected. According to a recent report by the Portland Cement Association (PCA), the combination of BLS upward data revisions and better-than-expected job market performance resulted in only 501,000 job losses during August-December 2009 versus a PCA-predicted 861,000.
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MDU Resources names Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, Treasurer
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MDU Resources Group announced that Doran N. Schwartz has been named vice president and chief financial officer for the corporation; Nicole A. Kivisto has been named vice president, controller, and chief accounting officer; and Douglass A. Mahowald has been named treasurer and assistant secretary. All positions are effective Feb. 17.
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Godwin Pumps institutes Asset, Logistic, and Transportation Manager position
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Godwin Pumps has announced the addition of Bill Price to the newly-created position of Asset, Logistic, and Transportation Manager. Based in Godwin’s Bridgeport, N.J., world headquarters, Price will coordinate equipment relocation, including branch-to-branch equipment transfers. In addition to equipment transportation duties, Price will facilitate the use of Godwin’s newly-implemented enterprise software in all facets of dispatch and freight.
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