Industry News

ARTBA, AGC, NAPA, LABOR GROUPS AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT JOIN FORCES
Industry allies sign Roadway Work Zone Safety Aggreement
Improving the safety of both workers and motorists in roadway construction zones are key objectives of a new alliance among various construction industry allies, organized labor and the federal government announced January 25 in Washington, D.C.

Through the alliance, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the Roadway Work Zone Safety and Health Partners - which include the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) - will develop hazard awareness training and education programs aimed at training workers, educating the roadway construction industry, and reaching out to non-English construction workers about safe practices in roadway work zones.

"Protecting our workers is always a top priority," says AGC COO David Lukens. "This new alliance reinforces our commitment to the safety of our men and women working to improve the nation's highway infrastructure."

"NAPA's mission in the Roadway Work Zone Safety and Health Partners Alliance is to help workers return home safely to their families at the end of each day," says Ronald M. White, NAPA's 2007 Chairman. "We will have a strong focus on providing awareness and training for workers."

Alliance members will also share research findings with the construction industry so that the interventions and best practices described in training and outreach activities are based upon the most accurate scientific data.

"ARTBA and its public and private sector members feel strongly they have a moral obligation to protect the safety of workers and motoring public in roadway construction zones," 2007 ARTBA Chairman C. Michael Walton says. "That's why the association has a long-standing relationship working with industry, labor organizations and the federal government to create educational initiatives and training programs aimed at improving safety on America's highways and in road construction zones. This second alliance with OSHA has, in many ways, already been in practice for decades."

"This agreement will provide Alliance Program participants and other government and non-government organizations with information, guidance and access to training resources," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. "These resources will help the Alliance protect employees, including Spanish-speaking and other high-risk or vulnerable 'hard-to-reach' employees from general health and safety hazards and reduce and prevent exposures to roadway work zone safety and health hazards."

AMAP FUNDS STUDY
Association provides $17,000 to Asphalt Institute
The Association of Modified Asphalt Producers (AMAP), an international association dedicated to the development, production and use of modified asphalts that greatly extend the life of interstate pavements, has announced that it will provide $17,000 to the Affiliate Committee of the Asphalt Institute to help fund the organization's latest study which is focused on the determination of specific calibration factors for polymer-modified asphalts (PMA).

The latest study comes as a follow-up to an initial study conducted by AMAP and the Asphalt Institute. The original study was published in 2005 and set out to quantify the effects of polymer-modified asphalts on reducing pavement distress. The initial study proved that PMA reduced pavement distress and extended the service life of flexible pavements and overlays but did not determine specific calibration factors for PMA mixtures.