For Construction Pros

The Importance of Team & Motivating the Younger Generation

By Lisa Cleaver - Thursday March 7, 2013

I've just returned from Scottsdale and the annual NAPA meeting. As always, it was a great time for learning, networking and getting inspired. Mountaineer Alison Levine , the keynote speaker on the first day of the meeting, has survived extreme environments and climbed every well-known mountain in the world including Mt. Everest (she did that one twice). She had a very pointed message – that you can't do great things without a good team. She might have made it to the top of the mountain, but her team helped get there. Another speaker, business guru and author Jim Collins , offered a message focused on building a great business that endures. After his session, we enjoyed a roundtable with industry leaders. During the roundtable, all...

States Consider Interesting Approach to Funding Transportation Projects

By Lisa Cleaver - Monday December 3, 2012

It's no secret – in these lean times, states are looking for transportation funding resources in all kinds of places. For a long time, raising the gas tax at either the state or federal level has seemed to be off the table. But even the new Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Bill Shuster, has signaled that raising the gas tax may not be out of the question any more. In the meantime, states and municipalities are getting creative with funding in these lean times. According to the Concord Monitor , legislators in New Hampshire next year will consider creating a committee to study selling naming rights to New Hampshire bridges, overpasses and other structures. Such a sponsorship program could generate...

Tips for Staying Cool in the Summer Heat

By Lisa Cleaver - Thursday June 21, 2012

Heat-related deaths and illness are preventable, yet annually many people succumb to extreme heat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers an important toolkit contractors can use to help beat the heat. The toolkit provides downloadable and customizable materials for those most vulnerable to extreme heat events. People who work outdoors are more likely to become dehydrated and are more likely to get heat-related illness. The CDC offers the following tips for contractors working outside in the hot temperatures: Drink from two to four cups of water every hour while working. Don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink. Avoid alcohol or liquids containing large amounts of sugar. Wear and reapply sunscreen as...

"Take politics out of transportation!"

By Lisa Cleaver - Tuesday February 28, 2012

While Congress took a President's Day break in late February, Ray LaHood traveled to the sunny state of Florida to be the keynote speaker at this year's Preservation & Rehabilitation meeting in Bonita Springs sponsored by the Asphalt Emulsion Manufacturers Association (AEMA) , Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA) , International Slurry Surfacing Association (ISSA) and the Pavement Preservation & Recycling Alliance (PPRA) . As he addressed the meeting, his frustration over the long and winding road the transportation bill has been on seemed palatable. There have been eight extensions spanning 880 days since the last long-term bill ran out. "If the people who are elected to Congress really want to put people to work...

Occupational Health Risks in Road Paving

- Wednesday February 8, 2012

Last fall, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) issued a statement assigning occupational exposures to straight-run asphalt cement and its emissions during road paving as "possibly carcinogenic to humans." This classification puts asphalt road paving in the same category as numerous exposures, including cell phones and coffee. During NAPA's recent annual meeting in Palm Desert, CA, a session was held discussing the IARC classification. "The asphalt paving industry has always taken questions about workers' health and safety seriously," said Mike Acott, NAPA president, during the session. "Our goal has always been, first and foremost, to protect the workers by reducing their exposure." But should you be concerned? I know...

A Great Tool for Sustainable Roads

- Thursday January 5, 2012

There's a lot of talk about green roads and green paving. Many of you in the asphalt industry already perform sustainable practices – warm mix asphalt, full-depth reclamation (FDR) and recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) are just a few ways asphalt contractors are "going green." After reading an article today that suggested the industry should adopt a road rating system similar to the LEED system used for buildings , I did some research. Last spring I wrote an article on Illinois' sustainable rating system, I-LAST . In that article, there was some information on a program that was getting some traction at the national level, INVEST. Here's a great website from the FHWA all about sustainable roads and green paving – what it is and...

An Unsavory Anniversary

- Wednesday October 19, 2011

Tomorrow marks the 750th day that Congress has failed to pass a highway bill. The last major highway bill expired on September 30, 2009. Both the House and Senate are working on a new bill to reform the current programs and keep our roads from crumbling, but wouldn't it be nice if a long-term solution was passed sooner rather than later? The latest on the highway bill … Seeking to avoid another short-term extension of federal transportation programs when the current (and eighth short-term extension) expires next March, House and Senate transportation leaders are working hard to gain sufficient support to move their respective transportation proposals. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla...

Good Roads - A Political Football?

By Lisa Cleaver - Monday September 12, 2011

By Ron Corun, President, the Association of Modified Asphalt Producers It's maddening for everyone in the asphalt pavement industry to watch our political leaders continually underfund and neglect the United States' highway system and force our infrastructure into decline. The Interstate Highway System was built more than 50 years ago under the leadership of President Dwight Eisenhower. This visionary highway project helped drive the American economy to prosperity for decades and gave drivers the freedom to travel effortlessly across this great country. Americans enjoyed the benefits of a highway network unrivaled around the globe. Today, the U.S. infrastructure has fallen from a quality ranking of number one in the world to...

A Few Facts about the Gas Tax

By Lisa Cleaver - Thursday August 25, 2011

Did you know that American roads are about on par with those of Malaysia? That's according to the World Economic Forum's ranking of national infrastructure systems, which shows the U.S. has fallen sharply in the last few years. In the forum's 2007-2008 report, American infrastructure was ranked 6th best in the world. The 2011-2012 report due in September will show America at No. 16, with South Korea overtaking the U.S. during the last year, according to the ranking obtained by Reuters. The U.S. spends only 1.7% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on transportation infrastructure while Canada spends 4% and China spends 9%. Even as the global recession has forced cutbacks in government spending, other countries continue to invest...

A Sensible Solution

By Lisa Cleaver - Wednesday July 27, 2011

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has released a revenue-neutral solution to rebuild and modernize America's highways without raising the gas tax. If put into practice, this sensible solution would solve a lot of problems - and let's repeat - it doesn't raise the gas tax. The proposal was developed by Jack Schenendorf, former vice chairman of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, of Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP, and Elizabeth Bell, Associate, Covington & Burling LLP. "Both Congress and the President have recognized the severity of our infrastructure problem and the need to fix it," says Schenendorf. "But neither has been able to come up with a funding solution to pay for the...