Highway Fund patch bill approved...
Barge mounted concrete plant working...
And U.S. eastern seaboard set for oil exploration...
That and more on Construction News Tracker brought to you by Caterpillar and produced by ForConstructionPros.com
After days of hot potato bill swapping, the U.S. Senate capitulated to the House and adopted the same bill for highway funds approved weeks ago - $10.9 billion through May of 2015, as the battle for long-term legislation continues.
In order to rebuild the massive Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson River in New York state, the contractor team has build a concrete batch plant on a barge. Here are the stats:
- 200 feet long and 60 feet wide
- Produces 125 cubic yards an hour
- Three towers hold stone water and cement mixed by an on-board operator using a computer system to meet specs tested by an on-board lab
- Energy efficient engines and advanced air quality system to reduce dust the plant produces
And finally, the barge mounted plant eliminates an estimated 30,000 trucks that would be needed over the course of the bridge project.
The eastern seaboard of the U.S. is the newest fertile ground for oil exploration. The Obama administration Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced the first step towards permitting sonic cannons that send sound pulses beneath the sea floor then rebound, and computers translate the soundings into images of petroleum deposits. The oil industry foresees 4.7 billion barrels of oil and 37 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from the explorations.
Los Angeles International Airport will soon begin a $200 million construction project to expand and improve runway safety zones. One of the nation's busiest, LAX will configure concrete collapsing buffer areas at the end of its four runways to improve safety and be in compliance with federal rules. When completed, all four runways will have the sides of all runways expanded as well.
Those of you following the Ford F-150 aluminum body pickup will be interested in knowing the company has released prices for the 2015 model. The XL and XLT model base prices will rise $395 while the platinum jumps $3,055 and the fully tricked out 2015 King Ranch Ford will cost you a whopping $3,615 more. All F-150s will have new trim levels that include numerous features.
Finally, it's impossible to make things foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
