Industry News Briefs

April 23, 2009 Headlines

Economic Recovery Act Funds 2,000th Transportation Project
Push Begins For High-Speed Passenger Train Network
Stimulus Highway Projects Drawing Lower Than Expected Bids

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Economic Recovery Act Funds 2,000th Transportation Project
U.S. Department of Transportation (04/13/09)

On April 13, President Obama announced funding for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's (ARRA's) 2,000th transportation project, just six weeks after the first project was approved. "Just 41 days ago we announced funding for the first transportation project under ARRA and today we're approving the 2,000th project," said President Obama. "I am proud to utter the two rarest phrases in the English language—projects are being approved ahead of schedule, and they are coming in under budget." Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, "This is the government working for the people, creating jobs today and laying the foundation for a bright economic future." The 2,000th project involves widening Interstate 94 in Kalamazoo County, Mich., in order to improve safety and reduce congestion. State departments of transportation around the country have reported intense competition by contractors for ARRA projects, with bids roughly 15 to 20 percent lower on average—and as much as 30 percent lower in some cases—than engineers anticipated. Colorado's first five ARRA transportation projects, for example, were 12 percent lower than anticipated, while Maine had one bridge project 20 percent lower than estimated and Oregon saw bids averaging 30 percent lower than expected during February and March.
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Push Begins For High-Speed Passenger Train Network
U.S. Department of Transportation (04/16/09)

President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Transportation Secretary Raymond LaHood have announced a new U.S. push to transform travel in America by creating high-speed rail lines from city to city, reducing dependence on cars and planes and spurring economic development. The president's strategic plan identifies $8 billion from the stimulus bill and $1 billion per year for five years in the federal budget request in order to get the passenger rail system started and set a direction for future transportation policy. Federal surface transportation authorization bills are expected to produce additional funding. Ten high-speed rail corridors as potential recipients of federal funding: California, Pacific Northwest, South Central, Gulf Coast, Chicago Hub Network, Florida, Southeast, Keystone, Empire and Northern New England. Also, opportunities exist for the Northeast Corridor from Washington to Boston to compete for funds to improve the nation's only existing high-speed rail service. "A major new high-speed rail line will generate many thousands of construction jobs over several years, as well as permanent jobs for rail employees and increased economic activity in the destinations these trains serve," Obama said. "High-speed rail is long-overdue, and this plan lets American travelers know that they are not doomed to a future of long lines at the airports or jammed cars on the highways." There will be three funding tracks for high-speed rail: individual projects, which would provide grants for ready-to-go projects for near-term job creation; corridor programs, to develop entire phases or geographic sections of high-speed rail corridors that have completed corridor plans and environmental documentation and have a prioritized list of projects to help meet the corridor objectives; and cooperative agreements for planning activities.
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Stimulus Highway Projects Drawing Lower Than Expected Bids
Wall Street Journal (04/14/09) P. A5; Mitchell, Josh

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) reports that construction firms are bidding 15 percent to 30 percent lower than expected for transportation projects funded by President Obama's federal economic-stimulus program. AASHTO executive director John Horsley explains that high unemployment has combined with lower commodity prices, especially in the construction industry, to create the best pricing environment for states in at least six years. In Missouri, for instance, officials have lined up companies for more than 30 construction projects to do the jobs for $16 million less than original estimates. Oregon, meanwhile, reports receiving bids in recent months that are as much as 33 percent lower than anticipated. The lower bids come as states are moving quickly to assign $48 billion of funds from the White House's economic-stimulus package for projects largely centered around repairing and improving road, bridge and rail networks. States are expected to award 50 percent of the highway-construction funds by early summer.

Secretary Salazar Announces $1 Billion Economic Recovery Investment in America's Water Infrastructure
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (04/15/09)

The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation will invest $1 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to repair water infrastructure in the United States and help address the country's long-term water supply challenges. "From aging dams to outdated water systems, America's water infrastructure needs immediate attention and investment," says Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. "The $1 billion we are investing through the President's economic recovery plan will put Americans to work rebuilding our water infrastructure and tackling the complex and painful water challenges we are facing. These investments will boost our economy, help farmers, businesses and communities get the water they need to thrive and restore aquatic resources in the West." Of the funding, $450 million will be allocated to meeting future water supply needs, $235 million for environmental and ecosystem restoration, and $165 million for improving infrastructure reliability and safety.
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Vice President Biden Outlines Funding for Smart Grid Initiatives
U.S. Department of Energy (04/16/09)

More than $3.3 billion in federal smart grid technology development grants and an additional $615 million for smart grid storage, monitoring, and technology viability will be distributed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. "We need an upgraded electrical grid to take full advantage of the vast renewable resources in this country–to take the wind from the Midwest and the sun from the Southwest and power areas across the country," says Vice President Joe Biden. "By investing in updating the grid now, we will lower utility bills for American families and businesses, lessen our dependence on foreign oil and create good jobs that will drive our economic recovery–a strong return on our investment." The Department of Energy's (DOE's) $3.375 billion Smart Grid Investment Grant Program will provide grants ranging from $500,000 to $20 million for smart grid technology deployments and grants of $100,000 to $5 million for the deployment of grid monitoring devices. The $615 dedicated to smart grid demonstration projects will go towards smart grid regional demonstrations, utility-scale energy storage demonstrations, and grid monitoring demonstrations. No deadline for applications has been specified.
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Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces $84.8 Million for Vital Watershed Projects
U.S. Department of Agriculture (04/16/09)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will allocate $84.8 million to state and local governments to improve water quality, increase water supply, decrease soil erosion, and improve fish and wildlife habitat in rural communities as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. "President Obama is committed to improving water quality, creating more dependable water supplies and decreasing soil erosion and this funding will make a big difference in the lives of the people who live in these rural communities," says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
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Official: Private-Public Deals Could Save ADOT Millions
Arizona Republic (04/15/09) Cooper, Jonathan J.

Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) Chief Financial Officer John McGee told a state senate committee on April 13 that he sees promise in public-private partnerships (P3s) such as toll roads and privately operated rest areas. "P3s are not a panacea for the state's long-term transportation funding," McGee told the Senate Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Public Debt Committee. "However, they can be an important component of the development of transportation facilities." Greater fuel efficiency and expansions in public transportation have been cutting into gasoline-tax revenue, making partnerships useful as a way to defray construction costs, he said. States built 168 toll projects on 14,566 lane miles between 1992 and 2006, but right now Arizona is not one of the 25 states that have toll roads. Committee Chairman Sen. John Nelson (R-Glendale) said he would like to change that: "This is a place where a toll road can fit, provide a real service, meet the transportation needs and be a good investment for the people who build the road." A new state law allows private rest stops, which McGee said could save as much as $12 million each in costs, and he noted that the agency's requirement that road builders design their own projects based on state parameters has helped eliminate some planning costs for the state.
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A Plan for U.S. Emissions to Be Buried Under Sea
New York Times (04/18/09) P. B1; Galbraith, Kate

A company called SCS Energy hopes to construct a coal-fired power plant in Linden, N.J., that would capture 90 percent of its carbon dioxide emissions and place it underground. The collected gas would be pumped 70 miles offshore via a 24-inch wide buried steel pipe, and injected 1 mile underneath the ocean bed into sandstone via a well. SCS Energy is confident that it can operate the plant profitably even though costs could total nearly $5 billion. If built, the plant would be located near the Arthur Kill waterway from Staten Island. The company hopes to pay $95 million for an old DuPont chemical factory near railways and barges, facilitating the plant's access to coal. The proposal may get a hearing by federal officials who are part of President Obama's team overseeing clean energy efforts. SCS Energy's plan was motivated by work done by Harvard University geochemist Daniel Schrag and his graduate student Kurt Zenz House. However, more than a dozen federal and state permits are required for the project, which could take years to obtain. SCS Energy also hopes to add a nitrogen fertilizer factory to the power plant.
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City of Fort Wayne Plans for the Future
Trenchless Technology (03/09) Vol. 17, No. 3, P. 42; Bogner, Ben

The City of Fort Wayne, Ind., has a forward-looking sewer repair and replacement program run by members of its Water Resources team. A great deal of Fort Wayne's sewer system analysis is rooted in residents' calls about basement sewer backup or flooding: Each individual piece of data is entered into a master plan that analyzes the present status of the entire system, then makes projections twice into the future, two to four decades out. The Water Resources team's plan is interwoven with Fort Wayne's consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to prevent and minimize combined sewer overflow and sanitary sewer overflow into receiving waters. The city uses cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) technology provider Insituform for its sewer rehabilitation needs, and sewer rehab team leader Mike Hicks says CIPP is both less disruptive and less expensive than total excavation and replacement. CIPP was used in Fort Wayne's Flaugh Ditch sanitary sewer project, which involved the city and Insituform communicating with affected residences and businesses about the need to temporarily restrict water usage. Improved sewage flow from the Flaugh Ditch CIPP permits over 200 residences to get off their on-property septic systems and tap into the line that leads to the treatment facility, while higher capacity supported by the rehabilitated line clears the ground for the expansion of local business and commerce. The Water Resources team collaborates with the geographic information systems department to split the city into 352 quarter sections that have sewer issues, and segments are color-coded to grade the urgency of the required fixes. Water Resources' master plan is designed to ascertain the best time to rehabilitate the aging sewer lines before they fail.
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8 Tips for Specifying and Installing Glulam Beams
Building Design + Construction (03/09)

Glulam beams have become very popular in the past 10 years, but there are some tricks to handling the material that people unaccustomed to it may not know. Archie Landreman, technical director with the nonresidential wood construction initiative WoodWorks, offers eight tips to keep in mind when using glulam. First, it is important to custom-specify the glulam beams based on the load and span requirements; second and third, it is important to determine whether to use a balanced or unbalanced layup and what the camber factor should be for the long spans. The fourth and fifth tips are to specify an appearance grade for glulam members whose appearance is important to the design and to specify the right stress class for the glulam members to have. Sixth, Landreman recommends planning ahead of time for exposure to weather and the handling thereof. Finally, Landreman recommends always using proper care in storing and handling the glulam members, and being careful that any cutting, notching, or drilling does not prevent the members from carrying their design load.
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Pipe Perfected
Utility Contractor (03/09) Vol. 33, No. 3, P. 32; Paggioli, Kimberly

Choosing the best pipe product alternatives is a process most often conducted using life-cycle cost analysis, and the best way to follow this analysis involves the consideration of the material price for products, their performance, the installation cost and the risk. Variables that must be accounted for when estimating the product's installed cost include costs for handling, the products' weights, required embedment, ease of field modifications, repairability, history of performance and availability of technical support when it is needed. Evaluating the environment in which the pipe will be installed and how it is used is the most critical design consideration for the product, and piping manufacturers should be requested to demonstrate their products' performance in accordance with nationally recognized test methods such as the ASTM D3681 Standard Test Method for Chemical Resistance of Fiberglass Pipe in a Deflected Condition. The best comparative measure of a product's abrasion resistance may be ascertained from a comparison of performance results produced using the same test procedure, while the long-term flow capacity of the line is another factor that life-cycle analysis must take into consideration. Factors that impact flow capacity include the relative sizes of pipes and their respective hydraulic characteristics. The installation method also must be weighed in the material selection process, and pipe manufacturers supply valuable technical advice sheets on handling, unloading, storage and inspection of their products. The assessment of installation conditions and their correlation to the original design is recommended, as is the evaluation of the performance of the pipe versus the expectations during the design and bidding process.

Crossroad
Governing (03/09) P. 42; Itkowitz, Colby

Legislators and experts involved in transportation policy have reached a general consensus that the existing funding mechanisms for transportation infrastructure need to change, and this year is likely to see a great deal of effort toward that end. The stimulus package already began that effort by demanding that states put their stimulus dollars to work quickly, and there will be a further opportunity for change with the reauthorization of the federal transportation bill later this year. "The nation's surface transportation system is at a crossroads," says House Transportation Committee Chairman James Oberstar, adding, "This year presents a great opportunity to forge a new national strategy." Oberstar has proposed monthly hearings in his committee on how states have progressed, in terms of where the money was spent and how many jobs were created, and the federal government will also have a hand in how states prioritize their spending. Some experts are concerned about the possibility that the stimulus money could produce false assurance that the transportation infrastructure challenges the country faces have been met. "Addressing stimulus first does not reduce or alter in any way the infrastructure funding -- and need -- challenges we face," says Jeff Solsby, spokesman for the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. The bipartisan commission created four years ago when Congress last reauthorized the transportation bill has released a report urging that the current programs not be reauthorized in their present form but that Congress take a fresh new approach to the issue. The commission calls on the federal government to be "mode-neutral" and work toward the four goals of facilitating commerce and trade, relieving congestion, cleaning the environment, and improving safety, with performance measures instead of piecemeal policymaking and cost-benefit analysis instead of earmarks. Meanwhile, a sign of Obama's thinking on transportation comes from his campaign-trail proposal of creating a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank for direct investment in nationally significant transportation projects, in order to bypass the tendency of members of Congress to focus on their own constituencies instead of the entire country.
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The Future Blows In
Point of Beginning (03/09) Vol. 34, No. 6, P. 14; Stenmark, John

Wind power is the fastest growing sector of renewable energy in the United States, with more than 5,200 MW of wind power-generating capacity added in 2007, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has indicated that with the right investments, wind power could generate 20 percent of U.S. energy by 2030. Surveyors are in heavy demand for engineering surveys and construction surveys to ready the massive swathes of land needed for wind farms and get them built and operating. Colorado's biggest wind farm, the 300-MW Cedar Creek Wind Energy Project, is a good example of this. Its surveying was done by Westwood Professional Services, a Minneapolis-based firm that has did its first wind project survey in 1997 and today employs more than 60 people in its energy surveying division. This required the use of constraint maps from project owners showing the turbines' proposed locations and strip surveys covering more than 200 square miles as Westwood worked to produce descriptions for easements and rights-of-way as well as necessary access roads and construction lines. Much of the terrain had not been surveyed for more than 100 years, and many of the original stone markers had been lost or destroyed, requiring Westwood to restore and set roughly 150 of the more than 1,000 section and quarter corners they visited. Surveyors used Trimble R8 and Trimble 5700 GPS systems along with Trimble TSC2 controllers, and they set up their own reference stations in the project, linking to the Colorado state plane coordinate system using high accuracy reference network (HARN) or National Geodetic Survey (NGS) control stations in the area. This enabled the surveyors to use real-time kinematics by providing sufficiently dense controls while still covering a very large area.
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Not So ‘Shocking' Results: Success With Impressed Cathodic Protection for a National Historic Landmark
Structural Engineer (03/09) Noyce, Paul; Crevello, Gina

The recent restoration of a century-old landmark brick building in Washington, D.C., ran into problems when restorers found that previous repairs to the building's terra cotta cornice had used rigid cement and an open mortar joint had allowed the cornice's steel support to corrode. The project team looked at invasive and non-invasive treatments for preserving the cornice, and ended up using an impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) system from Electro Tech CP. ICCP systems use discrete titanium anodes in the masonry with separate connections to the corroding steelwork; a sophisticated power-supply system is then attached, with the anodes connected to the positive terminal and the steel connected to the negative terminal. The carefully controlled current flow shifts the polarity of the steel, removing the harmful electrochemical reactions that cause the rusting. This technique was applied to the building after carefully investigating the metals and the structure, with a real-life mockup used to test different kinds of anodes and installation methods. Another problem surfaced when some of the cornice's mortar was removed and some of the outriggers turned out to be in much worse condition than previously believed. This required additional steel supports in the cornice, which had to be carefully connected to the ICCP system so they would be electrically continuous with the original steel. The system has now been running for more than two years, and its use on the restoration project was judged an overwhelming success, demonstrating ICCP's utility as a cost-effective, long-lasting technique for repairing historic structures.
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