An ADOSH presentation regarding respirable crystalline silica is now available, to help educate construction industry members regarding this federal rule and its implications in Arizona.

Congratulations to Pima County on completion of The Loop, a long-term wash bank protection project that has also paved the way for a regional multi-use trail system! Many ATB members were active in providing construction and consulting services over three decades to make this happen in partnership with local jurisdictions. The Loop Completion Celebration events take place this Saturday, March 17, 2018 at three locations around the metro area. More details: http://webcms.pima.gov/cms/One.aspx?portalId=169&pageId=384760

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is making the case for the Trump administration’s plan to incentivize state, local and private stakeholders to spend as much as $1.3 trillion by providing $200 billion in federal dollars over 10 years.  She testified March 1st before the Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee and is set to appear today at the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.  The reaction among Senate EPW Committee members was mixed at best.  Several Democrats pointed out the plan calls for $200 billion in new direct federal spending, while the administration’s budget includes over $200 billion in cuts to existing federal infrastructure spending programs. They also expressed skepticism about how $200 billion could leverage 6.5 times that amount in non-federal spending. Chao tried to ignore the budget as something not related to the infrastructure plan or under her jurisdiction.  Republicans focused mostly on the permitting and project delivery reforms proposed in the plan, as well as parochial transportation issues ongoing in their states. They did not discuss the administration’s budget conflict or question the plan’s leveraging potential.  EPW Committee Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-Del.) opened the hearing by recalling his conversation with President Donald Trump at a Feb. 15th White House meeting on infrastructure. Carper claimed at the time the president supported 25 cents per gallon increase in the federal motor fuels tax. The White House would only say that it is keeping its options open.  Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) pressed Chao on whether Trump supports such an increase. Chao said the question is better answered by the White House directly. She said she wants to work with Congress on the pending insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). She did not offer any solutions.  Comments earlier in the week from Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) about possibly not having enough time in 2018 to consider an infrastructure bill were walked back by Carper, who said Cornyn told him the comments were taken out of context.  Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) went a step further in the hearing, saying he thinks the Senate should work nights and weekends to get a much-needed infrastructure package done this year.  ARTBA will continue pushing for a robust infrastructure package, one that should include a permanent Highway Trust Fund fix as its main component.

Sturgeon Electric Company, Inc. (Sturgeon Electric) was founded in Denver, Colorado in 1912 by David Dwight “D.D.” Sturgeon.  Mr. Sturgeon was an active member of the Denver community, and was instrumental in the development of the industry, downtown Denver and in the growth of the city.  He served on the Board of Directors of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of NECA-the National Electrical Contractors Association for many years.  From 1912 to 1986, Sturgeon Electric’s offices moved from various locations throughout downtown Denver.  In the 1990’s, Sturgeon Electric expanded operations into Arizona, opening offices in Phoenix and Tucson.  In 2012, Sturgeon Electric celebrated 100 years in business, and the company’s T&D division is currently constructing a $120M electrical construction project in the State of Nevada for NV Energy and Great Basin Electric Transmission South, LLC, an affiliate of LS Power.  The 235 miles, 500kV transmission line is known as the Nevada ON Line project.

As do the other agencies in the region, the Town of Marana has a pavement cut moratorium on newly constructed asphalt, and a Pavement Management System with recent condition data to assess the publicly owned roadway infrastructure for optimizing available maintenance funding.  This data has been used to develop a funded pavement preservation program to seal the town’s roadways on a 5 to 6-year cycle.  Since this investment of public funds is now maintaining asphalt in a like new condition, Marana is proposing to revise the pavement moratorium requirement from a five-year threshold to an overall condition index (OCI) of 70 or above.  Also proposed are Grounds for Denial of new permits for failure to perform or failure to pay fees in Section 12-7-5 and updating Town Code to reflect the adoption of the latest PAG Standard Specifications and Details in Section 12-7-8.  Section 12-7-9 includes the proposed pavement cut moratorium language, including amending the warranty for such cuts accordingly to five years, which had been to increase it from the standard two years to until the pavement is five years old, or whichever is greater.

Marana is also working on a viewing portal to add to the mapping page on our website, which will provide color coded street segments to indicate which streets have an OCI of 70 or greater, and when the data was most recently collected; we hope to have that go live in the next week or so and will provide a link for ATB members.

Marana is asking for comments to be submitted by Friday, March 2, and hope to place the proposed Ordinance on the next available Council Agenda shortly thereafter.  To see all the documents and research, please click here.

President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan budget deal Feb. 9 that ended the federal government’s second shut down this year and increased defense and discretionary spending by nearly $300 billion over the next two years, including $20 billion in additional funding for infrastructure.  The legislation gives congressional appropriators until March 23 to write a detailed bill to distribute the funding to government agencies for the remainder of FY 2018.  This now leads to the announcement yesterday by the White House to seek legislation that would fund infrastructure at $1.5 trillion dollars.  This also includes streamlining processes, investing in rural infrastructure projects and advance workforce development.  The plan is only a start and will shape due to Congress making amendments, but currently is being criticized because its set to privatize and put some of the burden back to the States. Democrat leadership say this plan is not taking on the “role” that the federal government should.  Stay tuned as we will work closely with ARTBA staff on these issues as it works through the process.  To read the details of the proposal, please click here.

ConformaTech, Inc. is a Tucson, Arizona based geotechnical engineering, materials testing and environmental consulting firm.  ConformaTech and its predecessors have operated in Tucson for over 18 years.   Today, ConformaTech is owned and managed by four of its longtime employees. Together with a staff of technicians and support personnel, ConformaTech operates a full-service material testing and soil laboratory from their 6,000-square foot facility.  ConformaTech is dedicated to the consistent achievement of industry standards of excellence in materials testing, construction oversight, geotechnical engineering and environmental consulting.  They have an established track record of completing projects within budget and on schedule.  This is accomplished through extensive experience, innovative problem-solving, a project management structure that ensures accountability and the mobility and skills necessary to quickly tailor a team to the scale and demands of each project.

WSP develop creative, comprehensive and sustainable engineering solutions for a future where society can thrive.  Equipped with an intimate understanding of local intricacies, world-class talent and proactive leadership, they plan, design, manage and engineer long lasting and impactful solutions to uniquely complex problems.

In his first State of the Union address, President Donald Trump once again called for rebuilding America’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure, a theme first sounded in his 2016 campaign.  Likewise, he once again provided few details about his plan.  “Together, we can reclaim our building heritage.  We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways across our land. We will do it with American heart, American hands, and American grit,” Trump said.  He reiterated the idea that his administration will place a major emphasis on encouraging state, local, and private infrastructure investment, rather than direct federal funding.  He was silent about finding a permanent, sustainable solution for the Highway Trust Fund. “I am asking both parties to come together to give us the safe, fast, reliable, and modern infrastructure our economy needs, and our people deserve,” Trump said in the nationally-televised address to Congress. “I am calling on the Congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment we need. Every federal dollar should be leveraged by partnering with state and local governments and, where appropriate, tapping into private sector investment — to permanently fix the infrastructure deficit.”  The $1.5 trillion figure is more than the $1 trillion Trump has mentioned since his 2016 campaign. He gave no indication, however, of increasing the federal share beyond the $200 billion administration officials have talked about over the past year.  The administration is expected to release more details about its infrastructure plan, along with its FY2019 budget proposal, in February.  “The ball is in Capitol Hill’s court,” ARTBA President & CEO Pete Ruane said in a video statement released before Trump’s speech. “If scientists can clone monkeys, Congress ought to be able to figure out how to raise federal dollars to fix the Highway Trust Fund and modernize our choking National Freight Network.  Those are the top two infrastructure priorities.”