Washington Newsline April 11

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Register Now! ARTBA’s April 19-21 P6 Scheduling Academy in the Nation’s Capital

ARTBA Washington Newsline

A P R I L 1 1 , 2 0 1 1

NewslineWashington

Federal Issues Program Hotel Deadline April 22

House Budget Plan Cuts Transportation Investment

Saving Lives Focus of Roadway Work Zone Event

If you are planning to

attend the May 23-25 ARTBA

Federal Issues Program

(FIP) and Transportation

Construction Coalition Fly-

In so you can meet with your

congressional delegation

about the pending highway/

transit reauthorization bill,

make your hotel reservations

The House of Representatives

will vote this week on an

FY 2012 budget proposal

from Budget Committee

Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)

that would cut total federal

transportation investment by

almost $30 billion. The Ryan

plan does not recommend

individual programmatic

investments (or cuts), but

would eliminate support for

high speed passenger rail.

With nearly 670 people killed

in roadway construction zone

accidents annually and another

40,000 injured, public and

private sector leaders came

together at an April 4 news

conference to spotlight the

safety risks associated with

driving through these sites.

ARTBA Chairman Bill

Cox, president of Corman

Construction in Annapolis

Junction, Md., represented the

association at the launch of

National Work Zone Awareness

Week, held at the massive

Intercounty Connector project

in Maryland. Federal Highway

Administrator Victor Mendez

also attended.

The theme for this year’s

event—“Safer driving. Safer

work zones. For everyone.”—

focused attention on the fact

that 85 percent of work zone

fatalities and injuries happen to

motorists or their passengers;

the remaining 15 percent are

workers.

During an interview, Cox

said: “I come to these events

because I believe the safety

of workers and motorists

should be the industry’s core

value. Safety, productivity and

profitability are components of

an integrated system . . . You

can’t have one part without the

other.”

The ARTBA Foundation’s

National Work Zone Safety

Information Clearinghouse is a

sponsor of the week, providing

posters, fact sheets and other

information.

Visit www.workzonesafety.

org to order materials.

Continued on page 2

Continued on page 3

One of America’s Most Successful Public-Private Partnerships. Use It - Save Lives!

Left to Right: Bill Cox, Corman Construction; Neil Pederson, Maryland State Highway Administration; Victor Mendez, Federal Highway Administration and Beverly Swaim-Staley, Maryland Department of Transportation.

2 ARTBA Washington Newsline

Upcoming Events

ARTBA Federal Issues Program & TCC Fly-InMay 23–25 Washington, D.C.[Add to Calendar]

ARTBA Young Executive Development ProgramMay 23–26Washington, D.C.[Add to Calendar]

International Bridge ConferenceJune 5–8 Pittsburgh, Pa.[Add to Calendar]

TransOvation 2011 WorkshopSeptember 7–9 Near Dulles Airport, Va.[Add to Calendar]

Transportation Development Hall of Fame Gala Dinner at TransOvation 2011September 7Near Dulles Airport, Va.[Add to Calendar]

ARTBA National ConventionOctober 2–5 Monterey, Calif. [Add to Calendar]

ARTBA Public-Private Partnerships ConferenceNovember 15–16 Washington, D.C. [Add to Calendar]

ARTBA REGIONAL MEETINGSNortheastern November 28–29 New York, N.Y.[Add to Calendar]

SouthernNovember 30–December 1 Tampa, Fla.[Add to Calendar]

WesternDecember 5–6 Los Angeles, Calif.[Add to Calendar]

CentralDecember 7–8Chicago, Ill.[Add to Calendar]

Visit our Events Page for more information.

Over Half of ARRA Work Is Completed…p

Summary of FHWA Obligations and Spending as of

$18.2 $18.7

$16 $18 $20

y g p g3/11/2011

$7.70 $8

$10 $12 $14 $16

illio

ns $

$1.7 $0.53 $0 $2 $4 $6 $8 B

$0 Value of

projects under construction

Projects not yet underway or

awaiting notice t d

Value of projects

completed

Paid out for construction

work f d

Flexed to other modes

Source: FHWA Weekly Report as of March 11, 2011

to proceed performed

Continued from page 1

soon. The discounted rate of $309 per

night at the Mandarin Oriental is only

guaranteed through April 22. Be sure to

mention the ARTBA Federal Issues Program

when calling the hotel at 888.888.1778 or

202.787.6140.

The FIP features legislative and

regulatory briefings, a transportation

construction market report, and ARTBA

committee meetings so you can talk face-

to-face with top federal agency officials. A

panel of congressional transportation staff

will also share their views on the surface

transportation bill and other infrastructure

issues.

Register today! Contact Ed Tarrant with

any questions or to discuss sponsorship

opportunities.

ARTBA-FIP Hotel Deadline April 22

3ARTBA Washington Newsline

House Budget Plan Cuts Transportation InvestmentContinued from page 1

Products & ServicesNew Digital Advertising Opportunities Available!

New for 2011, ARTBA is offering digital advertising opportunities, in addition to traditional print options.

New options include: the “Washington Newsline,” digital Transportation Builder magazine, website advertisements (including homepage spotlight rotator), email signature sponsorship, and more!

Contact Liz Cavallaro or view the 2011 ARTBA Media Kit for more information.

To learn more about other products and services available, visit the ARTBA Store today!

2011 ARTBA FedeRAl Issues PRogRAm & Transportation Construction Coalition Fly-In

May 23 - 24: ARTBA Federal Issues Program May 24 - 25: TCC Fly-InMandarin Oriental, Washington D.C. www.mandarinoriental.com/washington/888.888.1778

Be an industry leader & lobby Congress on the highway/transit reauthorization bill.

Meet face-to-face with top federal agency officials to discuss the real-world impacts ofexisting and proposed regulations.

Get in-depth legislative, economic & market reports from ARTBA staff & industry experts.

For more information, or to register, visit the “News & Events” section of www.artba.org.

2011 FIP ad.indd 1 3/1/2011 11:36:07 AM

The proposal makes clear the House

GOP’s intent to constrain future highway/

transit investment to levels supportable by

incoming Highway Trust Fund revenues,

but does not specify how much of an

investment cut that would require. ARTBA

is urging House members to oppose these

reductions in transportation investment. Attendees of ARTBA’s 3rd Annual Transportation Construction Law & Regulatory Forum, held April 6-7 at the ARTBA Building in Washington, D.C.

4 ARTBA Washington Newsline

“Instead of making targeted cuts to root out waste and increase efficiency, however, Republicans are acting like Civil War surgeons by hacking off limbs instead of diagnosing the disease.

“The extreme and dangerous cuts to transportation investments that make America a better place to do business could threaten our Nation’s economic competitiveness and will destroy American jobs. The old, tired, and stale slash and burn approach to transportation investments in the Republican budget blueprint would drive our economy off the road to recovery and back into the ditch. Instead of a superhighway into the future, the Republican “Path to Prosperity” will only lead us backwards down a bumpy dirt road into the past.”

Rep. Nick J Rahall (D-W.V.), vice chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, on the Republican FY 2012 Budget Blueprint.

TRB Newsletter: April 5, 2011ARTBA is pleased to make available another service for members that highlights new research, technologies, industry best practices and information resources available to the transportation design and construction industry. This material comes from the Transportation Research Board. Read the most recent newsletter.

Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Master Innovator?Do your innovation skills pass muster with the industry’s best-of-the-best? You can put them to the test at ARTBA’s

“TransOvation” workshop to be held September 7-9 at the Landsdowne conference center near Dulles, Va. This workshop will be led by ENR Award of Excellence Winner John Hillman, MacArthur Foundation “genius” award winner Ted Zoli, and 3M executive Jerry Karel. Learn from the best what it takes to innovate for to improve your bottom line and invigorate your business! Visit www.transovation.org for more information.

Overheard

Fostering Innovation

“ ”Legislative & Regulatory News

Congress Continues Reauthorization Hearings

The House and Senate

transportation committees

continued their hearings

on the reauthorization of

federal surface transportation

programs last week. The

House Highways and Transit

Subcommittee heard testimony

April 5 from members of

Congress on their ideas for

what should be included in the

bill. Ideas ranged from issues

specific to members’ districts

to broad national freight and

infrastructure bank programs.

House Transportation and

Infrastructure Chairman John

Mica (R-Fla.) said this would

likely be the last hearing this

year on reauthorization and

that the committee would

now turn its full attention

to drafting legislation. State

and local representatives

told members of the Senate

Environment and Public Works

Committee April 6 how important

a long-term transportation

bill is for implementing their

transportation plans. The

witnesses also emphasized the

need to streamline the federal

environmental review process.

Of note, Committee Chairman

Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) asked

each of the groups if they

supported indexing the gas tax to

inflation, which they unanimously

agreed would be a positive step.

Senate Approves 1099 Repeal

The Senate April 5 passed H.R.

4, a measure that would repeal

a controversial requirement

included as part of the 2009

healthcare reform law. The

health care provision would,

beginning in 2012, require

businesses to produce IRS

Form 1099s for every purchase

of $600 or more in a calendar

year. ARTBA has actively

supported repealing the 1099

provision as it placed an

unnecessary reporting burden

on business. The bill now goes

to President Obama for his

signature.

FRA Receives $10 Billion in High Speed Rail Requests

U.S. Secretary of Transportation

Ray LaHood announced last

week the U.S. DOT has received

more than 90 applications

representing nearly $10 billion

in the latest round of high

speed rail grant availability.

Approximately $2.4 billion

is available to fulfill these

applications—funds that

were originally awarded to

high speed rail projects in

Florida and Wisconsin but

were subsequently rejected

by newly elected Governors

Scott Walker (R-Wis.) and Rick

Scott (R-Fla.). Applications

were received from Amtrak

for projects in the Northeast

Corridor, the District of

Columbia, and 24 states—

California, Connecticut,

Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maine,

Massachusetts, Maryland,

Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,

North Carolina, New Mexico,

Nevada, New York, Oregon,

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,

South Carolina, Texas, Utah,

Vermont, Washington, and

Wisconsin.

5ARTBA Washington Newsline

Coal Ash Bill Introduced in House

Representative David McKinley

(R-W. Va.) April 6 introduced

the “Recycling Coal Combustion

Residuals Accessibility Act of

2011.” The ARTBA-supported

legislation would prohibit the

U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) from regulating

coal ash as a “hazardous

substance.” ARTBA has

warned EPA on numerous

occasions that a “hazardous”

labeling would make concrete

more costly and less durable,

thus increasing costs and the

environmental impact of vital

transportation improvement

projects. Further, ARTBA has

stressed the transportation

sector’s use of coal ash as an

environmental success story

which, according to EPA “has

reduced annual greenhouse

gas emissions in concrete

production between 12.5 and

25 tons” and “oil consumption

between 26.8 and 53.6 million

barrels.”

ARTBA Recommends Wide Array of Regulatory Reforms to DOT, EPA

ARTBA submitted written

comments April 1 and April 4

to the U.S. DOT and the EPA

recommending a number of

reforms to current regulations

affecting the transportation

industry. The submissions

were based upon oral

statements given by ARTBA

on March 14 to both agencies.

ARTBA’s submission to DOT

focused on the Disadvantaged

Business Enterprise (DBE)

program, hours of service for

construction drivers and the

use of proprietary products.

ARTBA’s comments to EPA

Download a PDF copy of the digital “Washington Newsline.”

Transportation Design & Construction Careers

www.transportationconstructionjobs.org

What kind of jobs are there in the transportation design and construction industry?

Here are just a few examples of the hundreds of jobs and opportunities waiting for you—and the average annual salaries in 2010…

Construction Executive Management: President & CEOs: $170,000General & Operations Managers: $119,100Financial Managers: $104,500

Designing the Infrastructure: Civil Engineers: $74,900Architects: $55,300Surveyors: $53,300

Building the Infrastructure: Project Managers: $119,000Foreman/Supervisors & Superintendents: $61,800Estimators: $67,300Equipment Mechanics: $44,600Carpenters: $47,800Concrete Finishers: $41,100Excavating Machine Operators: $36,400Pile-Driver Operators: $50,200Paving/Surfacing Equipment Operators: $39,200Truck Drivers: $37,400Laborers or Helpers: $37,300Highway Maintenance Workers: $34,600

Other Occupations: Computer Specialists: $49,200Chief Engineers: $99,500Construction Managers: $93,300Financial Managers: $99,700Purchasing Managers: $58,500Human Relations Specialists: $57,500Clerk & Office Workers: $35,100Recordkeepers: $30,710Sales Representatives: $55,660Network Administrators: $66,330

Source: ARTBA analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Data; 2010 ARTBA U.S. Highway, Street & Bridge Construction Salary & Hourly Wage Guide

∙ High Tech

∙ Competitive Wages

∙ Leadership Skills

Transportation Design & Construction Careers Brochure

This new ARTBA brochure highlights the many benefits and leadership opportunities with a career in transportation design and construction. It also features a comprehensive lists of annual salaries for a variety of industry jobs. It’s an excellent guide to distribute during “Construction Career Days,” job fairs, or other recruiting events.

Brochure is $25 for 100 copies. Contact Liz Cavallaro for more details.

New Product!

Order Today

stressed reforms to air, water

and hazardous substance

regulations. In both filings

ARTBA stressed the need to

streamline the environmental

review and approval process

for transportation projects

which currently can take up to

19 years to complete. ARTBA’s

submissions are available

at www.artba.org under the

“regulatory” section.

FHWA, SBA Officials to Speak at ARTBA Environmental Committee Meeting

Officials from the Small Business

Administration (SBA) and

Federal Highway Administration

(FHWA) have agreed to speak at

the Environmental Committee

Meeting during ARTBA’s Federal

Issues Program. David J. Rosker,

SBA’s assistant chief counsel

for environment and regulatory

reform will cover current

regulatory issues affecting small

businesses while April Marchese,

the director of FHWA’s office of

human and natural environment

and Gerry Solomon, the director

of FHWA’s office of project

development and environmental

review, will provide an overview

of environmental and regulatory

issues currently before FHWA.

The ARTBA Environmental

Committee meeting will take

place on May 23 at 1:30 p.m. at

the Mandarin Oriental Hotel

in Washington, D.C. Visit

www.artbafederalissues.org to

register.

Economic News

More than Half of ARRA Projects Complete

As of March 31, highway

investments made as part of

the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act (ARRA) have

delivered 6,952 completed

transportation infrastructure

projects. Another 5,547 are

under construction and 886

are yet to begin. Read a full

update on the progress of ARRA

transportation investments.

Safety News

NIOSH Blog Discusses Work Zone Fatality Prevention

From 1995 through 2002, 844

fatal occupational injuries

occurred at road construction

sites. The majority of these

fatalities resulted when workers

were struck by a vehicle or

equipment. To coincide with

National Work Zone Awareness

Week, The National Institute for

Occupational Safety and Health

has posted a blog to discuss

efforts to reduce the number of

ground workers struck by road

construction equipment. Visit

the blog and participate in the

discussion.

6 ARTBA Washington Newsline

Foundation News

Nomination Deadlines Are Fast Approaching for ARTBA Foundation Programs

1. Globe Awards: Honors

industry excellence in

environmental protection

and mitigation. Deadline:

April 13. 2. Roadway Work Zone

Safety Award: Recognizes

outstanding efforts to

help reduce roadway work

zone accidents, injuries

and fatalities. Deadline:

April 22.3. “Lanford Family Highway

Worker Memorial

Scholarship Program”:

Provides financial

assistance to the children

of highway construction

workers killed or

permanently disabled in

the line of duty to pursue

post-secondary education.

Deadline: April 22.

Visit www.artbatdf.org to

download application forms.

Contact Holly Bolton with any

questions.

Nominations Sought for 2011 Hall of Fame Class

Nominate an individual or

a family from the public or

private sectors who has made

extraordinary contributions

to U.S. transportation

development or demonstrated

exceptional leadership over

their lifetime to the ARTBA

Foundation Hall of Fame. A new

website—www.artbahalloffame.

org—contains the 2011

nomination form and details

about the inaugural class

announced last November.

Nominations are due by June 1.

Contact Holly Bolton.

Meetings & Events

April 19-21 P6 Scheduling Academy in Nation’s Capital

One of the nation’s leading

experts on Critical Path

Method (CPM) is returning to

Washington,

D.C., as

the lead

instructor for

the April 19-

21 ARTBA P6

Scheduling

Academy.

If you are a

scheduler, estimator or project

manager, this course is built just

for you.

Dr. Jay Newitt, a founder of

Brigham Young University’s

Construction Management

Program, will teach participants

how to use schedules to manage

and track all aspects of a

transportation project—people,

materials, key operational

benchmarks and payment

schedules. They also will have

“hands-on” experience with the

most widely used scheduling

software, Primavera Project

Planner (P6).

Newitt has trained more

than 5,000 project managers

and superintendents on the

principles of CPM scheduling

and developed a method to

teach the complex principles

in an easy to understand and

effective way.

Register at www.artbatdf.org

or by contacting Laura Spitz.

National Bridge Workshop Scheduled June 7 in Pittsburgh

ARTBA is hosting a “National

Bridge Industry Workshop”

June 7 from 8:00 a.m.-12:00

p.m., at the International

Bridge Conference. It will bring

together leaders from FHWA,

states and industry to discuss

the future of the bridge program

in these key areas: preservation,

asset management, contract

administration, P3s and

innovation.

Top FHWA officials are

confirmed speakers: King

Gee, associate administrator,

Office of Infrastructure; Butch

Wlaschin, director of the Office

of Asset Management; Gerald

Yakowenko, group leader,

Contracts Administration;

and Anwar Ahmad, bridge

preservation engineer. Chris

Kane, P3 Collaborative; Mike

Stenko, Transpo Industries;

Siva Venugopalan, Siva

Corrosion; and Barry Raeburn,

Advanced Infrastructure

Technologies, will also speak.

Register now. For more

details, contact Allison

Wenograd.

ARTBA News

Intelligent Transportation Systems Group Forming

ARTBA member firms with

an interest in Intelligent

Transportation Systems (ITS)

are encouraged to sign up

representatives to help lead,

organize and participate in

a new ARTBA ITS Policy &

Promotion Council. For details,

contact Rob Regier.

43.8%

of Pennsylvania’s Bridges are “structurally deficient” or “functionally obsolete”

Visit www.transportationcreatesjobs.org to see how your state compares.