Despite the increase in transportation funding provided by the passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in November 2021, the nation’s roads, bridges and transit systems remain significantly underfunded and will require increased investment for needed improvements and repairs. Fees on highway users continue to be a critical source of funding for the preservation and improvement of…
Read MoreYear: 2022
CalCIMA Spring Thaw Focuses on Safety Advances
The California Construction and Industrial Materials Association (CalCIMA) recently held the first of two 2022 Spring Thaw Safety Conferences.
Read MoreMultifamily Production at a Two-Year High, Single-Family Starts Up
Despite production bottlenecks and rising construction costs, total housing starts led by a strong multifamily reading posted a solid gain in February as demand stays strong and existing inventory remains at low levels.
Read MoreTotal Construction Starts Increase in February; Highways Flat
Total construction starts rose 9% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.013 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network. Nonresidential building starts swelled 32% due to the start of three large manufacturing facilities. By contrast, residential starts fell 3%, and nonbuilding starts fell by less than 1%. Without the three large manufacturing projects, total construction would have declined…
Read MoreHere Comes Hempcrete
March 21, 2022 – Industrial hemp has been used in construction since Roman times. But in the mid-twentieth century, it got lumped in with its psychoactive relative, marijuana, and innovation fell on hard times. Now, in the wake of the 2018 Farm Bill’s legalization of production, it has bounced back into the limelight—this time with a distinctive twenty-first-century twist: carbon…
Read MoreRIP, Don Young
March 21, 2021 – Alaska Rep. Don Young (R) died last Friday while returning home from Capitol Hill. He led the House Transportation Committee from 2001 to 2007 and famously named a $286 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill, SAFETEA-LU, after his late wife, Lu Young. He is also famous for making the phrase “bridge to nowhere” popular after his use of earmarks…
Read MoreA 15,889 Ft. World Record
By Mark S. Kuhar Lundin Mining and its Eagle underground nickel mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula recently worked alongside luxury carmaker Porsche to set a new Guinness World Record: the greatest altitude change ever achieved by an electric car. The Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo went from the lowest accessible point, at a depth of 1,774.4 ft. below sea level at…
Read MoreEmbarrassing MSHA Enforcement Actions
MSHA Has Issued A Number Of Citations Or Orders That Do Little To Advance Miner Safety And Health. You Won’t Believe Some Of Them. By Brian Hendrix No one is perfect, and humans make all sorts of mistakes for all sorts of reasons. Mine operators and miners make mistakes, and so do MSHA inspectors. Human nature, the complexity and dynamic…
Read MoreLook for the Pony
Business Success Is Driven By Difficult Adaptation. We Must Adjust To Changing Needs Of Customers, Employees, The Market And The Community. By Thomas J. Roach During the pandemic, organizations changed the way they do business. When the pandemic totally recedes, some aspects of business culture will return to normal, but many of the adjustments of the pandemic will remain in…
Read MoreAccountability: Is It a Hollow Word These Days?
Has The Spirit Of People Taking Responsibility Been Lost? By Steve Schumacher The concept of accountability for results has been around since the beginning of time. Individual responsibility for one’s actions, whether it be for just one person or more than one person, has been the fuel of progress in our society. Leaving things to chance or luck has not…
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