June 27, 2014 – The Department of Justice has spoken. I’m not sure they know what they are talking about, but they HAVE spoken. Martin Marietta Materials must divest an Oklahoma quarry and two Texas rail yards in order to proceed with its proposed $2.7 billion acquisition of Texas Industries, according to the agency. Without the divestiture, the proposed acquisition was…
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Martin Marietta, DOJ Set to Settle
June 21, 2014 – Martin Marietta Materials Inc. expects to enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that will resolve all competition issues with respect to Martin Marietta’s proposed acquisition of Texas Industries Inc. Martin Marietta believes that the agreement will be finalized this week. While Martin Marietta is not in a position to state the terms…
Read MoreVoicing Approval
June 20, 2014 – Our associations are hitting it hard. The Highway Materials Group commended Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Robert Corker (R-Tenn.) on their bipartisan proposal to ensure funding of the nation’s surface transportation system into the future by increasing the federal motor fuels tax by 12 cents.
Read MoreYoung Guns Work for the Future
June 15, 2014 – More than 50 “young guns” in the transportation design and construction industry took part in an intensive “boot camp” introduction to the federal legislative and regulatory processes, and then descended on Capitol Hill last week to press their members of Congress to fix the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) and pass a long-term surface transportation bill. They…
Read MoreVolvo Introduces New Equipment
June 10, 2014 – Volvo Construction Equipment introduced three new products at Flagler Construction Equipment in Tampa: the exclusive Volvo dealer in Florida. Rock Products’ Associate Editor Josephine Smith was on hand for the roll-out. The products were the EC380E excavator, L150H wheel loader and A40G articulated hauler. The EC380E is a 38-metric-ton-class excavator crawler that will be launched in December…
Read MoreHillhead is Happening
June 9, 2014 – More than 80 machines will be put through their paces in four ‘live’ demonstration areas (Quarry Face, Rock Processing, Recycling and new for 2014, General Purpose) at Hillhead this year. Hillhead 2014 takes place at Hillhead Quarry, near Buxton, Derbyshire, UK June 24-26. Machines that will be seen in action include including crushers, screens and shredders…
Read MoreApac Central Wins Award
June 2, 2014 – The winners keep rolling in. Apac Central, a division of Oldcastle Materials, received the Argos Win-Win Award jointly with Arkansas and Missouri Railroad. The Argos Win-Win award, made at the North American Rail Shippers Association conference in San Francisco, recognizes innovation and co-operation in a sometimes adversarial relationship. It is given to railroads, shippers and organizations that develop innovative…
Read MoreSteady Growth Ahead
May 27, 2014 – Although recent economic indicators point to a tempering of the U.S. economy, The Portland Cement Association (PCA) is maintaining its forecast for steady growth in construction and cement consumption during the next five years. A recent PCA forecast indicates a 7.9 percent increase in cement consumption for 2014, almost double from the 4.5 increase in 2013.
Read MoreRockeries Are in Style
May 17, 2014 – The Federal Highway Administration (FWHA) is touting the benefits of Rockeries in a new publication. FHWA’s Rockery Design and Construction Guidelines (Pub. No. FHWA-CFL/TD-06-006) provides highway designers, inspectors, and contractors with a basis for evaluating existing rockeries and specifying and constructing new ones.
Read MoreDesigning for Disaster
May 12, 2014 – Lafarge North America is the “master of disaster.” The company announced that it is the lead sponsor of the exhibition Designing for Disaster at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Designing for Disaster will discuss disaster mitigation as an evolving science and highlight tools and strategies for building safer, stronger and more disaster-resilient communities that are…
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