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August 23, 2014 • Vol. IX • No. 17 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215/885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215/885-2910
Inside
Newberg-Dundee Bypass Phase One Under Way By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT
Landscapes don’t come much prettier than the lush rolling wine country in Yamhill County, Ore., but there’s nothing scenic about the traffic jams that clog the old highway through the northwestern towns of Dundee and Newberg. Now work is under way on phase one of a major bypass project aimed at “It’s safe to say there will alleviating traffic on Highway 99W so visitors can enjoy the scenery without be hundreds of jobs. That the traffic stress. “This is a huge project,” said Lou includes family wage jobs Torres, Oregon Department of for construction workers.” Transportation spokesman. “For one thing, we haven’t really built a lot of Lou Torres new highway in recent years. This is Oregon DOT one of the largest projects we’ve done in recent memory. Where the major part of bypass is to be constructed, there were about 80 to 90 right-of-way acquisitions. There will be many more. It’s safe to say there will be hundreds of jobs. That includes family wage jobs for construction workers. And there are the indirect benefits such as the workers using restaurants and other businesses in the community. Then there are the economic benefits we hope will occur when the bypass is finished.
LiuGong N amed Top Firm in China...6
Ditch Wit ch Unveils New Quad Tractor...22
see BYPASS page 50
Caltrans Addresses Bay Bridge Job Problems Spending Falls 1.8 Percent in June Contractors have already built one bridge, using large cranes to put the bridge beams in place.
Colorado ManCaves Work Under Way...24
Table of Contents ............4
By Juliet Williams ASSOCIATED PRESS
Attachment & Parts Section ......................11-15
Martin Crutsinger Truck & Trailer Section ...... By AP ECONOMICS WRITER ..................................25-27
Recycling Section ....33-43 Auction Section ........46-55 Business Calendar ........48 Advertisers Index ..........54
WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. construction spending fell in June by the largest amount in more than three years as housing, non-residential construction and government spending all weakened. Construction spending dropped 1.8 percent in June on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising by a revised 0.8 percent in May, the Commerce Department reported. It was the biggest setback since a 2.8 percent fall in January 2011. see SPENDING page 52
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Senior state transportation officials on Aug. 5 acknowledged serious problems, including a culture of secrecy, during construction of the $6.5 billion eastern span of the San FranciscoOakland Bay Bridge. But they denied that employees were reassigned or lost their contracts after raising red flags about inferior construction work. “Yes, mistakes were made,’’ Transportation Secretary Brian Kelly testified during a legislative hearing. “Building a bridge like this is a human
endeavor. Human beings are fallible, and that fallibility was evident on this project as on any major infrastructure project.’’ Kelly and Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty told lawmakers on the Senate Transportation Committee that they take seriously a critical investigative report that found leaders who oversaw bridge construction repeatedly brushed off criticism about flawed welding, bolts and other engineering. They both pledged to address problems identified in the report but sought to reassure the public that the bridge is safe. see CALTRANS page 44