Vol.
14, Number 3 |
August,
2005 |
Contents:
Federal
Transportation Funding Enacted
Seminar-Porous Asphalt Pavements for Storm
Water Management
Join Us at OTEC, 2005
SCIP Issue on the ballot
Work Zone Safety Receives Attention
Shelly and Sands Renews their Diamonds
Quiet Asphalt Symposium
Iraq? Afghanistan?
Federal
Transportation Funding Enacted
At
long last, as of August 10, 2005, Congress has approved
and the President has signed a transportation re-authorization
bill to succeed TEA 21, the last 6 –year federal transportation
bill enacted in 1998. The law was approved by Congress on
July 29th and signed into law by the President August 10th
at a special ceremony at the Caterpillar plant near Chicago.
The
bill, H.R. 3, is called the Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users,
SAFETEA-LU. Even the name is a compromise. The Administration
and Senate had originally called their proposed bills SAFETEA,
while the House called their, bill TEA-LU.
It
has taken almost 2 years and 12 temporary extensions of
TEA 21 to realize the new law, SAFETEA-LU. TEA 21 Expired
September 30, 2003. It has taken so long that the new law
is essentially a 5 year rather than 6 year Act for fiscal
years 2005 through 2009. The total amount of guaranteed
funds over the 5 years from fiscal year 2005-2009 is $244.1
billion. If fiscal year 2004 were included, the total six-year
funding level would have been $286.4 billion. Of this amount,
79% is provided for highway programs, 18.5% is provided
for transit and the remaining 2.5% for other programs.
Detailed
analyses of the Act’s provisions are found on the
website of the American Highway User’s Alliance at
www.highways.org,
on the FHWA site at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reauthorization/index.htm
and on the American Public Works Associations’ site
at www.apwa.net.
Most
observers are lauding the new bill as an important step
toward improving transportation conditions in the US. But,
like anything that Congress does, there is good news and
bad news.
On
the up side, the law provides a large enough increase in
dollars for transportation programs, that it may actually
represent a real increase in funding, after consideration
of inflation in the costs of construction and the costs
of new programs included in the law. For Ohio the funding
level is about a 36% increase in average annual funding
$’s over the level represented by TEA-21. Ohio’s
rate of return on its contributions to the Federal Highway
Trust Fund slowly increases to 92% by 2008 from the present
level of 90.5%. It’s less than Ohio was asking for,
an immediate increase to 95% return, but, it is sufficient
to fund Governor Taft’s “Jobs and Progress”
plan.
On
the down side, the law provides a lot less funding than
highway experts have said would be necessary to reverse
the downward trend in road conditions and congestion. "Given
the inadequate top line, it's a pretty decent bill,'' said
Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio, the top Democrat on the House
Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on highways.
He was one of many lawmakers who had sought significantly
higher spending.
And
then there’s the pork. The bill contains a new record
of over $21 billion for over 6000 earmarked projects. Most
Congressmen and Senators take pride in pointing to the projects
they have earmarked for their home districts and are generally
congratulated for it. According to Michelle Holdgreve, ODOT
Deputy Director for Legislative Services, ODOT is pleased
with its treatment under the bill. Most of the earmarked
projects are good projects and Senators Voinovich and DeWine
obtained $95 million for projects above the state’s
allocation.
Lists
of the earmarked projects are posted on the House Rules
Committee website at http://www.house.gov/rules/109textTEALU.htm
Ohio
is also designated as a pilot state for streamlined environmental
regulations covered in the act.
When
you look at the massive size of the bill, some 1600 pages,
and the amount of detail in it, it’s little wonder
that it took so long to come to agreement on the bill. To
get a sense of how difficult the law making process is,
read the letters from Transportation Secretary Mineta to
the House and Senate leadership with the administration’s
reactions to provisions of the bill. These letters are posted
on the FHWA website page: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reauthorization/conference.htm
Still,
one man’s pork is another’s bread and butter;
so, everything considered, we should be grateful to get
the money back for work here in Ohio, regardless of how
many strings may be attached. It does make one wonder if
there isn’t a better way, though. What was it that
then Governor, now Senator Voinovich used to say about “devolution”?
Seminar-Porous
Asphalt Pavements for Storm Water Management
The
National Asphalt Pavement Association is bringing
their Porous Asphalt Pavement Seminar to the Cincinnati
area on October 12, 2005. The Plant Mix Asphalt Industry
of Kentucky and Flexible Pavements of Ohio are local
hosts for the seminar.
The
seminar will be held at the Radisson Hotel Cincinnati
Riverfront, 668 West Fifth Street, Covington, KY 41011,
859-491-1200. You can register and obtain details
regarding the seminar on line at https://www.hotmix.org/omr/page1.php?conf_id=4
Engineers,
architects, developers and public managers of storm
water management districts, storm water utilities
and Soil and Water Conservation Districts will want
to learn the application of this emerging technology.
Porous
asphalt pavements are being used to reduce or eliminate
storm water runoff from parking lots and other facilities.
A porous asphalt pavement is constructed over a stone
filled reservoir to collect and store storm water
and to allow it to percolate into the soil between
rainfalls. These designs can reduce pollution and
replace expensive detention and treatment facilities.
Porous Pavement systems are rapidly gaining favor
with designers and regulators as an economical approach
to storm water management for sustainable or low-impact
development. As the NPDES permit requirements have
become more widely applicable, it has become necessary
that developers find more innovative means of compliance.
Porous pavement systems are commonly being used as
part of a strategy to obtain Leadership for Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for
green building projects.
For
more information and articles regarding Porous Asphalt
Pavements visit: http://www.flexiblepavements.org/faq.cfm#FAQ18 |
|
Join
Us at OTEC, 2005
The
Ohio Transportation Engineering Conference (OTEC) is scheduled
for October 27 and 28, 2005 at the Greater Columbus Convention
Center. Join us there for the greatest conference and trade
show for the transportation community in Ohio. We have an
outstanding program lined up for the two asphalt pavement
technical sessions. The tentative program looks like this:
Thursday,
October 27th, 1:00 – 2:30 |
A
Practical Screening Procedure for the Selection of
Polish Resisting Aggregates (1:00 – 1:30)
Dr. Robert Liang, The University of Akron |
ODOT
Experiments with Trap Rock for Skid Resistance (1:30
– 2:00)
James Marszal, PE, Ohio Department of Transportation,
District 12 |
A
Report on Early Skid Findings for Smoothseal Pavements
– ODOT SS854 (2:00 – 2:30)
Aric Morse, PE, Ohio Department of Transportation,
Office of Pavement Engineering |
|
Friday,
October 28th, 10:30 – 12 noon |
| Validation
of the Ohio Wayne USR-30 Perpetual Pavement Design
(10:30 – 11:15)
Shad Sargand, Ph.D., Ohio University |
| Long-Lasting
Low-Volume Pavements (11:15 – 12 noon)
Steve Muench, Ph.D., P.E., University of Washington |
The
National Asphalt Mixture Competition award winning team
from Ohio University will be presented with their trophy
at the OTEC student luncheon.
FPO
will be exhibiting, as usual, in the exhibit hall trade
show in aisle 3, booth 308. We look forward to once again
seeing all of our members, customers and friends there.
For more information, or to register for OTEC, visit http://www.otecohio.org/
SCIP
Issue on the Ballot
At almost
the last minute, on August 3, 2005, the Ohio legislature
reached a compromise on a Joint Resolution that places the
constitutional amendment for the renewal of the State Capital
Improvements Program (SCIP) bond issue on the ballot for
the November general election. The legislature needed to
authorize the constitutional amendment by August 10th, in
order for it to be placed on the November ballot.
The
compromise reached in the legislature combines the SCIP
bond renewal with the Governor’s “Third Frontier”
proposal, that would provide $500 million in bond funds
over seven years for R&D grants; $1.35 billion in public
works bonds issued over 10 years for local infrastructure
projects such as roads, bridges, sewers and water lines;
and $150 million in bonds issued over seven years to clean-up
and redevelop industrial sites.
As reported
in the article by William Brayshaw, Hamilton County Engineer,
in the Spring 2005 Issue of Ohio Asphalt; the State
Capital Improvement Program (SCIP), which uses bond funds
supported by state general revenues to finance local road
and infrastructure improvements, is due to expire in 2006
unless a renewal is approved by Ohio voters. For the last
20 years this program has provided about an additional $120
million a year for infrastructure repair and improvements.
The SCIP is administered by the Ohio Public Works Commission
(OPWC) through local Integrating Committees. To learn more
about the SCIP, visit the Commission’s website: http://www.pwc.state.oh.us/page1.htm
Please
urge your associates, customers and employees to vote for
this important program in November.
Work
Zone Safety Receives Attention
Work
zone Safety is finally getting the attention it needs. On
the front page of the July 30, 2005 Cincinnati Enquirer,
the main article was headlined, “Danger lurks in work
zones” and noted that 9 construction workers have
died in the greater Cincinnati area since 2000.
FHWA
has adopted new rules on work zone safety and mobility,
which become effective on October 12, 2007. To begin implementation,
FHWA has published a brochure and four fact sheets related
to the rule (23 CFR 630 Subpart J). These materials were
developed by FHWA to support State DOTs, other transportation
agencies, consultants and contractors in their efforts to
comply with the requirements. The brochure provides an overview
of the rule and includes a flow diagram illustrating how
the rule can be applied to the typical DOT program delivery
process for road projects. The fact sheets cover the following
topics:
Additional
guidance will be available later this year.
The
brochure and fact sheets are available at http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/resources/final_rule.htm.
If you
would like to order printed copies of these materials, please
send an email request to workzonepubs@fhwa.dot.gov
and include the number of copies desired and shipping information.
FHWA
contact: Tracy Scriba FHWA Work Zone Technical Program Manager
202-366-0855
FHWA
has other websites with information regarding work zone
safety, visit http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/index.htm
and http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/workzones
In many
respects ODOT is ahead of the curve on improving work zone
safety and mobility. Several years ago, ODOT adopted a policy
aimed at reducing congestion and the associated accidents
in work zones.
To read
the press release regarding the ODOT policy go to:
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/roadwaysafety/News_Releases/Work%20zone%20safety%20policy%20award.PDF
For
more information on ODOT’s work zone safety programs
visit: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/roadwaysafety/RelatedPrograms.htm
and
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/traffic/new%20pages/new-MaintofTraffic.htm
For
other Work Zone Safety sites of interest, check out:
The
National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse site
maintained by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas
A&M: http://wzsafety.tamu.edu
and the website of the American Traffic Safety Services
Association (ATSSA) at http://www.atssa.com.
Shelly
and Sands Renews their Diamonds
In a
press release dated June 13, 2005, the National Asphalt
Pavement Association commended Shelly and Sands for earning
the Diamond Achievement Commendation for its Mansfield plant,
Mar-Zane #21 and the Marietta plant, Mar-Zane #2.
NAPA’s
press release stated: “Earning the Diamond Achievement
Commendation serves as a signal to neighbors that an HMA
facility is a good neighbor. The self assessment process
addresses six aspects of the plant’s site: appearance,
operations, environmental practices, safety, permitting
and compliance and community relations. By earning the Diamond
Achievement, Shelly and Sands, Inc. has shown the community
that it will go the extra mile for excellence.”
Congratulations
to Jerry Taylor and the rest of the staff at Shelly and
Sands.
Quiet
Asphalt 2005 - A Tire/Pavement Noise Symposium
November
1-3, 2005
Holiday Inn Select, City Center
515 South Street, Lafayette, Indiana
The
Asphalt Pavement Alliance and Purdue University will hold
a symposium on quiet asphalt pavement technology on November
1-3, 2005. The symposium will begin at 1 p.m. on November
1st and end mid-afternoon on November 3rd.
Learn
about the latest technology in quiet pavements, including
design and construction issues. Material has been gathered
from across the U.S. and Europe.
Tour
the facilities of the Institute for Safe, Quiet and Durable
Highways, and the North Central Superpave Center at Purdue
University.
Get
complete details and the registration form at http://tools.ecn.purdue.edu/~sqdh/qa2005.htm
Download
the symposium brochure for Quiet Asphalt 2005.
Iraq?
Afghanistan?
Wayne
Jones of the Asphalt Institute shared this news items with
us:
Winning
Hearts and Minds One Paving Project at a Time: Robert
Benko, the Pavements Engineer for the Great Lakes Region
of the FAA, also serves as a Chief Master Sergeant in the
Illinois Air National Guard. Bob’s unit was mobilized
right after the first of the year to a "forward deployed
location" for about 8 months. Shown here doing his
part as an engineer and an ambassador, Bob is making friends
with a local paving crew on an asphalt paving project into
a convoy refueling point. As a souvenir, Bob reports “I
am getting the job mix formula written in Arabic”.
We certainly wish Bob, God’s Speed in his endeavors
overseas and on his safe return home.
Are
you on our mailing list?
In
addition to this e-news letter, FPO publishes a quarterly
magazine, Ohio Asphalt. The most
recent, Summer 2005, issue of Ohio Asphalt
was mailed in July, 2005. To add your address to the mail
lists for the e-news letter and/or the magazine, send a
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View
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at http://www.flexiblepavements.org/ohio_mag.cfm.
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