John LattaRoadbuildingRunning out of gas moneyA new Congressional Budget Office report says that the Highway Trust Fund may be empty by fiscal year 2014. According to The Hill’s transportation blog the CBO report projects the highway trust to have $12 billion at the end of the current fiscal year, which began last July, and a $3 billion balance in the […]February 1, 2012RoadbuildingMica’s Move is Made: Now let’s keep movingHouse Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica and Members of the committee unveiled the American Energy an Infrastructure Jobs Act yesterday. I would like to think contractors, subs, agencies,equipment dealerships and OEMs are excited and getting ready to move quickly if this bill can become a reality. After some years of flatlining it has […]February 1, 2012RoadbuildingLadies and Gentlemen, a (draft) reauthorizationReally? We have waited and waited and waited (eight times) for a new surface transportation bill – quick, who won the Super Bowl the last year of SAFETEA-LU) — with details (there was of course a strong bill bill from Democrat Jim Oberstar, the previous leader of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee). Current committee […]January 31, 2012RoadbuildingGame OnThe press conference is on the way today, so guesswork now is probably a waste of time. But just which reauthorization bill we see today will make a major difference come tomorrow. House Republicans are expected to propose spending about $270 billion in a bill that will span four and a half years . That’s […]January 31, 2012RoadbuildingToday?House Transportation Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL) and Committee Members will roll out a long-term reauthorization and reform of transportation programs at a press conference today. This cornerstone proposal of the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act will reform and streamline transportation programs, cut red tape in the project approval process, increase states’ flexibility […]January 31, 2012RoadbuildingBack to where we were?Have we come as far as we are going to come for a while with reauthorization? Was the recent promise of some sort of bipartisan breakthrough just that? As House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman John Mica prepares to unveil what should be a five-year bill with a $260 billion tag (and the Senate has […]January 26, 2012RoadbuildingWe get to it when we get to itI think maybe Congress is using one of Salvador Dali’s clocks to figure out when we might be a reauthorization bill. Then again, I suppose progress wasn’t supposed to be predictably smooth. Take progress on a new surface transportation bill. Congress is back and this legislation is expected to take a spot close to center […]January 18, 2012RoadbuildingThink Locally, Act Nationally – Carnegie ReportThe best thinkers — and doers — in transportation infrastructure might just be found far far from our nation’s capital. When it comes to giving America the best transportation infrastructure it can have, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace says, basically, think locally, act nationally.” That is, Washington should look at successful local and regional […]January 9, 2012RoadbuildingSNEAK PEEK: ‘A Make it or Break it Year,’ reveals Better Roads Exclusive 2012 ForecastFor the full forecast and analysis from Better Roads Editor-in-Chief John Latta, see the January 2012 print edition of Better Roads. It’s frustrating (again) to have to say it, but it appears that this new year will offer us more of the same. Last year virtually repeating itself, as did the year before that and […]January 9, 2012RoadbuildingI’d borrow for infrastructure says leading GOP candidateGuess who said this? “You have to prioritize those things which are most important to you and infrastructure and having good roads and bridges and rail lines and air traffic lines and so forth are essential for a strong economy.” Promising to find money for infrastructure was Mitt Romney on the campaign trail in New […]December 19, 2011Previous PagePage 25 of 43Next PageTop StoriesSafety & ComplianceContractor Faces $394K in Fines After Worker Dies in TrenchThe worker was buried at the bottom of a 12-foot-deep trench, and his employer had been cited for similar violations in the past.Wheel LoadersLiebherr Debuts World's First Large Wheel Loader with a Hydrogen EngineDozersHyundai Breaks into the Dozer Market with HD100The DirtTest Run & Review: The Market's First Electric Mini Excavator, JCB’s 19C-1ECompact equipmentTakeuchi's TCR50-2 Crawler Dumper is Coming to North America