John LattaRoadbuildingWe’re Marching on Congress, May 25May 25 is the day, 11 a.m. is the time. Don’t bring pitchforks and torches, just your conviction that we need to do something more than we have been doing to get Congress off their assumptions and do the right thing for our industry. The “Rally for Roads” will take place on the National Mall […]May 13, 2011RoadbuildingThat has to be a safety violationWe know the Obama administration wants to build bike paths and nature trails and the like, and we we know this sort of work will create jobs. Here’s an example of how not to do it. Although, it will probably get done.May 4, 2011RoadbuildingEPA regulations battle surfacingIt had to happen. As EPA regulations continue to require industry to do more and change existing practices, the chafing had to eventually lead to some sort of outburst. And now it begins. Now a group of the country’s top executives has petitioned the Administration to have EPA cease and desist its efforts to regulate […]April 29, 2011RoadbuildingYes, we should.Looking at the latest Washington Technology it’s hard not to jump back from the screen at the sight of this headline: Should we care if a contractor dies in a warzone? WT makes the point that military deaths are quickly well publicized, “Meanwhile, contractors are seen as expendable or of little consequence, although they are […]April 26, 2011RoadbuildingOh man, is this embarrassing or what.I like writing headlines. It’s one of my favorite things as Editor of Better Roads. So how could I resist passing this one along: Amtrak CEO ditches broken train to travel by car to ribbon cutting of Wilmington’s Joe Biden station Seems the Acela high speed (sometimes) train stopped and wasn’t about to move anytime […]April 13, 2011RoadbuildingMile High Club FirstHere we are talking about being bold in looking at how we think of American infrastructure spending and building, and the Saudis are setting out to build a tower one mile high. So high it will have a special mechanism to stop it tipping over. Which may go to prove an old, obvious point. There […]April 12, 2011RoadbuildingReauthorization and 85-yard field goalsIt’s like everyone in Washington involved in trying to put a viable new surface transportation bill into action are playing the same silly game. Everyone knows its silly, but they keep on playing. Here’s an example from last week: A House transportation appropriations subcommittee hearing to examine the Federal Highway Administration’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget […]April 5, 2011RoadbuildingReading CONEXPO’s Upbeat SignsThe “official” stamp of success will come later when all the numbers are run, but CONEXPO certainly feels like we have reached the end of the beginning of the turnaround.I’m enjoying the upbeat feeling here. OEMs have presented numbers that are evidence of a slow but concrete upward movement and their lead executives’ press conference […]March 25, 2011RoadbuildingVolvo Introduces 55 new products and Ups U.S. InvestmentSaying that North America remains ‘a strategically important home market’, Volvo Construction Equipment President and CEO Olof Persson introduced more than 55 new or updated products and a $100 million in a product and production expansion program at the company’s North American facilities at CONEXPO. Persson described “substantial improvements” in the company’s fortunes, which in […]March 25, 2011RoadbuildingNo reauthorization this year – PCAA new surface transportation act to replace the extended SAFETEA-LU program will not happen this year, says Portland Cement Association chief economist Ed Sullivan The lack of an obvious funding source, given the refusal of politicians to raise the gas tax, will mean reauthorization will pass in 2013. While the Administration and the chairman of […]March 25, 2011Previous PagePage 30 of 43Next PageTop StoriesTelehandlersBobcat Unveils Electric Telehandler PrototypeThe new zero-emissions machine is powered by liquid-cooled batteries and has a rated operating capacity of 5,511 pounds.Safety & ComplianceContractor Faces $394K in Fines After Worker Dies in TrenchWheel 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-1E